Just When You Think You've Seen it All…
I have been doing property inspections for over almost 11 years now and I think I had seen it all - That is until yesterday. There are those out there seem to push the boundary between creative genius and pure stupidity. And while I did have to give them an "E" for effort and "I" for ingenuity, I had to give them a "F" for utter foolishness.
The wiring used is not rated for exposed use as the insulation is soft and can be easily damaged. A protective conduit around the wiring would have been acceptable.
As far as the perforated strapping - Oye-veh! Talk about a razor blade waiting for tender skin. Makes me shudder to think about it.
Did this make it in my report? You can bet your Sweet Bippie it did...
This posting and the contents herein is the intellectual property of Michael Thornton, CEO of The Complete Group. We provide the highest quality service in the areas of home inspections and videos/photography for the web, corporate, businesses and the real estate industry. Complete Home Inspections, Inc. and Creative Video Concepts serves the Brentwood, Franklin, Nashville and the area surrounding Davidson and Williamson County TN. This post is a contribution to the ActiveRain Real Estate Network.
Priceless!
Hi Michael. Now that is really bizarre. Did he hit studs with strapping nails?
Perhaps they should hang a band aid dispenser right next to the switch. I guess they figured their home done wiring was going to fall off the wall without a little extra help.
Well I would have to say that is pretty crazy. I cannot say I've ever seen anything like that either.
AMAZING! I'd love to see the video of the person doing this ....I mean how much did they really save in the long run?
Have a great weekend in Nashville!
Good morning Michael,
Yikes...I think you are being too generous in your grading curve (LOL)
Have a great weekend!
I love "non-standard workmanship", as my favorite local home inspector calls this kind of thing....oh, and yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic about "loving" it!
Michael- I hope you've compiled a book of all of these. I always get a chuckle when I see what someone will do to either save time or money or out of pure "duh-ness".
Good Morning Michael. Could this be called creative stupidity?
Good morning Michael,
Wow you are right! Just when you think you have seen it all..this one is definitely priceless and ohn so dangerous!
Good morning, Michael..... aren't some people just plain stupid.... electricity is sooo dangerous, why not hire a professional....
Hello Michael,
That is a good one, I am curious if the is an electrical box inside the wall. My guess is there is an open connection, no receptacle box in the wall. Always interesting to see what a dangerous home owner do to their home.
Make it a great day !!
Michael, You're right, just when you think you've seen everything, they invent a better idiot. :)
Good morning Michael. I guess you'd have to see it to believe it. Just amazing. And the prize for danger goes to....this homeowner.
WOW! Michael. Another great reason whey people should call a certified electrician. Having a great inspector point out their errors just saved them from a possible fire or worst. You are the Man, Michael.
Kind of scary isn't it. :)
Big Scorpio - I think it was mighty kind of you to give them an "I" for ingenuity and a "E" for effort! Did they really think this would pass the inspection?! People do the craziest things rather than fix it right the first time. The upside is we all get to see the craziest homemade solutions to fixes that should be done be the professionals! SUGGESTED!
Thinking an I for IDIOT. You're right .... Just when you think you've seen it all... you haven't.
I like your grading system Michael! Looks like this student will be getting left behind and have to repeat the grade!
MIchael,
That is just sweet, on so many levels. Got to love that creativity.
Mike,
When did they miss the point that a home inspection was going to be conducted?
Rich
Michael ~ but what you failed to mention was how attractive the outlet looked! Yeah, right!
Michael~That takes the cake. That's the great thing about real estate, you just never know what you're going to find.
Michael...
Home inspecting sure makes coming up with blog topics pretty easy. This one was perfect fodder for a post!
Michael, they should have at least tried to cover it up a bit with duct tape, it does come in colors as well.
Michael, bet you see it all, and this one is really good!
Michael, not only I as a mother would disapprove, but my husband the builder would have call in the electrician to do it right!
LOL I give the guy an A for ingenuity and an A+ for "Burning Down the House" (props to Talking Heads)
Aside from the fact that this is stupid, from the wife's standpoint, it is just plain ugly!
WOW!!!
Nice! That is what we call a "red flag".
Michael, nice find. I see things like that and worse o a daily basis, the amazing part is that someone actually was proud of their work when they originally did it..hahaha
Really if they had just put the wiring in some conduit it would have been acceptable. It's not pretty, but it will work. I've seen this done in older homes many times.
That looks like a door and switches are usually on hte knob side. This looks to be on the hinge side. What a foolish mistake!
This is one reason buyers need to use a home inspector. You just never know what "fixes" the previous owners did.
Wow great thanks
It's good you can look at some of the "surprises" and laugh. . . thankfully you were there to protect the buyer!
Good Morning! Somewhere, a village is missing an idiot. Amazing!
I wonder where the listing agent was in all of this?
Don't we owe it to our clients to point out possible concerns with their home when we list them? At least before the inspection phase.
Anyway great post!
Had to call the hubby in to see this one! Amazing what some folks do to save some money.
Hiya Michael,
That people would do (and do) those things is amusing
-- but as you point out, so, so dangerous!
The home inspector I use in this area has complied a bunch of those such photos and blogs about them from time to time.
You might want to do the same.
Regards...
Oz Realtors of Maryland
Thomas F. Kennedy, Esq.
President & CEO
I really enjoy these posts. It's always amazing what people will do. I bet you see something new all the time! When Realtors show property and we see things we get asked "why did they do that?" and I have to laugh, because how do you rationalize that out?
Funny, I've done that sort of wiring just to have a switch handy on a project, But you were saying that this was a permanent install... LOL ... I would think that the city inspector would not give the CO on that project.
But it's good that you bring these little details out in the inspection report, it helps educate the end user and at the end of the day, they learn a bit more about home safety.
thanks again for your hard work.
Michael
How right you are!
I kinda figured that might be one of those "deficiencies" on the inspection report! LOL
And now I know how to spell "Oy-Veh" !!!! :0)
Thanks!
Just when you think something is so simple as to be fool proof you are reminded just how inventive fools can be.
did you get the guy a roll of duct tape and fix it right? cheryl(I think the yellow one would go good with the decor)willis
It takes all kinds. We had a homeowner that insisted they had city sewer but the had a septic tank. A quick check with the city should they planned on extending city sewer to this area some five years out. The homeowner insisted we show city sewer as part of our listing. We didn’t take the listing but someone else did and it showed city sewer. We’re sure the friendly neighborhood home inspector will catch the error – Opps!
That right there is a great advertisement for a home inspector's services!!!
If only they had some staging experience a tall dresser would have been put in front of the switch-- or a curtain even if there was no window,, so your grades were a bit high
It has all been said about your find and assement but I believe you should get a postive about Oye Veh and Sweet Bippie! We must keep these discriptive phrases active as only they can truly express what you saw!!!
Thanks for the wt* for the day.
Ruth
If that's what's visible on the outside, I can only imagine what else might be behind the walls!
This ranks right up there with the listing I had (a fixer-upper for sure) that had a switch dangling from a wire where a wall had been torn down.
Yikes!
LOL!! Doncha just love do it yourselfers?
Creativity combined with the "can do" mentality of the DIYer...Hilarious.
hehe, hate to say it but that must be my Uncles house!
Good Share
NICE
Wow! I'm not even close to being an inspector and can tell that a few things are definitely wrong with that picture!
Just think what could be lurking behind the walls or floors where ugly surprises can't be seen! It's "Buyer Beware!" to the nth degree.
One more example of "The mind is a terrible thing to waste." I can't even justify creativity here...All I can muster is... REALLY?
Michael ...Great info and tips as always ...Going to re-blog!
Have a great weekend!
Michael
you are making it a point to LET THE WORLD KNOW to be sure and have a home inspection.
Unbelieveable. Well, maybe not. Sure wish there were some way to alert a LOT of home owners..."Things Not to Do to Your Home for the Next Ten Years if You Want to Sell It When You Retire Instead of a Bulldozer-remodel." We've all heard so many buyers saying they want to own instead of rent, so they can "do anything to my home if I want to." Not true. The next owner's lender, that lender's appraiser, the buyer's inspector, will all care a lot what you do to your home.
I guess he was out of duct tape!
Michael--The "creativity" we see never ceases to amaze me!!! I hope no one was injured on the strapping!
Humans....
Altogether now, in key.....
M - I - C,
K - E - Y,
M - O - U - S - E !!
I gather this is not one of the Nashville Antebellum homes where they are a stickler about "period" restoration. Great article, Michael.
Amazing what people won't do for convenience. How dangerous! Those are probably the very people that go steal copper wiring out of foreclosed properties and get electrocuted!
The guy left the bottom screw exposed ... how reckless!!
Gosh! That looks like something my uncle would do! Except...he would have used duct tape.
Dear Michael,
Words fail me! If you have never seen it done like this at your friends' houses, you may want to call a professional.
The crazy things you inspectors find never cease to amaze.
Nice job! Gotta love it! Reminds me of the guy that bought a house to flip. He and his wife swore it could't have termites. The removed all the bad wood.
HAHAHA! Thats ways to creative!
You are, like, TOTALLY missing the point.
He, like, saved fifty bucks doing it this way.
Duh!
Michael, that must be the new combination light switch/finger nail trimmer
good laugh!
Wow. Not sure if there are words to explain this and how dangerous it could be. And nice staples on there at the bottom too. Probably has more staples and punctured the wiring somewhere.
now we can appreciate the need for a building and safety department in local government! no matter how we feel about building code violations!
A good home inspector is worth his weight in gold!
I am too tired to back all my bad electicity puns right now. THanks for the post.
I would have to say that is pretty nuts!! I cannot say I've ever seen anything like that either.
I like the idea of duct tape too! Would that be acceptable at the re-inspection? :-)
Send it in to Jay Leno as a redneck fix it job. Too funny. amazing what people do.
Oh that's WAAY more attractive than cutting the drywall. Maybe he's going for the "industrial" look?
That is special!
Michael,
I guess some people just don't know what they're doing. Fortunate buyer's have great inspectors!
It appears to be a fairly new house looking at the molding and the sheetrock texture...should have paid the builder to put in that light!!
I resonate with 'Just when you think you've seen it all'. I see some really crazy things every once in a while..... but, almost as crazy is the way some sellers or buyers view the silliness. Some really major items draw little response, and then a minor item becomes the 200 lb canary.
I've resisted the idea of starting a Hall of Shame blog because I don't want to make fun of someone else's home. I've considered an anonymous ID that isn't tied to this area, or maybe an imaginary town, but most of the issue is lost without a picture which brings it all back to my client or me.
Anyone else bothered by this, or have a solution???
~Don
I'm sure it is safe to say there are only wires behind that switch plate - no receptacle. Can only imagine what the doorbell looks like. LOL
I cannot believe this, sometimes I wonder about things like this. I mean, they knew their property was getting inspected??? Crazy and yes, oh so dangerous. Thanks for sharing.
I am sure this detail was perfect for the unique decor of the house..." rough and dangerous living"!
Aloha,
wow did he learn that in Electricity for Dummies...unreal and such a safety issue but yes creative!
Hi Michael, I can just imagine walking into that dark room and fishing on the wall for a light switch. Ouch!
Michael, that is priceless. Hope you don't mind, but I printed the picture to show my guys. You're right, just when you think you have seen it all, you find something that makes you shake your head. Have a good one!
I saw this on Qman's blog. I scrolled to skim and saw.. WT Hell? LOL! Thanks for sharing.
Interesting application - surprised they did not paint to match the walls to make it "invisible". Hate that kind of strapping. Guess it was necessary because the plate screws were not long enough to hold the mess? And my magic word to get this to post is "farkleberry". Hmmm - very appropriate.
Wow, I am speechless!
Sadly, you can't find this inventive switch repair kit on any aisle at Home Depot or Lowes!
I looked!
Not much is worse than DIY electrical. We have found so many issues with our house over the years from the previous owner who has tried to Do It Himelf for all kinds of things. Craziness. -Kasey
I wonder if Jeff Foxworthy could use that as a 'redneck' light switch?
Michael,
Thankfully, that is not one of my own DIY "fix-its". That is hiarious and a bit sad!
I've never seen anything like that before!
Epic fail - a real redneck knows you use duct tape for that!
Stupity is as stupity does.