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That call for a flickering light in a 1920s Seattle bungalow turned into a full rewire nightmare.
Found knob and tube spliced with cloth Romex that was crumbling, and the homeowner's budget was only $500. How do you even start that conversation about real cost versus safety?
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willowg881mo ago
Logan_wells has a point about showing the bad wire, but sometimes you can work with a tight budget. A full rewire isn't the only fix for a single flickering light. You could just replace that one bad circuit for now to make it safe, then plan the rest later. It's about finding a middle ground that stops the immediate danger without scaring someone off.
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logan_wells2mo ago
How do you break the news without sounding like you're just after more money? I used to try and work with tiny budgets, but then I saw a splice in an attic that had basically turned to dust. The cloth wire just fell apart in my hand. That's when it clicked for me that giving a cheap option isn't being nice, it's just unsafe. Now I show them a piece of the bad wire and explain it's not an upgrade, it's a fire fix.
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drew_hart42mo ago
I started bringing the bad wire with me too, it makes the safety talk real.
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You really think a piece of old wire makes that big of a difference? Most people just see a dirty scrap.
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