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Took me three hours to swap out a single light fixture yesterday
I figured it would be a quick 20 minute job. Pop off the old one, wire up the new one, done. Turns out the previous owner had wired it completely backward and I spent two of those three hours just tracing wires with a multimeter. Has anyone else run into a simple home project that turned into a whole afternoon ordeal?
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jakeperry4d ago
The "quick 20 minute job" line got me. I had the same thing happen with a garbage disposal a few years back. What worked for me was taking a photo of the old wiring before I touched anything. That way you can at least see what you're working with if things get weird. Also helps to check if the power is actually off at the breaker, not just the switch. I learned that the hard way after getting zapped.
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noahpark4d ago
Jake, that photo trick is genius, I’ve been doing the same thing since I fried a thermostat.
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emmajackson3h ago
The "power actually off at the breaker" part is HUGE. I ALWAYS double check with one of those little voltage testers because I've been zapped too. Funny story though, Jake, I once spent 45 minutes trying to fix a light fixture only to realize I was working on the wrong circuit entirely. My husband had labeled the breaker box all wrong and I didn't even think to test it. I ended up just flipping ALL the breakers off to be safe. Photo trick is solid advice though. I also like to draw a quick little diagram on a piece of scrap paper because sometimes those photos get blurry when I'm in a hurry.
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