Electrified house

Originally Posted By: rray
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



'Twas working on Memorial Day (no one else would!) and found an electrified house. I know what was going on, and it just so happened the Client was an electrician and confirmed my thoughts, but I thought I would post the particulars here and let everyone hash it out. The electrician worked in this specific neighborhood and says he sees it quite often.


Construction date: 1921
Exterior walls: stucco
Interior walls: lathe and plaster
Interior wiring: knob and tube (visible in the attic)
Attic insulation: loose fill cotton/wool

My tic tracer indicated that the knob and tube wiring in the attic was active. However, it also indicated that the loose fill insulation in the attic was active (so we didn't go into the attic). It also indicated that all the walls were active. It also indicated that the door hinges were active. It also indicated that all the copper water pipes were active.

What was going on?

I'll just follow the discussion and won't say anything else unless asked specific questions.


--
Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.

Originally Posted By: lfranklin
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



10 visits and no guess So I’ll give a few rambling comments.


One could be the tic tracer was not working properly. Wrong
Two there is a short and coming in contact with the pipes and lath. Maybe
Three the insulation part . I have no ideal or just went brain dead.
So three and I'm out.


Originally Posted By: jmyers
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Russel,


The knob and tube with the loose fill insulation wins it. I am kinda surprised that no one else here picked up on it. Guess there really is no substitution for experience! ![icon_biggrin.gif](upload://iKNGSw3qcRIEmXySa8gItY6Gczg.gif)

Joe Myers


Originally Posted By: rray
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



So the situation was that loose fill insulation had been piled on top of knob and tube wiring, a definite no-no. We did an early morning inspection, so the loose fill was damp from the night air, exacerbating the problem. Damp loose fill on knob and tube.


Next we had metal lathe, so the walls were full of metal. The tops of the walls were not finished, so the loose fill was making contact with the metal lathe.

Of course, any metal (door knobs, hinges, water pipes) that contacted the walls (also damp from open windows from the night air) was live.

Several members emailed me privately with the answers but we all let it go for less experienced HIs to mull over.


--
Home inspections. . . .
One home at a time.

Originally Posted By: jmyers
This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.



Russel,


You see what you did to poor Larry. He went brain dead waiting for you to give him the correct answer! ![icon_biggrin.gif](upload://iKNGSw3qcRIEmXySa8gItY6Gczg.gif) You can be sooooo cruel!

Joe Myers