One of the guys I swim with at the pool each day is an electrician. His name is Mark and he’s between jobs right now. “Do you have anything electrical that needs to be done around your home?” Mark asked me one day. I put the question to Diane and she said, “I’d like all of our electrical outlets replaced with new ones.” I took this answer back to Mark and he agreed to come out and replace all of our 50 electrical outlets.
Of course, one thing leads to another. Diane hated our kitchen light (the square one above). She wanted a new light. So when she asked Mark about it, Mark said, “Buy a new light and I’ll install it for you.” Diane took me to a lighting place and after about an hour of looking at lights, Diane decided on the Quozel light that looks like a teardrop above. After Mark was done replacing all of our outlets, he installed the new light and Diane is delighted. Are you planning any home improves this Summer?
Why would anyone replace outlets that work?
The fixture is nice!
Bob, it’s preventative maintenance. The new electrical outlets have a 20-year guarantee so we’re good for a couple of decades.
George, we have planned renovation this weekend stretching till the next. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to hire a mason, a painter, a carpenter, and an electrician either separately or through a contractor.
Prahant, over here any home improvement usually takes twice as long as estimated and costs twice as much.
Do you think he would make a trip to Detroit? We badly need a lot of work done, including just what you did. Very hard to find an electrician that wants a job like this.
Patti, you are so right! We lucked out because our electrician was between jobs and had the time to do this. I won’t want to replace 50 electrical outlets. Tedious work. But our guy did a great job!
I like the new lighting. It will be much easier for you to replace bulbs.
I’m getting a new refrigerator Tues. My house is old, my parents purchased it in 1952 from the builder. It has a nook for the fridge, with cupboards above, so I’m limited to the size i can get (30″ wide”) I was unable to find a bottom freezer without an ice maker, so ended up with a frigidaire. The current fridge, also a frigidaire, still works, but all the shelving for storage in the door has fallen off and broken, due to bad design. Most of the frigidaires still have this, but the one I got has modular door storage, and a large shelve with a drawer underneath for one of the shelves. and no icemaker.
There is a lazy susan that is inefficient and I’d love to have that removed and have shelving that can be pulled out installed, but that will have to wait.
Maggie, Diane put new LED bulbs in the new light. Supposedly they’re supposed to last 22 years!
Jackie got new LED bulbs too. Great minds think alike!
Just wanted to ask you about this – good for you and the environment!
It’s really fantastic how far we’ve come with LED lights – we’ve exchanged most of our lamps/lighting fixtures now.
Our “Schuko” outlets in Germany and in Hungary are ok – what I did many years ago:
Had DI (Differential Current) switches/fuses installed for the whole house, not just bathroom an kitchen, so if there’s any short no one will get hurt.
It would be ineffective to throw a hairdryer into the bathtub …
Wolf, LED lights are the way to go. Less power consumption and years of life before you have to change them!
Our girls’ bathroom has a broken fan, so that needs repair; and we’ve allotted money for–but still haven’t purchased–a new washer & dryer. I want to renovate my kitchen and both bathrooms, but that’s an expense I HAVE to save for…I’m too old to go into that kind of debt if I can avoid it.
Deb, you’re smart about money. Everything costs more and takes longer than the estimates. We always over-budget for home improvements.
When I lived in California, I developed what I called “The California Theory of Time & Money” (TM), which has served me well, even though I no longer live in Cali. In essence, no matter how much time and/or money you think something will take, AKWAYS allot 50% more and you’ll be right on target. You think it’ll take you an hour to get somewhere? Leave 90 minutes before you need to be there. You think something will cost $100? Budget $150. This has NEVER let me down.
Deb, we operate on similar theories of money and time. You always need to build in a “fudge factor” in case things cost more (and they almost always do) and take longer (ditto). We’ve tried to pass on this financial wisdom to our children, too.
When I did calculations for business projects we used to call these 50% extra “contingencies” – and they were often needed!
Wolf, you 50% calculation sounds a lot like Deb’s! And, as you say, many projects require that extra money.
50? Wow, as an apartment dweller that sounds like a lot of outlets! Jackie has had our super replace our outlets as well. He is quick and always does a great job with whatever we ask him to do (and not just because Jackie is a very generous tipper). We had him install the new air conditioner in the bedroom window two weeks ago when we were at the theater, and he also installed the old one in the den, so I can be cooler in here if I need it, though usually the fan is good enough for me.
No other projects at the moment, as Jackie is pretty much up to date.
Jeff, the electrical code in our area requires at least one electrical outlet per wall (we have two per wall in some rooms like the Living Room and Dining Room. We have four outlets in the garage (though we rarely use them) and a couple outdoor outlets (which Diane uses when she’s wielding her electric hedge trimmer). Yes, great minds do think alike!
Just checked. I think we have 24 outlets. We do use a couple of power strips to keep things neater.
Jeff, you have about half the number of outlets that we do. The electrician told us that the new codes for kitchens require an electrical outlet every two feet!
Sorry, but I wouldn’t replace a perfectly good outlet just for “preventative maintenance”. That makes no sense at all to me. Were you having problems with the old ones? If so why not just replace the problem ones?
Ours were a problem because they didn’t hold things well. You’d be vacuuming and the plug would always fall out of the wall.
Jeff, we had similar problems with plugs falling out of outlets. Now, with the new outlets that doesn’t happen anymore.
Rick, our old outlets were 30 years old. The electrician recommended replacing them all with new, better quality outlets. It was a no-brainer. I would rather prevent problems than react to problems.
When plugs fall out of the outlet, spread the prongs! I’ve had light switches go bad–one just recently–and I go to a hardware store and spend $2.00 on a new one and install it myself! It sounds like some of you folks are spending a lot of money needlessly!
Bob, replacing the electrical outlets qualifies as an “energy saving” and is tax-deductible. Our electrician gave us the receipts and the form for our taxes.