Don’t anybody move! Hold it right there! The fuse is out. — A Christmas Story

One of the many good points of living in an older home is the amount of things I have to figure out and fix.  For instance, our wiring has at least two generations of technology and is laid out in some of the strangest circuits I’ve ever seen.

For example, our kitchen is on the same circuit as one of the outlets in the dining room and the outlet on the side porch.  It’s also too small for the load, which means we have to balance things quite carefully.  Want to use the microwave to heat up your lunch?  Then you better make sure the crock pot isn’t in use or DaddyBear isn’t making a pot of coffee.

One of the strangest things I’m trying to figure out is why one of the circuits in the basement controls the lights in the family room and basement bedroom, the outlet in my work area, and the outlet and light outside the basement door.  It’s like someone threw a bunch of darts at a map of the house, and where the darts hit is where they connected them electrically.

I’m sure I’ll eventually figure it out.  I’m just as sure that I’m not going to try to use my rather limited DIY skills to straighten it all out and/or replace it wholesale.  I know that residential 110 volt electrical work is pretty straightforward, but anything that could lead to our home becoming the smoking backdrop for the evening news is something that I will save up and pay someone else to take care of.

Don’t even get me started about the ductwork and plumbing around here.  We’ll be talking all night.