It's Electric, boogey-oogey!

Work is essentially constant at the house lately, and I'm having a hard time naturally segmenting the projects into posts. I promise I will try to document everything, but I am sincerely sorry if some of it is out of chronological order!

With the successful sign-off of our plumbing inspection, it was time to approach electrical. Thanks to the before-mentioned ghetto renovations by previous owners EVERYTHING had to be re-done. The Mike Holmes mantra of "if you're going to do it, do it right" continues to rear its ugly head throughout this process. Even our breaker box had to be moved, since its previous home on the wall was obliterated during demo to make room for a pennisula with breakfast stools. The box's new home is secure on the wall of our new laundry closet. LAUNDRY. CLOSET. *le sigh* Clearly, I'm righteously pumped about this future laundry location!

Let me preface the remainder of this discussion by mentioning that, to me, electrical work looks mostly like this... 

courtesy www.xkcd.com

Yet again, B saves the day by being handy enough to do most of the work on his own. Personally, I don't recommend this model if you are new to renovations, or do not feel comfortable, as electricity isn't something to handle lightly. Again, this is a permitted project and must be overseen and signed off by an electrician prior to inspection by the City inspector. Another family friend (Phil) was a fabulous addition to our team, and was able to button up everything B had started within one day. Keep in mind that for a rough inspection all wires must be visible, all staples should be in place, and outlet/switch lines should be stripped and capped. Since kitchens require a plethora of electrical (good lighting, plenty of lighting switches, and outlets for small, medium and large appliances) mapping out a diagram (however crude) is critical. If nothing else, it self generates a heavy shopping list for your local HD. A tip: buy more staples, they go fast! Also, keep a Sharpie around, with so many wires running everywhere it's nice to mark them when they reach the box. Here are a few crummy pictures from my phone (for now). 

Newly wired switch box with marked wires

Light switches for entering from the deck (plan ahead so you don't end up in the dark!)

An lastly, if you know enough to stay far away from electricity, never fear! You can still contribute to the project. Typically for me this would mean providing yummy homemade vittles, but under the circumstances the men will have to settle for the following...

Big A$$ sammich full of steak, thanks D'Angelo!