The Important Stuff Behind the Walls

When we’re updating a house for its next generation of owners, we take infrastructure improvements seriously.  So that means the boring stuff - electrical and plumbing - get updated.  It’s a big expensive job, but it's critical to do it now, while the house is opened up and everything can be accessed.

How many trades can work in one room?  3!  Carpentry, Plumbing and Electrical

 

First step is electrical updates.  I learned a long time ago that a house of this vintage will have some active knob and tube wiring hidden in the ceilings and walls.  That’s been totally removed and we’ve replaced it with new, code compliant wiring.   All these boxes of old wiring will get recycled.

We’ve upgraded the service to 200 amps, to support the heat pumps and all the electrical demands that the home is likely to have.  Things have changed a lot since this house was last updated!  

Look at all that new wiring going into the brand new panel! 

And while we’re at it, we’re moving the service on the outside of the house to the side – because having that electrical meter right on the front of the house makes me crazy!  This was a big job that involved installing a new electrical meter, masthead and multiple visits from the electrical company.

There is always a debate about installing recessed lighting in an old house, since they’re certainly not original.  But, I’m a big fan of the soft, consistent light that the provide across a room.   And with the smaller, 3” lights, they’re not as obvious as they used to be.  We will also have a central light in each of the main rooms.

 

The biggest challenge on starting electrical at this point in the project?  I  have to select all the lighting and where it goes.  Knowing that allows us to get the exact placement we want.  For example, we didn’t have a fireplace mantle in the original house, so we did a mockup of its placement and then Steve and I decided where we wanted the sconces to go.

We had to mockup the new mantle to get the sconces in the right spot!

My plumber prefers to cut out all the old plumbing and start fresh.  And since we are adding an additional full and half bath, that totally makes sense.  

 

I love seeing all those new electrical wires and plumbing lines running through the walls!  It will practically be a new house!

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