Electrical Woes

I've alluded to our electrical woes a few times over the past year, but since I did very little in terms of working on the electrical, I have shared very little of what was going on.  Now that it's time to button up the attic (and the insulation that was moved for the electrical), I figured it's as good a time as any to get write about our major electrical project this year.  Last year, we upgraded our panel from 100 amps to 200 amps.  And this finished upgrading all the wiring into the new -and much improved- system.  

The Plan

This year, we had planned on a few smaller electrical projects: switching out our electrical for the new HVAC system to get rid of our gas-fired furnace, and adding a bathroom to our basement.  After a few hiccups on specifications for the ducted blower, we got that electrical installed without much issue.

We have been running on our heat pump now in heat mode for a few weeks, and in cool mode for most of the summer.  It's been a great piece of technology for our house.  The biggest benefit has been the reduced humidity throughout and an easier way to manage humid air in the house. 

We have also been with our second bathroom and our upstairs vent fan for over a month, and it has been a huge bonus to how we are living in the house.  We have easy water access in the basement, kids' bath and shower times are a lot smoother, and the vent fans provide another moisture-management tool.  As old houses get sealed with new technology, managing ambient moisture indoors becomes even more essential.

Surprise Problems

The day we had the roofing permit issued and part of the old storage room electrical demoed by the electricians, we had one of the most damaging hail storms that Minnesota has experienced in decades.  The hail tore through our roof vents, and since we were already prepping to get a new roof, we weren't as concerned as we should have been.  Since we had plastic box vents instead of a ridge vent, this left large holes in our roof.  

It didn't take much coming through to knock out half of the electrical in our house.  The roof leak damaged electrical systems enough to take out most of our upstairs electrical systems.  I'd just had the electricians out to do some work, so they came back right away to help diagnose what was going on and come up with a game plan to fix it.

Repairs and Upgrades

Since our kitchen, bathroom, and kids' bedroom had previously been rewired from below, we were living on backyard solar lights and surge protectors for a few weeks.  Luckily, it was June, and the days were long. I had just been talking a few days before the electrical went down that we should consider upgrading our original knob and tube electrical wiring with new wiring in the next year, the house just chose to accelerate the timeline.  

We really lucked out with this project:  We had electricians we knew and trusted (who were already working on our house!), and we were able to give them easy access to every area they needed.  My only real caveats were that the crown molding needed to remain intact.  

Running Wire

Running the new wire was made easier for the electricians in a couple ways.  We had unfinished space above the old wiring, and gave them unchallenged access to the attic (huge thanks to my sister for lending us some storage space). I also have a lot of knowledge about our electrical system, and I was able to note nearly every spot that was still two-wire, working or not.  We were also able to get the kids out of the house for a few days (either at my mom's place or on a post-school vacation) to make it even smoother.  

There were a handful of places the electricians needed access to run wire from downstairs up into the attic, and we determined the best place to do so was through the wall in the hallway.  In the space where access holes were cut, they were able to add a receptacle and a light switch to the hallway light.  They also added a narrow trench along the hallway ceiling that will eventually be covered with molding.  

Overall, the cost for the additional work was much less than I had anticipated.  In my mind, we were saddled with an unexpected $10K -at least- in improvements.  But since we had the right circumstances, and the right knowledge of which circuits were new wire and which had old, we had it all done for a little under $2500 in electrical work.  I still have the attic insulation to address, and a handful of holes to patch, but now we're in really great shape with our electrical system.

Up next: in garden planting this summer, I found the electrical run for the garage barely tucked under ground, not in the protected coatings required for safety.  So, we'll have the electricians back when we get to the interior of the garage.  For now, I have the garage disconnected from power and we are now exploring adding a second service and giving me a real workshop out back.