Electrical switches

[JimD]

The thread on the neat switch cover and comments on flipping the switch made me think of one of the issues I have with our new-to-us house. Really we've been in it over a year and I just haven't gotten to this yet. I think that the first switch in the cover should be for the overhead lights closest to the switch. All the time, no exceptions. When I did the finish electrical on the addition last year, I was careful to do this. I also like to have a separate switch for the ceiling fan. So when I wire those switches, I just make sure the hot lead for the light goes to the switch closest to the door. Not that hard. But I have one location in the house where the fan switch is the first one and the light is the second. I can't imagine anybody wanting it this way. To me it is just sloppy.

I redid all the switches in the last house to make them this way. I tried to get the contractor to do it and, although he agreed he would, he never did. So I just did it myself and kept the money I was holding back until he completed the punch list.

Am I too picky?

 

[tarheelz]

No.

You likely will need to pay him however, if he insists.

 

[Hmerkle]

The thread on the neat switch cover and comments on flipping the switch made me think of one of the issues I have with our new-to-us house. Really we've been in it over a year and I just haven't gotten to this yet. I think that the first switch in the cover should be for the overhead lights closest to the switch. All the time, no exceptions. When I did the finish electrical on the addition last year, I was careful to do this. I also like to have a separate switch for the ceiling fan. So when I wire those switches, I just make sure the hot lead for the light goes to the switch closest to the door. Not that hard. But I have one location in the house where the fan switch is the first one and the light is the second. I can't imagine anybody wanting it this way. To me it is just sloppy.

I redid all the switches in the last house to make them this way. I tried to get the contractor to do it and, although he agreed he would, he never did. So I just did it myself and kept the money I was holding back until he completed the punch list.

Am I too picky?

If it was on your punch list and he didn't do it - you ahve a right to hold back. If you don't have any documentation (and now you completed the work) you created a "his word against yours! (typically you lose!) - hopefully he is honest and does something for you...

 

[JimD]

The punch list was documented on the final closeout of that house, in 1999 as was the hold back for it. I hired the same contractor last year to put my shop garage and some other areas onto our current house. He is definitely not upset about this aspect of the other house. It might have been a reason he didn't resist me doing the electrical final on the addition, however. He likes to do things that "look nice" but struggles with the little stuff at the end. He's willing to give up some money to not have to mess with it. Probably like most general contractors, especially small ones, he struggles with subs who do not do what they promise to do.

 

[zzdodge]

Am I too picky?

No, I have wired a couple of houses that I have lived in, and I wired them all that way.

The other thing I did was to make sure that each room had outlets fed by more than one circuit breaker. I think that went too far, and it might have made more sense to have outlets grouped in the panel box as "bedroom 1" "bedroom 1" etc.

Known for a little overkill, on the last house I built, I could only get double wide boxes in plastic, the day that I was roughing in the wire. Since I had a party of people doing it, I bought the double wides. Substantial ridicule was directed at " the guy who built the perfect house for an ugly lamp party." Today, most of those outlets are used, and there are fewer power strips than seen in many homes.

Doing it again, the kitchen should get 2x the number of outlets installed. That exceeded code by over 2X at the time. It is a pain unplugging the toaster to plug in the mixer, etc.