Silly subject--electrical outlets
By dragon54u
@dragon54u (31636)
United States
March 7, 2008 9:14am CST
I bought my very first house last April and I'm so happy with it! It was built in 1921 so of course I wasn't expecting to have all the modern conveniences and I do very well without a dishwasher and tile floors and such.
But I'm stumped on why my little garage would have 4 outlets and my front bedroom only has one! How strange. My bathroom has 3 and yet the kitchen has only 2. The people who have lived here over the years and make improvements and modified the place have very strange priorities when it comes to electrical convenience!
1 person likes this
3 responses
@oneinchsidehop (39)
• United States
17 Mar 08
LOL! Years ago I moved into a one bedroom apartment above a garage, AFTER I moved in I noticed that there was ONE outlet in the apartment... in the bathroom!
None in the kitchen. None in the bedroom. None in the living room.
I ran an extension cord out to the entryway off the bathroom and plugged in a power strip. As I ran another cord to the living room I noticed wear on the floor in a rough line, and on the molding as it turned a corner... same with the bedroom and the kitchen.
The next day I called the landlord and asked about the outlets, and he said "oh you have to call the electric company and have them take care of that, the only meter on the building is for MY power, you have to take care of your own"
I got curious and removed the outlet in the bathroom, behind it were 2 extension cords, that were plugged in downstairs in "his" garage.
No wonder why he always complained about his electric bill.
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@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
17 Mar 08
HA!! Did you tell him about it?
I've lived in places with very few outlets besides this house I've bought, but it doesn't bother me very much. I'm not big on electronics, really. Having few outlets is little more than an inconvenience, it's just strange after living in modern houses for the past 30+ years!
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@oneinchsidehop (39)
• United States
17 Mar 08
Tell him about it!?
He would'a thrown me out on my ear!
All I plugged in was the stereo and an alarm clock, I don't think I was too abusive. I'm sure the whole thing broke two or three hundred city and safety ordinances, so I figured I was doing a favor by not bringing it up. They tore it down 2 weeks after I moved out.
Ah, those were the days. Everything got so complicated after I bought a microwave.
Now that I think about it, it had an electric stove, and hot water heater, and there was a plug (single) for the fridge. He must have known they were wired in downstairs, but it sure sounded like he thought there was another line coming in somewhere. He sure was an odd duck, nice, but odd.
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@Sissygrl (10912)
• Canada
7 Mar 08
Well.. that is odd.. I once lived in an apartment that must have been a business or something at one point. it had an outlet every 2 feet or so along almost every wall. lol. WEIRD.
Maybe with your new home it has something to do with the way the electicity was wired into the house. In my old house where i lived with my mom, if you had one thing plugged in in the kitchen, there was another outlet that you just couldnt use because it would blow a fuse and someone would have to go downstairs and change it. I guess new houses have circut breakers now though huh ?
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@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
7 Mar 08
Wow, I have one extreme and you had the other!
Someone redid the electrical, I think, awhile back because I do have a modern-looking circuit breaker in the basement. Only had to use it once, when I turned on the back porch light out of curiosity and it turned out the electric to my study. Fuse didn't blow but I had to flip the switch.
I remember living in places like your mom's, though. It was always a challenge to juggle tasks while keeping the power on!
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@Sissygrl (10912)
• Canada
7 Mar 08
lol yea, like dont vaccume up the mess in the livingroom while you've got the microwave heating up your coffee! or you wont be able to see it to drink it and your'll trip over he vacume and fall down the stairs trying to get to the basement. oog!!
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@Loen210 (1540)
• United States
16 Mar 08
Ooh, just wanted to wish you congratulations, on your first house! Good for you! I am not an electrician at all, so can't really help you there. But maybe the past owners used the garage as a studio or a shed to do a lot of work like shaving wood and still blaring music out loud. Or even if it was also the outlet shed to plug in all thigns like lawn mower and such.
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