While we had the electrician out to raise our power line mast to a safe height above the house we also had her make a couple cosmetic changes. NOTE: These were not DIY projects. Both Joe and I are a bit scared of electricity plus these were more involved and not something we were about to tackle.
First was fixing the electrical issues in the garage. While having the garage door opener plugged into a light socket wasn’t dangerous it was not correct and we really wanted some additional light in the dark garage.
First was fixing the electrical issues in the garage. While having the garage door opener plugged into a light socket wasn’t dangerous it was not correct and we really wanted some additional light in the dark garage.
So with the go ahead from us, our electrician rewired the opener, put in a new outlet, and added two additional lights. It look her less than an hour and now there is so much more light in there when we are getting stuff in or our of our cars at night. Plus we got them to throw in this part of the quote for free :) which makes it even better.
Next came the new bathroom outlet. Now this was something that we really didn’t need but I just really wanted. Since we got the garage fixes for free it made it easier to splurge on this.
The original setup had just one outlet tucked in the corner. Not only was it a bit difficult to get at but it also didn’t hold a plug - so really we didn’t have even one well functioning outlet.
The original setup had just one outlet tucked in the corner. Not only was it a bit difficult to get at but it also didn’t hold a plug - so really we didn’t have even one well functioning outlet.
And there was a perfect place on the left side of the mirror for another outlet that would fit perfectly above the counter top there.
Not being an electrician myself I really had no idea how difficult this might be to put in an outlet there. Apparently it was pretty difficult. She had to climb up into the attic and tap the electrical box that was up there to feed a wire down through the studs where she could pull it out into the wall socket. No idea exactly how that all worked but after about an hour and a lot of insulation bits on the floor from when she climbed in and out of the attic, we ended up with this:
You can see the area where I am spackling (I couldn’t wait to take the picture) as she started cutting lower down but ended up having to move it up as it was too close to some piping that also runs behind that wall.
She also replaced the other outlet too so now we have TWO fully functioning outlets versus zero. These are also special GFI outlets. They have a plastic barrier inside them that makes you push both your plug prongs in at the same time to slide over/through the plastic barrier. It takes a bit of pressure to get plugs in but there is no risk of them falling out and it is a safer outlet as nothing can be stuck into just one of the "eyes" as our electrician called them.
Now I am all set to have a pre game party with a bunch of girls over to get ready! I even tested it and you can have say a hairdryer and a straightener going at the same time and it doesn’t short circuit. We all know that getting ready can be the best part of the night and I am totally prepared for that now.
She also replaced the other outlet too so now we have TWO fully functioning outlets versus zero. These are also special GFI outlets. They have a plastic barrier inside them that makes you push both your plug prongs in at the same time to slide over/through the plastic barrier. It takes a bit of pressure to get plugs in but there is no risk of them falling out and it is a safer outlet as nothing can be stuck into just one of the "eyes" as our electrician called them.
Now I am all set to have a pre game party with a bunch of girls over to get ready! I even tested it and you can have say a hairdryer and a straightener going at the same time and it doesn’t short circuit. We all know that getting ready can be the best part of the night and I am totally prepared for that now.