I thought things had been going well until I got an email from our contractor tonight saying that his electrician had looked at the potlights in the basement. Since we're modifying the layout down there, we decided to change the way the lights are controlled too, which meant he had a look at all of them. And apparently he says that all the fixtures are damaged, with wires bare, and though they're installed in an insulated ceiling, they're not insulated ceiling fixtures and must all be replaced to be up to code.
I'm about ready to descend into panic, because there are shitloads of potlights all over the house. I mean TONS. And this is 4000 sq ft of living space. I think the seller had put insulation between all the joists in walls and ceiling to cut down on noise and heat transfer, and am afraid that he installed inappropriate fixtures throughout the house. There are 15 existing potlights in the basement. I would guess that there are somewhere over 80 in the rest of the house. At $125+GST a pop to replace and reinstall, if the others aren't up to code either, we're looking at a surprise $13000 added to our reno costs. Which were estimated at $29000 to start with. We certainly weren't planning on that at this point - figured a 10-20% overrun would be expected, but no more than that. DH doesn't even want them to look at the fixtures upstairs to see if something's wrong there, but I need to know that we'll be safe there, and our baby will be too. It's one thing if there's a problem with water, or a minor problem with the HVAC system. But the electrical? I don't think I could sleep at night if it's truly bad.
I haven't found a gas shut-off valve for the gas cooktop and stove either, nor for the gas fireplace in the master bedroom. I hope those exist somewhere, because if not, we may have to get someone to come in and fix those too. I'm not impressed right now.
The move-in of stuff from my hometown went pretty well. They underestimated the time it would take slightly, but I was more accurate. We'll see how long part 2 takes on Wed, and then we'll be in the new house. For better or worse, richer or poorer. I hope it won't be for broke!
I wonder how much of the construction the former owner did himself vs how much he contracted out to licensed people. It's very disappointing to me right now that we've blown our life savings on this house, with two good inspection reports to back up our decision, only to find that we can't trust the work that was done on it.
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4 comments:
Oh man, I can understand why you're stressed. And I'm totally with you about electrical stuff: it's very important to know everything is safe. A couple things occurred to me, though, reading your current situation.
First, I seem to recall that there are uninsulated pot lights that are rated up to code for an insulated ceiling. (But perhaps this is different in each province? Or maybe the laws have changed?) I don't know, but it might explain why your inspection reports didn't note anything in the electrical inspection. Contacting whoever did that inspection might be a worthwhile plan. It also might be a good idea to speak to another reputable electrician who has no relationship with your contractor. Just in case.
The other thing I was thinking is that "up to code" often applies to things being upgraded, but work that's been done in the past does quite often fall under an exemption until such time as the owner plans on making certain kinds of changes. My own house is over 60 years old, and while the electrical has required upgraded materials in many areas over the years (which previous owners have done) in others we've been told it's safe (and legal) to leave it alone till we modernize fixtures, etc.
Of course, every situation is different. I've got my fingers crossed for you. Your reno is such a stressful thing right now... I'm so sorry you're having to deal with it.
(Sorry for the ridiculously long comment!)
I find do-it-yourself-by-previous-owners renos to be the worst. At least, if you fix everything now professionally, it will work for ages.
I'm so sorry that the previous owners did crappy work. I hope you will find that the problem only lies in the basement and the rest of the house is just fine. Good luck. You don't need this stress right now!
I would definitely have the lights assessed by someone else...that is quite a tidy sum of money!
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