Several posts ago I shared some videos of the, er, shall we say imaginative electrical “planning” in the basement. Last night I worked to dismantle the festooned conduits. The lines I took down yesterday mostly serviced the first floor outlets, but they were all run along the ceiling of the basement, preventing me from taking down drywall. Surprises were in store from the outset as the first junction box I opened rained roach carcasses down.

Roach-filled Junction Box

Fortunately they weren’t all that way. Most of them were so full of wires they couldn’t really accommodate a roach oasis. I had to cut power to one of the basement lights, which unfortunately was the living room where the debris pile is located. I’ll be using work lights for the time being. One of these lines was a particularly scary bit of electrical-taped wire segments strewn across the laundry room plumbing, so I was glad to get that removed as it seemed more than a little bit of a fire hazard.

Wire Bonanza

Getting this out will make it a lot easier to remove the rest of the ceiling drywall, though the discovery that there are actually five gas lines running from the meter at the front of the house to the utility room in the back will complicate things. I knew there were at least three, but five? Almost all of them are going to be in the way when the center beam is replaced because they run down either side. Most are mounted to the drywall, so I’ll either need to disconnect them or work around them. Let me tell you, shutting off the gas for extended periods in winter while I remove and re-route lines sounds like a lot of fun.

In any case, I’ll at least be able to report progress to my insurance agent the next time they call asking for an update on the three issues they had with the house: the roof, the garage, and the electrical.