The damage is in the bathroom and closet that share an adjoining wall. It is definitely coming from above. There does not seem to be any damage to the floor. I would be terrified to try and use that electrical outlet, though.
I don’t really know what to do or even how to sort out responsibility in a condo, but the big problem is that my buddy, who is an idiot, noticed the bubbling in the walls twelve days ago but didn’t tell me. Still, he was also here three days ago and said there was definitely not a puddle on the sink. Seems like a slow leak.
The building is sending someone in the morning to the apartment above me to try and find the source of a leak, I guess, but frankly I don’t think they’re doing much.
What should I be doing here? I have carpet blowers, dehumidifiers, and a space heater running. I should have my own remediation service out tomorrow, yes, or just wait for building’s guy to give me an update? Most of the legal stuff I’ve looked at seems to indicate I’m kind of screwed unless I can prove negligence from wherever the leak is coming from.
Seems like it should be on the condo to find the leak, assign blame to the correct person if possible, or fix it and eat the cost if not.
I doubt you’re accomplishing much with all the blowers and whatnot. I’d just wait to see what they find tomorrow and take it from there. Nothing is going to rot or collapse or get moldy in the next few days.
Building had someone out today. Leak was determined to be in the apartment above me and they are currently fixing it. I have no idea if they are going to fix the damage in my place but I suspect not and I think in California it actually might be my responsibility, depends on the bylaws of my association.
My wife bought a new porch light. Our house is old so the junction box is ancient. The holes it has for the mounting bracket are horizontal (3 o’clock and 9 o’clock).
Every other (newer) one I’ve seen had mounting holes that are vertical or at a diagonal. If I put the mounting bracket there, though, it’s going to be in the way of the mounting holes for the fixture. They interfere with each other because the screws for the fixture need to be set into the junction box quite a ways.
I see smaller vertical holes in the junction box at 12 and 6 (no screws to fit, but I can go buy some). Can I use those holes for the mounting bracket? The one problem with that is that it could then rub against the wires of the fixture.
Any thoughts on this? I replaced porch lights on my old house but that allowed me to put the mounting bracket at a diagonal, which was easy and made me think I’m a pro. Do I just need to replace the junction box with something more modern (less annoying mounting holes)? Is that easy to do?
Thanks in advance, I am heated. This should have been a 10 minute project. Dang old houses man.
Bottom pic looks fine to me, although you might not have room to adjust the mounting screw depth if that is necessary.
I am not an electrician and this is probably bad advice, but I’ve found myself in similar situations many times over the years and decided anything that keeps the fixture in place is acceptable so long as the wires are connected properly. I reached this point after dozens upon dozens of trips to stores and supply houses where I failed to find anything suitable for what seemed to me should be fairly common situations.
Yeah if I do the bottom pic, the mounting screw depth could still be a problem as they will still hit up against the mount holes in the junction box. The cap nuts that came with the fixture are pretty short. I’m googling around to see if I can find a deeper cap nut.
I don’t know why I didn’t think of it, but I could just buy some shorter freaking screws to go from the mounting plate to the fixture. I can’t imagine that would really effect the ability to hold up the light? They’re just too long - maybe half the length would fit fine.
I agree with zikzak. Everytime my wife buys some new light fixture it never mounts to the existing box. I just end up doing whatever it takes to MacGuyver the thing in. I always feel bad for the guy who has to work on stuff after me.
If you do attack the screws with a hacksaw, thread a nut on them first. Then when you back the nut off it will clean up the threads and make it easier to put one back on again for the final connection.
There are various adapter plates that would possibly work.
As long as things are secure, the wires aren’t pushed hard against something hard/sharp, and the wire connections are made up well (most people do this badly - and it’s the most important part), it’s fine imo (and I’m an electrical contractor).
Thanks all - I ended up cutting the screws with my wire strippers - I always wondered what those holes were for!
Came out fine once that was done. I have only wired a few fixtures / elec heaters in my day and the live wire did feel “rough” to me, not smooth but dimpled. I examined it and didn’t see any copper, but it just seemed like being right next to the front door with opening / closing shaking the wall and metal brackets inside, it’s been scratched up a bit. See photos below. What I did was wrap it in electrical tape. That seem ok or with that roughness should I just call in a pro? Top pick had the biggest nick.
Thanks again for all the help / advice. I don’t have a dad I can call! :)
The roughness is fine. An actual cut through to the wire is not. You could almost cut it there and get a wire nut on it. Almost. Sometimes you can pull the romex there a get a couple/few more inches to work with. Some tape or heat shrink there is not the end of the world though if you do it well.
If that line really doesn’t go through the insulation it’s not a problem. Very thin outer layer peels off right? That’s a nylon jacket and not the insulation.
Thanks - it is tough to tell if it’s through the insulation. I didn’t think so, but I guess it worries me with electricity to rely on “don’t think so” rather than know. That is my best look at it unfortunately. I’ll open it up and take another look at it.
