Found a dead short in a wall at a job site in Tucson last Thursday

I was running new wire in a 1970s ranch and kept tripping the breaker. Turns out a nail from a shelf installation had been slowly wearing through the insulation for years. Anyone else run into random hidden hazards during remodels?

2 comments

2 Comments

maxmurphy1mo ago

I pulled a live wire out of a wall in Phoenix a couple years ago that had been chewed through by mice right where it passed through a floor joist. The insulation was completely gone on a two inch section and it was just copper touching the wood. The whole house was probably one good rain away from a fire. Found five more spots like it when I opened up the walls. The homeowner had no idea their shelf nail was a time bomb, but mice are even worse because you never know where they got in. I still check every crawlspace for droppings before I start work now.

emerycarr1mo ago

Oh great. As if shelf nails weren't bad enough, now we got mouse wiring minigames out here.

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