I did a faux treatment to my kitchen walls. A yellow base and a light brown second coat rubbed over it created an orange effect. Some would call that shocking. That’s not the kind of shocking I’m talking about. My kitchen wall behind the sink was registering on my volt meter about 90 volts. THAT’S shocking.

I was applying mastic to the wall in preparation for tile when I discovered this bit of news. I got a shock every time my bare finger came in contact with it. I tried five or six times in different places because I was incredulous. Yep, as I touch it again, that’s an electrical problem alright.

I was applying new expensive tile to a hot wall. Rather than stop, I continued hoping that I could find and fix the problem later. After this discovery, I shut down all electrical power to the house before ever leaving. More than one person told me I could have the whole place down around my ears if I didn’t fix it. Ya think?!

Here’s where employing my daughter’s help was again invaluable. Anyone who’s tried rewiring an old house will agree that it really takes two people. One to yell up from the basement, “Pull harder" and one person to yell angrily back, “I AM and it’s not moving!" We weren’t having any fun.

By determining that it was just that wall that had the current in it, I set about tracing the wire that fed power to the outlets and lights. After turning off the circuit, I cut the wire coming from the circuit breaker and proceeded to pull the old wire down from the end of the run. But wait. I stood in the basement holding the end of the old wire in my hand. “You know, it would have been so much smarter to have attached the new wire to this first and then pulled it through." Duh.

There is a tool called fish tape that helps thread wire through such places. I didn’t have one. We accomplished getting the new wire into place with a device called the fish wife tool. Yelling and screaming back and forth to one another, my daughter and I were able to run the wire through the unseen path and reconnecting to switches and outlets in new junction boxes.

There is still a light above the sink that needs new wire and a fixture. T o approach this project we are waiting for the day when the hurt from the first experience isn’t quite as fresh in our minds.

Tools:
Wire stripper
Wire cutter
Philips screwdriver
Tape
Volt meter
Try to have a fish tape on hand