Appreciation post: A live wire under the flooring shifted how I handle tear-out

I pulled up some vinyl planks and spotted a bare wire still hooked to power. It clicked that trusting old installs is a fast track to getting shocked. How often do you test for hot wires when starting a demo job?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_nina2d ago

See I would've just assumed everything was dead before... that kind of find would definitely make me buy a tester. Guess you never really know what's live until you check.

aaron_cooper2d ago

Totally agree @the_nina, it's the old stuff that gets you. I grabbed a tester after almost screwing a cover plate into a live switch in my grandma's house. Her place had ancient wiring that looked completely dead, just a tangle of old cloth-covered wires. Flipped the breaker and everything, but that one random hot wire was still live. Ngl, I almost jumped out of my skin when the tester lit up. You really can't tell just by looking.