Poor Electrical Work

As most of you are aware, we moved to Gainesville in June of 2008. When we purchased our home, it was four years old. This is the third home we have purchased, and each time we have bought a house we have also purchased a home warranty plan (which usually lasts a year). Well, whoever wired our home here in Newberry must have done it Monday morning after a weekend binge with Uncle Jack (Jack Daniels, that is). Thus far, the problems we have expeienced are electrical ones. I had purchased a new dryer in Missouri prior to moving to Florida. The home we had in Missouri had gas hook-ups, and the home in Florida was all electrical. I prefer gas hook-ups, but that's another story. When the truck arrived with all of our belongings, the washer and dryer were put in their spot and plugged in. When I opened the dryer door, the light bulb exploded. This was my first attempt to use my new dryer. It was really scary because glass shattered inside the dryer. I called the Maytag warranty department, and they came to look at the dryer. Come to find out the 220 volt plug had been incorrectly wired. We had to then call the home warranty company to fix the outlet. I don't know how the people that lived in the house prior to us didn't have any problems, but maybe it was because they never washed clothes. Maybe they did and just didn't disclose it in when we bought the home. Our next electrical problem came with the wiring in the ceiling lights. Donovan was installing ceiling fans in the bedrooms (yes, shocking I know that he was actually doing a household chore...a minor impersonation of his dad that occurs every blue moon), and the swich to the fan was not working. Well, the wiring in the ceiling was not wired properly, so we had to fix the wiring in the ceiling. This week we had another electrical problem. The dishwasher quit working, so I called the appliance repair man (who is getting to know me on a first name basis by now). He looked at the wiring in the dishwasher, and it had melted together. He said the electrican did not place the proper size screw over the wiring. There was nothing wrong with my dryer, ceiling fan, or dishwasher. It has all been electrical problems. I thought electricans were supposed to be bonded and licensed. The person that wired this house did a horrible job and obviously didn't know what he/she was doing.

The joys of home ownership! We will eventually move again and get another house. It would be really nice to stay put for 35 years like my parents, but I know we won't. So I just have to hope I can have my next home custom-built. I would really like to have my brother-in-law Mike to be my contractor. He is very meticulous and would make sure things were done right. Those Whimpey engineers do a good job! If you haven't seen Mike and Annette's home, you should go inside (I can arrange a tour for a nominal fee if anyone is interested). He built it from the ground up. He did have a few things contracted out, but it's a beautiful home. I know everyone has housing issues, but I hope you had a good electrican (or a handy-man father-in-law who lives nearby!).