All of a sudden the light switch went on

 

Inertia is the enemy. Particularly when it comes to home maintenance. Stucco cracks remain unpatched. Leaky faucets continue to leak. Or, since they're in bathrooms that no longer get used, water valves are shut off. 

And faulty light switches, which control overhead lights I never liked since installation are simply ignored. That is until now. 

With my new hip in place and my mobility currently at 85%, I decided it was time to unleash my inner Bob the Builder. Or in this case, my Rich the Rewirer. This is more than a passing fancy and is actually a necessity, as I plan to downsize myself out of this 2400 square foot abode, annoyingly adjacent to a white trash family of an 80+ year old mother, her two losers son (both in their 60's) and a Malinois Shepherd that has been barking non stop since 2015.

Last week I had an electrician come to the house to look at some fixtures that needed fixing. With his trusty Voltameter 9000+™ he discovered a couple of them were getting power. They just needed to have their custom halogen light bulbs replaced.

Two light switches however — like the Lutron DV-603P, my favorite from the vast Lutron collection — needed to be swapped out for new ones. An hour after he left the house, he sent me an estimate. He wanted more than $1500 to switch out two switches.

Pardon the pun, but that was shocking.

I'm no fan of tinkering with projects that are electrical in nature. But a long time ago, I did hang the massive light fixture in the dining room. And I have installed a garbage disposal. So I'm not exactly a rookie.

I've been zapped before and don't need to do that again. Especially at this advanced age. And because my body now encompasses several large pieces of titanium (hips.) Not sure if Titanium conducts electricity, but I am sure I don't want to find out.

So I put on my big boy pants, and dialed up a YouTube video. It all seemed so simple. And hardly worth shelling out two car payments. Again, for lights I never use, but potential renters might.

As any DIYer knows, reality is never as simple as a YouTube video. 

I found the appropriate breaker. Removed the faceplate. Undid the nuts holding the switch into the box. And found something that barely resembled the one in the video. There were three wires instead of two.

Nevertheless I persisted.

To make a long story short (a bad word choice for a post of this nature), I'll turn it over to my trusty iPhone.

It took me about an hour, including a trip to the local hardware store, manned by a grumpy guy who knows little about hardware and even less about service, to switch the switch. The toughest part was stripping the thick 14 gauge wire. Wirestripping, which requires a certain finesse and dexterity that don't suit my still-fat fingers, is not my strong suit.

But as you can see, I did it. And I'm exceedingly proud that I did it. More importantly, it all works.

I like to think I've done my part to dispelling the myth of the Unhandy Jewish Man, one DV-603P at a time.