Remodel #4

When the electrician first looked at the electrical plan he made some good suggestions. We added some outlets to conform with the newest electrical code and make one or two areas more convenient. When it came to outside lighting he made some radical suggestions. I, foolishly, did not detail these changes enough in my mind, thinking that he had understood my intention and simply suggested a better way.However, the outside lighting has never followed my desire. I want the lights to go off during the day, regardless of switch settings. That much is on the electrical plan (but not how he built it). I also wanted an outlet wired in parallel with the lighting sconces. Also on the plans. I also wanted a motion detector that would turn on lights if I forgot to turn them on before leaving.

This is where things went askew. I want the switches and motion detectors (front and rear) to be in parallel, so either the switch or the motion detector turns the lights on. Modern motion detectors have a 'feature' wherein the user can flip the switch and turn the lights on, but it resets at dawn. Not for me.

So today we cut holes in two walls so that we could run added wire between the switches (front and rear) and the corresponding pair of lights and outlets (also front and rear), thus powering them from the photocell which previously had only powered the separate outlets. We rewired the outlets and wall sconces to be in parallel.

We seem to have gotten the front lights working right before quitting time, but when I drove by after choir practice all the front lights were on — and the switch was ‘off’. That would be OK if someone had just walked by, but that is highly unlikely. So further investigation is required. (If I am smart I will go over before dawn tomorrow to see if the lights are still on.)

The rear lights were not working at quitting time, so Gus has to return anyway. I’m paying him by the hour for this, as I should have specified my desires at the very beginning. After all, specifying user requirements is what I did for other people for years. Why did I not do a good job for myself?

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