When a dinner conversation turned into a free consultation on knob and tube wiring

I was at a casual dinner with some friends last week, and the topic of home renovations came up. One of them, Mark, mentioned he found knob and tube wiring in his attic. Immediately, everyone looked at me, since they know I'm an electrician. Mark started asking if he could just cap the wires himself to save money. I had to explain why that's a bad idea, talking about fire risks and code issues. It got awkward because he seemed upset that I wouldn't give him a quick fix. Then another friend chimed in with a story about her uncle who tried to rewire a bathroom and shocked himself. The whole thing turned into a makeshift safety seminar, which was kind of funny but also a bit stressful.

2 comments

2 Comments

faithyoung2d ago

How do you gently steer those chats back to casual topics?

hernandez.oliver2d ago

Oh man, does this happen to you with your job too? I was at a barbecue once and a friend-of-a-friend found out I do HVAC work, then spent twenty minutes asking me to diagnose his noisy furnace over potato salad (it got real quiet, and everyone just stared at their plates).