Thread: New adventures in panel stupidity

This was a new one for me this morning. 1940 house with finished basements (no permits for the basement). Buyers had wondered where the panel was when they did their initial walkthrough.

So not only was the panel protected by a wooden cover, the cover was blocked by the dryer vent.

Where was the deadfront? Tucked safely behind the furnace. Fat lot of good it does there.

Originally Posted by Welmoed Sisson

This was a new one for me this morning. 1940 house with finished basements (no permits for the basement). Buyers had wondered where the panel was when they did their initial walkthrough.

So not only was the panel protected by a wooden cover, the cover was blocked by the dryer vent.

Where was the deadfront? Tucked safely behind the furnace. Fat lot of good it does there.

But they did use that good aluminum dryer duct to lean against while pawing through the wires .

How did you report it?

First, that access to the panel was blocked. Second, the deadfront panel had been removed and replaced with a non-fireproof cover that was held in place with magnets, not screws, which made it a severe safety hazard.

There were other electrical issues in the house as well, and I recommended having an electrician address them all, and that fixing the panel problem would probably involve having to relocate the dryer and remove some of the framing around the panel.

Surprised or should I say shocked they did not put the washing machine rather than the dryer in front of the panel.