Home repairs are never as simple as they may first appear.
Why is it when a simple thing like adding a new light in the basement always turns out to replacing an entire hydro run?
As soon as you open a wall and see exactly what is behind it – you have to fix whatever has been there for years, even if it has never caused a problem before – as soon as it is spotted – it now has to be fixed!
I used to think this was the realm of car repair only – you take your car in for a simple oil change and the technician says that you *absolutely* need new ball joints, tie rod ends and struts. The first thought that always jumps to mind is that they are out to make more money for themselves by doing uneccessary work – or at least work that can be put off for a while yet.
The truth may be close to that, but these things probably do need to get done. As we as a society develop new technologies and as more and more of us die off from the implementations of previous technologies, we start to review some of our design decisions. I'm basically ranting right now about aluminum wiring. The feed line for the basement lights is still old alumnium which is clad in crumbling rubber and some sort of fiber cloth. As soon as I moved the damned thing it fell apart. Now I have to buy copper hydro wire. ARGGG!
The good thing is that I got the genius idea to add a new light above the fireplace and that may have stopped an electrical fire since this old wire was about to go anyway. That is also how I have begun to feel about the technicians who look at my car. It's all about perspective.