I finally stopped ignoring the old phone lines in houses

I was working on a retrofit in a 1920s house in Pasadena, and the homeowner, Mr. Ellis, pointed to the old phone jack and said, 'That thing still has a dial tone, you know.' I checked it and he was right. I used it to run a communicator backup, and it saved the system when the internet went down for two days. What's the oldest wiring trick you've used on a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbaraschmidt1mo ago

Ever use old knob and tube for low voltage like @singh.jessica?

singh.jessica1mo ago

Last year in a 1940s bungalow, the old doorbell transformer was still live inside a closet. Honestly, I was just going to rip it out, but the voltage was perfect. I used it to power a new smart doorbell cam instead of fishing new wire. Tbh it was the cleanest install I've done all year.

park.tara7d ago

Found a similar setup in my own house with the original doorbell wiring. Just spliced in a new transformer right at the old box to keep the voltage steady. Saved me from running any new cable through the walls.