Happy Little Accidents
Finally Fixing the Fireplace Power
One old wiring mistake, one messy lamp cord and what should have been a five-minute job finally get sorted out.
I've developed a bad habit over the years. I'll get near the end of a project, see the finish line, and suddenly decide that one or two little details don't need quite as much attention as everything that came before them.
Then I live with those little details.
And look at them.
And occasionally mutter something about what idiot did that before remembering the idiot was me. Eventually, of course, I fix them, which invariably takes longer than doing them right the first time would have.
Bob Ross called them "happy little accidents." I'm not sure Bob ever had to crawl around the floor joists in the workshop correcting one seven years later, but we'll go with that.
This is the story of one of those little mistakes...and another small annoyance I decided to fix while I was at it. Let's get into it.
The Wiring Mistake I Somehow Missed
I don't know how this happened. Back in 2017 when I built the fireplace and bookcases, I went to great lengths to string the wiring from the circuit breaker box to the workshop, through pre-drilled holes in the floor joists and up through the floor into the dining room. But somehow.. some way... I missed this one hole...
I didn't even notice 'til maybe a year later. I smacked my forehead and added it to the list of things to do.
Cleaning Up the Mantel Cord
When I built the fireplace mantel, I knew I'd want to have access to the power outlet for a lamp, or Christmas lights, maybe even a radio (yes, a radio). So I drilled a hole and inserted a desk cable grommet.
I had this old Lady Justice lamp we picked up at an antique store back in Horseheads sometime around '93 or '94. The only problem was that it had one of those inline switches, so to turn it on and off, the switch has to be exposed. Not a big problem but as you can see in this next picture, the amount of cord jumbled about the base is low-key unsightly.
The solution was as simple as a wireless outlet with a remote! I'll show you the difference in a few minutes!
If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? – John Wooden
A Five-Minute Fix That Wasn't
My thought was that the solution would be as simple as pulling out the fireplace and inserting that wireless outlet, plug everything in and off we go. But after pulling the fireplace out and trying the placement of the wireless outlet with plugging in the fireplace and the light from up above, it became clear that the outlet facing out of the box just wouldn't work. There wasn't enough depth in the built-in to handle that approach.
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And, before I go any further tlet me point out that, as is always the case here at 173, what I thought would be a couple of minutes to get things plugged in, it turned out to be probably a good hour-and-a-half.
And instead of needing no tools, I ended up needing this batch as you see in the picture. That's just how things go here at 173 with every...single...project! I've come to believe the number of tools required for a House 173 project is inversely proportional to how simple I think the project will be.
Repositioning the Fireplace Outlet
So to make all of this work, I repositioned the outlet box to make enough space inside the fireplace carcass to plug everything in.
Here you can see that inline switch for the lamp, which now is under the mantle, and the lamp will now be managed using a remote control which makes everything so much neater on the mantel.
So, if you remember that first picture of the lamp, the cord was bundled up around the base and now (at the arrow), you can see where it just disappears below the mantel...a much tidier look!
Now that's what I had in mind. The lamp itself hasn't changed, and unless somebody had studied the before picture they'd probably never notice the difference. But the pile of cord and that inline switch are gone from sight, and the lamp can be turned on and off with the remote.
A tiny improvement? Absolutely.
But tiny improvements have probably accounted for half the projects at 173.
Finally, the Wiring Looks Right
Finally, after all these years, the wire us properly installed, going through each of the floor joists and routed properly!
And here's a close up showing how nice it ended up looking from inside the workshop. I even put more wiring staples in to keep it in place, nice and straight, and much more finished looking!
The Kind of Fix Nobody Sees
You could barely tell anything had changed just by looking.
And at the end of the day, that's it.
From the dining room, you'd barely know I'd done anything. The fireplace is back where it was, Lady Justice is still standing on the mantel, and everything looks pretty much the same.
Down in the workshop, though, that wire finally runs neatly through the joists the way I intended it to back in 2017. Upstairs, the lamp cord disappears through the mantel instead of gathering around its base, and I can turn the light on with a remote.
Nobody visiting 173 will ever notice.
But I know!
And sometimes that's reason enough to fix something.
Hey, thanks for stopping by, see ya' next time!
I knew there was trouble as soon as you said this would be simple. 😂
Plug something in, push the fireplace back, done. Somehow that became tools on the floor, wiring through the joists, and fixing something from 2017.
And the funny part is, nobody will ever notice.
But I get it. I've gone back and fixed plenty of my own work years later, not because I had to, but because every time I saw it I thought, "I really should've done that better."
Now it's right.
Sometimes that's the whole reward. - Rick in Racine
Frequently Asked Questions
Why reroute electrical wiring through floor joists?
Properly routing and securing cable can protect it from damage and produce a neater installation. Any routing through framing should comply with applicable electrical codes and cable-protection requirements.
What is a desk cable grommet?
A cable grommet is an insert fitted into a hole in a desk, shelf or other surface that provides a cleaner opening through which electrical or low-voltage cords can pass.
Should electrical cable running through exposed framing be secured?
Electrical cable generally must be properly supported and protected according to the applicable electrical code. Requirements vary according to cable type, location and local regulations.
Why fix a home-improvement mistake years later if nobody notices it?
Sometimes the person who made it is the only person who knows it's there, and that's enough. Small corrections can also make later maintenance easier and leave the work better than you found it.
Keywords
fireplace power, fireplace wiring, electric fireplace outlet, rerouting electrical wiring, built-in fireplace, fireplace mantel outlet, hiding lamp cords, wireless lamp outlet, cable grommet, DIY electrical project, dining room built-in, House 173