Steve vs The GFCI Outlet

So I have to admit, I'm not so good at doing things I've never done before. Duh, nobody is right? But my problem extends beyond not having the technical skill set. I don't tend to be very adventurous in new territories. Some people live for the thrill of trying something new.

But this weekend, as Katie mentioned yesterday, we started the process of renovating our bathroom. I told Katie that when we did this one, we weren't stopping till it was done. Our last major overhaul in the dining room/living room is at about 90 percent completion and needs probably 30 dollars worth of quarter round to finish. It's been like that for a while. Ok, like a year or more.

Stop judging me, Judgy McJudgerton. I'm a busy guy.

This project, however, I decided that we were going full tilt and putting all our extra time into getting this done. Thankfully, we have some very talented friends who helped us with a major portion of the work. All that was left is the easy stuff - trim, touch up painting, re-installing a new GFI receptacle and light, etc. Sounds easy right?

No.

It's not.

I attempted to install the receptacle, tested it, hmm, not working. Ok, maybe I wired it wrong. Pulled out said receptacle, re-wired it, tested it again, still not working.

*Angry words*

Pull out the receptacle, notice that wire had come loose. Put wire back, tested, still not working, and I'm pretty sure it's laughing at me now.

Oh, and if you've never messed with electrical stuff before, the wire isn't easy to work with. It's like trying to arm wrestle a gorilla.

*More angry words*
*Meltdown*
*Lying on bathroom floor in defeat*

Katie comes in and I kind of snap at her (ok - I really snap at her). She seeing my frustration very calmly says, why don't you call Remo. Remo helped us on the first job and used to be a contractor. I call him to ask advice, and 10 minutes later, he's at the house. 5 minutes later, the receptacle is fixed and he's out the door.

Turns out I had wired the thing completely wrong in the first place. Perhaps doing a little more reading in the future might be a good place to start.

The other lesson learned is that calling in reinforcements doesn't mean I'm weak. It means I'm smart. Eventually I'll get the hang of all this stuff, and I'll look back and laugh at all this.