Hodge Podge Lodge

We've finally bitten the bullet and started work updating the living room ceiling. At first blush, this seems like a straight-forward project:

1. Take down soffit "ceiling".
2. Install electrical for new light fixtures.
3. Install new ceiling.

However. Dr U has had his hand in that ceiling. Nothing is simple where Dr. U is concerned.

Dad and the captain started removing the hundreds (possibly thousands) of screws holding the soffit to the ceiling.

Panel by panel, the plastic came down, revealing much less mess than we were expecting. To be honest, I expected: squirrels' nests, dead mice, 10000 spiders, and years of filth.

Instead we found insulation.

In true Hodge Podge Lodge style, it's several different types of insulation (pink, Roxul, and Styrofoam?), but for the most part it's fairly clean, if a bit.... random.

We also found electrical wires. A rat's nest of electical. Good ol' Dr U has just enough electrical "expertise" to be dangerous.

Plenty of "U" connections between two wires, which are then wrapped in electrical tape (marettes are for sissies, according to Dr. U.)

We have always had 3 recessed pot lights in the living room ceiling, but they've never worked very well (very dim). This weekend, we discovered why.  Dr U wired them in series, so each fixture was getting a fraction of the available current. We suspect this also explains why he had 120V floodlight bulbs in the fixture; he was hoping to fix the dimness with a "brighter" bulb.

*facepalm*

He is really just so. so. scary.

We've come to the realization that we can't, in good conscience, re-use any of Dr. U's existing electrical work (note copious hidden junction boxes).

Before we can proceed with Step 2 mentioned above, we need to sort out the mess and clean it all up. We bought 50m of electrical wire and a bulk package of marettes from Lowes. Eat Dirt, Dr. U!

And until then, we live with a roof that looks like this.