...it's not a good idea to drywall right over the 66 block.

But don't worry, this is the same house where Verizon installed a NID without bothering to ground it (!!) and just cut the aerial cable where it went into the house and connected that to the customer side of the NID.

Then someone cut those cables inside what would be the basement ceiling, removed them from the circa-1945 protector and nailed a 2x4 over them. At least they were kind enough to run a 4-pair cat3 from the 66 block, and the 1945 protector, and something newer that looks like it dates back to 1975 (with the hex-head fuses, I think), through the basement ceiling (carefully placed between the floor joists and the drywall..guess they had no drill?) and out the side of the house opposite where the Verizon NID currently is.

I think their idea was to get Verizon to move the NID to that side of the house..a good one, considering the electric and cable TV services are connected to that side of the house, and the ground is right there..except they overlooked that before selling the house.

What a mess. I ran a cable along side the house from where the NID is now to the cat3 cable hanging out of the other side and told my friend to call Verizon to get them to move the NID, and oh, maybe hook a ground wire up to it while they're at it...

Sheesh, what a mess.

I installed an access panel in the basement ceiling to cover the hole I made. It looks very nice.

Anyone who'd finish a basement with out removable tile or suspend ceiling is nuts to begin with.

I had a very similar problem, fortunately the home owner remembered where he'd cover it up and cut it out for me.

What's a basement?

Anyone who'd finish a basement with out removable tile or suspend ceiling is nuts to begin with.

Yeah, well the DIYs and professionals alike are all nuts. I get them where they rock right over the porcelain bulb sockets then smear a heavy texture all over the ceiling. The lightbulbs now screw into the ceiling...

I've seen what you are talking about. Older houses here had the protectors screwed to the joists in the basement. Basement gets "finished" as above. Now all you see is the aerial drop going into the house someplace on the outside. When I get a call to trouble shoot, sometimes the protector has been hit, sometimes something else. If I can't find the problem with my "little saw" in a few minutes they are advised that the whole house will need to be rewired.

-Hal

Underground wire toner might do the trick. Course i'm not sure everyone has one laying around the truck.

Believe me, I've tried. It just bleeds all over, even to the electrical wiring. I just love to use my "little saw" on these people.

-Hal

Had someone call once for a couple of jacks. Get there & she doesn't want to see 1" of wire.

Her brother (who's a contractor) had finished the basement, gyproc everywhere. Hid the protector in the ceiling somewhere & he even covered the electrical panel leaving only enough room open to flick the breakers on & off.

Told her that was illegal and I don't work miracles. She never called back.

Dave

I was able to use a toner to find the 66 block. I was quite amazed about that.

Yea, someone also sheetrocked right over a light bulb socket in the laundry room, too.

well people use sheetrock to cover mistakes and bury the past, one place i was working in was offices in a larger building, they were renovating and pulled down a sheetrock ceiling, behind that ceiling were vestiges of the buildings former past as a grocery store. 10 feet!! above the sheetrock was a suspended ceiling and intact 4 tube 8 foot long flourescent lights, for the fun of it i put my meter on the lights and found they were still powered, they probably sheetrocked the ceiling with those old lights turned on and they eventually burnt out in thier tombs

That's Spooky!

Hey, they just a light for old Saint Nick on his yearly rounds. They just forgot that light bulbs and Flour. tubes need to be changed from time to time....

Dave

when i moonlighted for a major alarm contractor you should have seen some of the boners i saw. One place used to be a gas station, closed in the 70s, when they converted the guy instead of pulling the hoists out of the floor in the garage left them there. put 3 inchs of concrete over them to make em level with the office.
now 25 years later the old hoists started to leak. he had the environment people up his rear so quick, cost quite a bit to decontaminate the place, as well as demo the offices in the former garage to get to the hoists!

You would be amazed what you find behind sheetrock. I was doing a job in a major mall here in quebec where some sheetrock was pulled down in front of 3 of the anchor stores. at the Bay (major department store) there was a simpsons neon sign still there, simpsons folded into the bay in 1989, in front of another pair of stores there were steinbergs and miracle mart signs (2 stores owned by the same company that folded in the early 90s. What ever happened to removing un used wiring ETC these are signs that have not seen the light of day for 20 years and are still there preserved!

above the sheetrock was a suspended ceiling and intact 4 tube 8 foot long flourescent lights, for the fun of it i put my meter on the lights and found they were still powered...

I have an office customer that occupies a space with an 8 foot dropped ceiling. Normal tiles and grid until you pop up a tile and look above. The space could have been a Home Depot with 20 feet above the ceiling to the roof. There are even high bay HPS fixtures up there. Every time I have to run some wire I go out in the hall to an electrical panel and switch them on. Seems I'm the only one who knows what those breakers are for.

-Hal

Went to a friend’s house to put on some phone jacks in a newly finished basement... the electrician already pulled the wire before they drywalled. Of the 6 jacks only one would tone out. There were 8 wires at the 66 block… one toned out; I found another coiled above the water heater (?). After cutting a few big holes in the utility room the cables went through the wall and a beam by the steps, on the other side cut a small hole but no cables. He called the electrician who said “it must have been a bad box of wire or the dry wall guys cut ‘em, but for a price he could fix it.” My friend put an end to cutting his drywall so I put a 25’ cord on the working jack and said good day.

Have a friend who remodeled his garage into a family room. Talked him into a jack centered in every wall. Wasn't easy, he's tighter than a tick! He had a laundry room in 1 corner where all the utilities, including phone came into the garage from the basement. Wanted a jack in the laundry room, so I used a 'biscuit' and also used it as a junction point. TOLD him, LEAVE THE JACK OPENING POINTED DOWN! That was Saturday. Monday evening he calls from the neighbors house, been trying to get the phone to work ANYWHERE in the house since Sunday PM. Yep, he turned the 'biscuit' straight up so it would be easy to plug in the phone. Full of water, and little green fuzzies. Scotchlocked the mess and discarded the jack. "Get a long line cord, Steve." "No, Steve, I'm not going to put another jack there. If you do, DON'T call me when the phones quit again!" John C. (Not Garand)

Contacts down or the dial tone frown