Walked into a 1970s house last week and saw the original alarm panel still mounted in the basement

The thing was this old Ademco hardwired beast with those big round magnetic contacts and I almost wanted to leave it in place as a conversation piece, but the homeowner insisted on a full modern upgrade so I spent 90 minutes snaking new wire through knob-and-tube insulation instead.

3 comments

3 Comments

samreed16d ago

Why would you rip out a perfectly good piece of history?

henry_anderson5415d agoTop Commenter

My buddy Dave actually bought a house from the 1890s and the previous owner had ripped out all the original trim and replaced it with cheap MDF stuff. Said it was "too much work to maintain." Broke my heart honestly lol.

taylor_wells15d ago

Legit get where the previous owner was coming from though. Old trim can be a nightmare with all the lead paint, constantly chipping, and zero insulation behind it. Sometimes you just want a house that doesn't fight you every weekend lol.