Hidden connections
We’re doing a lot of work to an obsolete warehouse built in 1927 in SE Portland. It’s too small to serve as a modern warehouse and, generally speaking, too large for the tenants who would consider the property and vicinity. For this building, and for many things in life, it’s change or die.
Our electrician somehow killed part of the power in a tenant’s space. We weren’t working in the tenant’s space. We weren’t supposed to be affecting it at all. Obviously, we did.
Older buildings are like this. Decades of changes by different electricians, plumbers, owners, tenants, and contractors make for fascinating puzzles. What is connected to what is not always obvious.
I enjoy this part of the work. Something unexpected happens and you get another clue about how the building really works. When we replace something or design around a problem, we sometimes discover an odd connection. Sometimes that connection reveals a much simpler solution.
That last possibility is especially satisfying.