1 light switch = lights in 3+ rooms

[irishwalleye]

Purchased a foreclosure -- had house inspected but inspector did not notice one strange thing.

The light switch in my dining room controls, 1) lights in the room, 2)a light in my basement 3) the lights in my garage.

It also appears at least one more outlet in my living room, plus a microwave are on the same circuit. Just how unsafe is this?

To make things worse, unless you want to leave the dining room light switch on, you cannot have any lights in my garage (which include a full staircase).

Violate any Minnesota, Wright County codes/regulations?

Covered by homeowners warranty I purchased?

[merkman]

Sometimes I wonder if paying a home inspector is not just throwing your money away?

My first step would be to go to the guy you paid to do the home inspection and ask why he did not catch it.

If he is worth his weight he will stand behind what he is selling. If you have the same experience I have had in the past with home inspectors, he will blow you off.

I would be interested to see what kind of results you get with your home inspector.

[jeffreyd]

I would think not only MN and county codes but the NEC and NFPA codes as well. Did they catch the GFI that are in the bathrooms and kitchen? When i bought my house, the island did not have GFI and the sink is in the island. The house was 9 yrs old when we bought it. Called the builder and they came out and fixed. Might also be an avenue to go down if it is not up to code. good luck

[JohnMickish]

You need a light switch at the top and bottom of the stair case, so yes, this is just one of the code violations.

[caseymcq]

I guess I am not the only one who owns a home that was wired by someone drunker than an Irish guy on pay day.

A switch in our living room that was supposed to be a three-way also killed the lights in our kitchen and the fridge . The FRIDGE for cryin out loud. We are lucky we never came back to a fridge full of rotten food.

I added GFI in the kitchen (wasn't one near the sink) and when I tested it out the wife yelled from the living room, "Hey the TV just went out!"

[crothmeier]

that sounds like my house. i have 3 breakers that i have no clue what they are for, there are wires goign to them, but i cannot figure out what they are hooked up to.

[OnAFly]

I'm in the same boat. We have a switch which shuts off the dish washer. Half of our light switches are outside of the rooms they are for and it took me a month to figure out why our hallway lights kept turning themselves off (motion lights )