I am remodeling the kitchen and when I tore everything back to the studs, I found quite a few wires that were chewed by rats.
The wires that I am mostly concerned with are the ones that appear to be the main feed to the breaker box.
In this picture, the 2 grey wires enter the condo from the garage. The one on the right goes to my breaker box downstairs and the one on the left goes to my neighbor's condo.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261655
The following 2 images show the rat damage on my line (about 6 feet into the kitchen). Of the black wires inside the loom, 2 have been chewn through enough to barely expose the silver wire underneath.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261647
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261649
This image shows the damage on my neighbor's grey loom (about 3 feet into my kitchen). It isn't as bad and appears to have just broken the surface of the grey insulation.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261653
The following images are of some damage to the 120v wires.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261651
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261652
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261654
My question to the forum is this:
Regarding the grey looms...does the damage to the wires look to be bad enough to warrant more than a good wrap of electrical tape?
If so, what would my options be for a fix? I would imagine that for a splice on a loom of this size a panel would need to be installed, no?
Regarding the 120v wires, I would assume that I could create a splice inside a box to remedy the damage? Does that sound like the correct solution? Or perhaps some electrical tape will be enough? The copper on those wires isn't exposed.
Lastly, anyone have a guess on how much a professional would charge to fix this damage?
I'm in Southern California and my condo was built in 1979.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
-Peter
The wires that I am mostly concerned with are the ones that appear to be the main feed to the breaker box.
In this picture, the 2 grey wires enter the condo from the garage. The one on the right goes to my breaker box downstairs and the one on the left goes to my neighbor's condo.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261655
The following 2 images show the rat damage on my line (about 6 feet into the kitchen). Of the black wires inside the loom, 2 have been chewn through enough to barely expose the silver wire underneath.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261647
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261649
This image shows the damage on my neighbor's grey loom (about 3 feet into my kitchen). It isn't as bad and appears to have just broken the surface of the grey insulation.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261653
The following images are of some damage to the 120v wires.
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261651
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261652
http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?image_id=261654
My question to the forum is this:
Regarding the grey looms...does the damage to the wires look to be bad enough to warrant more than a good wrap of electrical tape?
If so, what would my options be for a fix? I would imagine that for a splice on a loom of this size a panel would need to be installed, no?
Regarding the 120v wires, I would assume that I could create a splice inside a box to remedy the damage? Does that sound like the correct solution? Or perhaps some electrical tape will be enough? The copper on those wires isn't exposed.
Lastly, anyone have a guess on how much a professional would charge to fix this damage?
I'm in Southern California and my condo was built in 1979.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
-Peter
