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Spent three hours on a simple switch replacement in a 1920s house
The old wiring in this Portland home had been painted over so many times the box was basically glued shut with layers of paint. I had to carefully chip it all out without damaging the plaster, which added a huge chunk of time to a 20 minute job. Do you think it's fair to charge extra for that kind of hidden mess, or is it just part of the risk with old construction?
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logan2712mo ago
Three hours on one switch is brutal.
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beth_kelly2mo ago
Especially when it's a cheap one that just feels mushy.
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barbaradavis13d ago
Heard from a guy on a tech podcast once that cheap mushy switches actually have a totally different mechanism inside, like a rubber dome that wears out way faster. They said the whole thing relies on a tiny silicone nub to register keystrokes, so after a few months of heavy use it just turns into a sad, squishy mess. Makes sense when you think about it, because those cheap keyboards are designed to be disposable, not to last. Totally different world from mechanical switches that click or clack and actually have metal contacts. I'd rather have a loud keyboard that works than a quiet one that feels like typing on mashed potatoes, you know?
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skyler2172mo ago
My buddy built a whole keyboard with those blue clicky switches once. The sound was like a room full of angry typewriters. I swear you could hear him typing from two floors down in his apartment building. He had to switch them out after a week because his girlfriend threatened to make him sleep on the couch.
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