So, in my last post, I mentioned the door chime. Remember where it used to be? It was right next to the door.
Well the box idea came in and that all changed. It was now going to go around the corner in the "dining area". So, when I removed it I didn't pay much mind to wiring or how it was connected(really, who does?) so I was left to my own devices. That said, I decided it would be nice to extend the wires and make sure things were set up for the future. So, I tested things and got things working again. Added the wire and then stapled everything into place.
When I finally finished getting the boxes in, I went to wire it back up and *SURPRISE!* it wouldn't do a thing. Tons of testing, no real instructions(they had been painted over by the previous owner), and no real doorbell. I had my electrician buddy come over and we thought we had finally figured out what was what. Cool, right? I believe during all the testing that we may have fried out the motors to the lovely old bell that I had. When I finally got it up and ready to go again, it just didn't have the oomph. Well, now what? I found a guy in Eureka who rebuilds chimes and sells them or you can send him yours. I was pretty floored by the cost of the procedure. By the looks of my old Liberty bell, it wasn't an expensive chime and really wasn't worth it. I do love to reuse my originals in the house but I wasn't about to invest hundreds in a door chime when I'd never recoup such a cost. Sure, it's a great stylistic component of a house but it's not going to make or break someone's view of the house.
I started looking on eBay and even found a cool clock chime that would have gone in a different part of the living room. But, when it arrived it was shaken up and things didn't work right. I returned that at a bit of a loss(the seller was really nice) and was back at square one. I continued my quest but I finally found a new doorbell that I felt would work well in the area. I've since learned that long bell chimes really aren't made anymore but by custom makers and that most newer bells are electronic and pretty lame. I found this nice sunburst one with dark brass chimes and it its simple two toned chime.
I'm ultimately satisfied after this whole debacle. I've learned two major lessons: ALWAYS mark and remember how something was hooked up and always be prepared to go back to the drawing board.
