With the paint finally complete in the room, I was able to begin changing out the outlets and switches. The very first thing I did was make a big mistake. I disconnected the first 3-way switch without marking any wires. The second thing I did was make another mistake by installing everything completely before testing. That resulted in tearing everything apart and doing it all over again. And in the case of the 3-way switch, over and over and over again.
Friday after work, I started with the light and fan switch, figuring I could get that done fairly quickly. I ended up running out of daylight. When I started, I just had the standard switches, one for the lights and one for the ceiling fan.
I fitted the frame and got the light switch installed, then installed the fan switch. There was very little room left in the box because of 4 wire sets running through the box. I really had to jam the fan control in.
The first result looked really good.
But unfortunately, it didn’t work. So I had to take it all apart again. Let me say, the snap-in feature of the Adorne switches is great going in, but if you have to undo it, that feature really works against you.
When I got the mounting plate back off the wall, I found one of my light switch wires had come detached. Maybe that’s why it didn’t work? Maybe it pulled out when I was yanking everything apart? Hard to say. But here’s an idea of what kind of a rats nest was behind the plate.
I reconnected the light switch and made sure to test it out before committing it back to the wall plate. This time around, there seemed to be less space available. Even less so when I got to the fan switch. It was a pretty stupid amount of pressure to get them pressed in place. But they locked in and are secure. I shouldn’t ever have to take that back apart again.
That project was completed the morning after I started. The previous night after I ran out of daylight, I figured I could do a couple of outlets, since they just involved a couple of wires. All I needed was a small spotlight to work with. The end result of those was pretty good.
The next morning I also installed the security system panel, and none too soon. The system had been unplugged the entire time I was prepping and painting the bedroom, so the smoke detector had just started to beep out a low battery alarm. The final result of the security panel, light switch and outlet is:
The rest of the room will be done shortly and then it’s time for decoration and furnishing.