That one electrician who laughed at my junction box placement still bugs me

I was rewiring my back porch light in my 1950s adobe house off Central Ave, and I had the box mounted on the outside wall under the eaves. This electrician buddy of a friend walks by, glances at it, and just goes 'you really put it there, huh?' with this smirk. No advice, no help, just a dig that made me feel like an idiot for a week. Has anyone else had a contractor or pro just drop a comment like that and walk off?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_davis1mo ago

Hold on, are you SURE he was laughing AT you and not just having a moment? I mean, you put a junction box under the eaves on an OLD adobe house. Those eaves are a nightmare for water runoff and critters nesting. Maybe he smirked because he knew you were gonna have to move it in a year anyway. I had a buddy who did exactly that and his box filled with mud the first hard rain.

riverwhite1mo ago

Yeah that hit a nerve for real. It's like people think they're being clever by pointing out what you did wrong without offering any actual help, and it just leaves you second-guessing yourself for weeks. I've noticed this pattern everywhere now - at work, at the gym, even just running errands. Someone will make a quick judgmental comment about your choice and walk away like they're some kind of genius, when really they just wanted to feel superior for five seconds. It's like people forgot how to say "hey I noticed this might cause issues" and instead just go straight to making you feel dumb.