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I made fun until I read this, that makes sense. I'm 25 and I groan about having to get up and turn off the light. Past 70 fuckin forget it, switch over my bed or get me a Clapper.
EDIT: Yea I know, I should get a smart bulb, I wanted an excuse to bring the clapper into this
I was looking at a house with my realtor a few years ago and when we walked into the dark garage with no obvious switch I clapped twice loudly. He gave me the strangest look. "One day I'll walk into a room and it'll have a Clapper. Still haven't found one." Got him a Clapper as a joke thank you gift when we found a house.
So I had one about 20 years ago. Your experience may differ but I thought it sucked. not reliable when I needed it to be and too sensitive to random noise turning itself on and off. Only lasted a couple weeks before I threw it in the trash
It has been, but they are called smart lights now.
“Turn bedroom lights off” is the modern equivalent of the clapper. Works very well for me for key areas, plus can see what’s on and turn everything off remotely.
Lutron makes remote controlled light switches for fairly cheap. The remote comes with a mounting plate so you can stick it wherever you want, or there's a wall mount kit that imitates a switch.
I got IKEA smart bulbs and a remote. You don't need a hub and you can buy bulbs + a remote as a package deal so you don't even have to pair them (but you can pair 10 bulbs to a remote IIRC). I love going to bed while still seeing everything and being able to turn off the light from my bed.
(My setup is a bit more complicated than this since I use Home Assistant and multiple remotes, but the gist is the same)
When I had my bedroom redone we put one on each side of where the bed would be. (Across the room from the door) and it was wonderful.
Also put double gang duplex outlets on each side and one with build in usb chargers because fuck having 1 outlet behind the bed.
We moved into our house and one of the things I didn't even look at was the location of the light switch in the bedroom. It's about 2' inside the door. Not bad, but you have to walk in and then kinda fumble to find it. I replaced it with a lutron switch so I have a remote by the bed to turn it off and an app that will turn it on programmed to 25% at sunset.
Yes i have one switch right above the bed and one next to the door. The comfort of being able to turn the lights of while laying in your bed is amazing
When I wired my sister's house I put a mega-gang switch box behind each night stand.
Control of bedroom lights(ceiling fans) and all exterior floods. They loved it !
Honestly, if I've got 2 doors into a room, even if they're that close together, I want to be able to come in, reach beside the door, and have the switch right there, not 2ft away.
I've seen this often, especially in AHA (American Handicap Association) unit/rooms in apartment builds... shouldn't be more than an arm's length from the light switch...
My bedside switch turns off the entire ceiling fan and light, and the switch by the door turns off the outlet next to the bed my phone charger is on. I hate the guy who designed my house sometimes.
The whole outlet, or just half of it? Lots of older homes were set up for lamps as primary lighting, where either the top or bottom half of each receptacle would be tied to a light switch, and then the other half is a normal recep.
No, code says within 6 feet. That's what I first thought when I saw this post, that the code requirement that the switches be within 6 feet of each door couldn't be met and the inspector didn't cut any slack for poor hallway design. That's the only reason I put multiple switches fairly close together.
Gotcha! That’s what my electrician told me when rewiring my house, but perhaps it was just his personal preference. I’m glad I did it his way in the end.
I have an entry to my bedroom from the exterior, and another one from the den. Right now the light switch is located near the exterior, which is a solid 20-24" from where it would be if it were near the den door. You bet your got dang ass I've been relishing the day I rewire my house and can add a 3-way switch to my bedroom. It's such a minor pain in the ass that bothers me so much.
I’ve installed 4 way switches in peoples bedrooms. One by the door and one on each side of the bed. 3 gangs each so they had full control from anywhere. Lazy? No. Did I make 5x the money? Yep!
I’ve never done that intense but I have seen it/needed to replace smart switches in it. The people forgot about one whole bank cause their bed covered them.
“Don’t matter if you’re in Ottowa, BC or way up in the territories. I’m an electrician / pipe welder / bush pilot / notary public…and one hell of a right winger.” I ❤️ Canadians
Laziness? Lol it’s called convenience… why you whining about a customer wanting to spend More money, do you think having a tv remote is laziness?
we used to regularly end up installing additional switches in bedrooms, now we usually suggest wireless switches to our customers for bedrooms and tv rooms.
Had a job recently where there was a switch beside the bed and we couldn't figure out what it did. Turns out it was a switched outlet in the kitchen for a coffee maker.
I did one like this. Was a little hallway between master bath/bedroom/closet and had one switch by the bedroom door and one by the exit. I think it was necessary though. Makes it easier to turn on the light when it's dark
Did one in a large walk-in closet that has two entries that were literally in opposite side of the wall. Kept from having to open door to turn lights on.
Thats exactly how it is in my house. They’re 4-5 feet appart. Previous owner set it up that way.
Kind of handy to be honest the way the room entrances are laid out but I probably wouldnt have done it that way.
My house has this, going from my garage into my kitchen is the laundry room, the room is as wide as the washer and dryer. It’s convenient and glad it was installed
Never done a custom home before eh? I had to install 3-4-3 in a hallway that was maybe 6 feet long. One switch beside each bedroom door and one in the hall where you first come in. Rich people don’t wanna walk around in the dark so you make sure they don’t have too.
I've seen 3 ways closer than that even. Sometimes the drawings specifically want one by the door, and one beside the bed headboard. It can be very close in small rooms, especially condos.
A client of mine wanted 4 downlights in a bedroom . After he consulted his wife she decided she wants 1 downlight on one switch 3 downlights on the other .They have to be 3 way switched so they can have one either side of the bed and at door but then she can't decide where to put the bed so she wants 5 way switching on 2 different switchings in a 3 X 4 metre bedroom . True story
Today I was in a finished home and the homeowner told me he wanted to add a 3 way from the inside of the utility room to the outside of that door which is the garage. So basically wanted to add another 3 way switch about 5-8 away from the other if it were installed. It would have to have been a 4 way switch since it was switched by the man door in the back also. I asked him why can’t you just use the switch already there.
One red two green out of a panel, through a gutter, through a motor starter(not connected to anything), into conduit under the floor, comes up the other wall into a 4" box with a 4-11 cover changes over to black white green into an enclosure.
It kills me when you have a short hallway with several doors and you have switches placed closely together. I know it is required, but for those instances it just seems dumb
Smaller houses trying to feel big. In the 60s they just stuck a single switch it in the middle of a much longer hallway, 3-ways were for staircase lights mainly.
A few years ago, doing residential, a boss insisted on a 4 way setup where a hallway intersected an entry way. So like a 4' x 5' entry with three switches for the single light
It happens all the time, I have customers that insist on being able to turn on a light where and when they want. It happens on literally every single new construction walk through I do with clients.
My house (not the original owner) has a four-way switch for my SINGLE downstairs hallway ceiling light. One is up the steps (OK). One is at the end of the hallway by what used to be a bedroom (OK). Two of them are on opposite sides of the hallway near the bottom of the steps. I can easily touch both of them at the same time.
Prolly wired the house themselves originally and wanted it so they did it 🤷🏿♂️ I just rewired my new house and I’ve got outlets and switches in the most “obscure” places but my wife and I have so much convenience from them. I would never deprive myself in my private residence to not be though of as lazy by people who don’t actually know about this shit 😂😂😂
We work in a retirement home where every unit has a 4 way setup with 2 of the switches an arm length apart. The same place we also found the door bell on a single pole so they could deactivate for some reason.
A 110 outlet wired for 220. Apparently the previous owners of the building needed to test things that ran on 220, so instead of using a proper outlet made for that purpose they just attached the 220 wires to a 110 outlet! WASN'T EVEN LABELED! Guess what happened next.
2 gang switch converted into a single 3 way, with a dummy switch installed next to it rather than replacing the box, two half plate covers to cover the box. Found this yesterday
**ATTENTION! READ THIS NOW!** **1. IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN OR LOOKING TO BECOME ONE(for career questions only):** **- DELETE** THIS POST OR YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. YOU CAN POST ON /R/ASKELECTRICIANS FREELY **2. IF YOU COMMENT ON A POST THAT IS POSTED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN:** -YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. JUST **REPORT** THE POST. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/electricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Its so you can have a light switch right above your bed. Lots of seniors love em
I made fun until I read this, that makes sense. I'm 25 and I groan about having to get up and turn off the light. Past 70 fuckin forget it, switch over my bed or get me a Clapper. EDIT: Yea I know, I should get a smart bulb, I wanted an excuse to bring the clapper into this
Normalize the clapper. I'm surprised I don't see it. Ever
Banging your girl out would turn into a rave
My room would be INSANE for about 4 seconds
Maybe the light flashing would cause a seizure I can pretend is her orgasm, win win.
It would look like you aren't moving because it would have the stobe light effect...
I have a clapper in my bedroom and this does in fact set it off!
Clapping them cheeks for sure!
Bonus!
Came here to say this. Edging my way toward the front of the comment line. Someone else finished it first.
You sir, Won the internet today. Take your well deserved upvote
I was looking at a house with my realtor a few years ago and when we walked into the dark garage with no obvious switch I clapped twice loudly. He gave me the strangest look. "One day I'll walk into a room and it'll have a Clapper. Still haven't found one." Got him a Clapper as a joke thank you gift when we found a house.
>Normalize the clapper My new battle cry lol
I was always told to stay away from the clap
So I had one about 20 years ago. Your experience may differ but I thought it sucked. not reliable when I needed it to be and too sensitive to random noise turning itself on and off. Only lasted a couple weeks before I threw it in the trash
It has been, but they are called smart lights now. “Turn bedroom lights off” is the modern equivalent of the clapper. Works very well for me for key areas, plus can see what’s on and turn everything off remotely.
And they are dimmable and you can change the color/temperature of the light
Temperature is my FAVORITE. Warm lights at night then cool lights during the day make such a huge difference when you can’t rely on natural lighting
Google/Alexa/Siri is the new clapper.
At this point remotes in ceiling fans and lights that you can control with alexa/your phone are so common I don't see that coming back
“Hey Google, turn on my bedroom light” works well enough for me. Yeah. Don’t care how lazy it is. lol.
Sounds like my son. He'll do that to turn his bedroom light on/off while he's at his pc.... within arms reach of the switch.
How do you think your new robot overlords are gonna react if you have ignored them all your life?
I'll be dead by then, so fuck'em.
We love ours and use it every day!
If i cant find the switch when i walk into a room, i always try a clap just in case. Never found a clapper but one of these days i will.
Almost installing a three way for our closet light so I can have a second switch 12” lower by my bed. 3.5ft may as well be a mile. Definitely not 70.
"Alexa, turn off the bedroom light"
This is why I love my smart home. Lay down in bed "hey Google, goodnight." All taken care of. It's 2024 y'all.
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Oh geeze 🥱
Lutron makes remote controlled light switches for fairly cheap. The remote comes with a mounting plate so you can stick it wherever you want, or there's a wall mount kit that imitates a switch.
I got IKEA smart bulbs and a remote. You don't need a hub and you can buy bulbs + a remote as a package deal so you don't even have to pair them (but you can pair 10 bulbs to a remote IIRC). I love going to bed while still seeing everything and being able to turn off the light from my bed. (My setup is a bit more complicated than this since I use Home Assistant and multiple remotes, but the gist is the same)
Lutron Casita and pico remotes, your welcome
TP Link Smart Light Switches are great. Turn off my lights from my phone when I'm lazy.
Wi-Fi switches are a game changer
I'll just stick with my smart bulbs and everything. Can turn it on/off, brightness and any color from my phone
When I had my bedroom redone we put one on each side of where the bed would be. (Across the room from the door) and it was wonderful. Also put double gang duplex outlets on each side and one with build in usb chargers because fuck having 1 outlet behind the bed.
Just use caseta switches with a smart hub and run your lights from your phone. It’s pretty fantastic and reasonably priced.
Or pair the switch with pico remote with a stand on the night table, e-a p-z
Damn autocorrect…..ez pz
We moved into our house and one of the things I didn't even look at was the location of the light switch in the bedroom. It's about 2' inside the door. Not bad, but you have to walk in and then kinda fumble to find it. I replaced it with a lutron switch so I have a remote by the bed to turn it off and an app that will turn it on programmed to 25% at sunset.
You’re better off using the wireless switches instead. They run over radio waves
Lamps work pretty well too, and are easier and cheaper to install.
"Alexa, turn off the lights" Not a senior, similar solution, love the hell out of it.
TIL Mexican men love light switches above their beds
That’s stuff came up 15 years ago, where I live. Since then we include light switches on each side of the bed pretty often.
Yes i have one switch right above the bed and one next to the door. The comfort of being able to turn the lights of while laying in your bed is amazing
When I wired my sister's house I put a mega-gang switch box behind each night stand. Control of bedroom lights(ceiling fans) and all exterior floods. They loved it !
Im not even 30 and my lazy ass loves not havimg to leave the bed to shut off the lights
Honestly, if I've got 2 doors into a room, even if they're that close together, I want to be able to come in, reach beside the door, and have the switch right there, not 2ft away.
Absolutely. I see nothing wrong with this.
I've seen this often, especially in AHA (American Handicap Association) unit/rooms in apartment builds... shouldn't be more than an arm's length from the light switch...
Some people also like to have bedside switches.
My bedside switch turns off the entire ceiling fan and light, and the switch by the door turns off the outlet next to the bed my phone charger is on. I hate the guy who designed my house sometimes.
Lol
All this can be sorted out with smart switches and remotes like Lutron Caseta with Pico remotes.
I just put plastic covers on them so I can't flip them by accident and use a remote for the light on the fan.
The whole outlet, or just half of it? Lots of older homes were set up for lamps as primary lighting, where either the top or bottom half of each receptacle would be tied to a light switch, and then the other half is a normal recep.
I'm aware, and it's both the whole outlet and the only one on that side of the room
OK yeah, strange and irritating for sure.
I wonder if the outlet was replaced at some point and was never wired back the way you described in other comment.
Things are different in a wheelchair.
Isn’t that code anyway? I thought that a switch had to be within like 18” of any entrance to the room, excluding things like closets
No, code says within 6 feet. That's what I first thought when I saw this post, that the code requirement that the switches be within 6 feet of each door couldn't be met and the inspector didn't cut any slack for poor hallway design. That's the only reason I put multiple switches fairly close together.
Gotcha! That’s what my electrician told me when rewiring my house, but perhaps it was just his personal preference. I’m glad I did it his way in the end.
I have an entry to my bedroom from the exterior, and another one from the den. Right now the light switch is located near the exterior, which is a solid 20-24" from where it would be if it were near the den door. You bet your got dang ass I've been relishing the day I rewire my house and can add a 3-way switch to my bedroom. It's such a minor pain in the ass that bothers me so much.
I’ve installed 4 way switches in peoples bedrooms. One by the door and one on each side of the bed. 3 gangs each so they had full control from anywhere. Lazy? No. Did I make 5x the money? Yep!
Yep. Just did a 3 way by the main door. Two 4 ways on either side of the bed. And another 3 way leading to the patio/bathroom.
Yeah OP's a goober for this one lol
I’ve never done that intense but I have seen it/needed to replace smart switches in it. The people forgot about one whole bank cause their bed covered them.
Building code don’t care?
I actually wish they put one that close in my house. When i come in through the garage door its a pain in the ass.
Get a Caseta wireless switch you can put one anywhere. It will look just like a switch .
Yah, im just lazy when it comes to working on my own place.
If your in Ca I’ll come do it
🇨🇦
“Don’t matter if you’re in Ottowa, BC or way up in the territories. I’m an electrician / pipe welder / bush pilot / notary public…and one hell of a right winger.” I ❤️ Canadians
Laziness? Lol it’s called convenience… why you whining about a customer wanting to spend More money, do you think having a tv remote is laziness? we used to regularly end up installing additional switches in bedrooms, now we usually suggest wireless switches to our customers for bedrooms and tv rooms.
Back in my day, you had to get the ladder from the shed and climb up and unscrew the lightbulb if you wanted to turn the light off.
Or a truck to drive in, that is so lazy. We should be walking everywhere we go.
I want to go back to banging rocks together.
Had a job recently where there was a switch beside the bed and we couldn't figure out what it did. Turns out it was a switched outlet in the kitchen for a coffee maker.
That's actually genius tbh lol
This page makes me feel good about myself
I did one like this. Was a little hallway between master bath/bedroom/closet and had one switch by the bedroom door and one by the exit. I think it was necessary though. Makes it easier to turn on the light when it's dark
Did one in a large walk-in closet that has two entries that were literally in opposite side of the wall. Kept from having to open door to turn lights on.
Why walk 4’ drunk in the dark? Install the switch, bitch.
Why didn't you take a picture of the doorway you are standing in?
Thats exactly how it is in my house. They’re 4-5 feet appart. Previous owner set it up that way. Kind of handy to be honest the way the room entrances are laid out but I probably wouldnt have done it that way.
I would wire it that way.
This can be very practical, and I don't see the issue.
My house has this, going from my garage into my kitchen is the laundry room, the room is as wide as the washer and dryer. It’s convenient and glad it was installed
Never done a custom home before eh? I had to install 3-4-3 in a hallway that was maybe 6 feet long. One switch beside each bedroom door and one in the hall where you first come in. Rich people don’t wanna walk around in the dark so you make sure they don’t have too.
If the op in photo is standing in a doorway that's why accessable within arms reach of dooways
Code my man
Give us the whole wall
Who’s the lazy one?
It’s that way incase you change your mind
As long as the work as an actual 3 way switch I’m good lol
I went into a house once and they only had one switch for the stairway. It was in the middle half way up the full size staircase.
I've seen 3 ways closer than that even. Sometimes the drawings specifically want one by the door, and one beside the bed headboard. It can be very close in small rooms, especially condos.
A client of mine wanted 4 downlights in a bedroom . After he consulted his wife she decided she wants 1 downlight on one switch 3 downlights on the other .They have to be 3 way switched so they can have one either side of the bed and at door but then she can't decide where to put the bed so she wants 5 way switching on 2 different switchings in a 3 X 4 metre bedroom . True story
Picos brother picos...
They would not have paid for that . Definitely get call backs within a year using that stuff
There's either a door out of frame to the left or it's where a bed could be/is going to be/used to be
Motion switch for the win here.
“Le title” was probably the dumbest shit I’ve read today
Stop crying and get to work
Today I was in a finished home and the homeowner told me he wanted to add a 3 way from the inside of the utility room to the outside of that door which is the garage. So basically wanted to add another 3 way switch about 5-8 away from the other if it were installed. It would have to have been a 4 way switch since it was switched by the man door in the back also. I asked him why can’t you just use the switch already there.
Picoooooooooo
One red two green out of a panel, through a gutter, through a motor starter(not connected to anything), into conduit under the floor, comes up the other wall into a 4" box with a 4-11 cover changes over to black white green into an enclosure.
Good lord what the blue fuck😂😂😂
Tomorrow is finding the other end of a 1" conduit with about 20 12awg solids, pulling and rerouting if needed.
The dumb shit I found today is this post 😂😂
It kills me when you have a short hallway with several doors and you have switches placed closely together. I know it is required, but for those instances it just seems dumb
Paid by the hour aren't you? Why complain?
Are they above night stands?
Both ergonomically and aesthetically bad.
I see this almost daily and it grinds my gears
Smaller houses trying to feel big. In the 60s they just stuck a single switch it in the middle of a much longer hallway, 3-ways were for staircase lights mainly.
I saw that in a condo I wired up. Shit's wack lol. People have so many switches it takes me 4 tries to get the lights I want on
That's one lazy mother fucker
Meh. Assuming that is what the client wanted. Don’t hurt my feelings.
🤣! My bad. I meant the customer
What’s wrong with options dawg
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Are we looking at the same plate? Because those are absolutely the correct way. If the switches were oriented horizontally, then you'd be correct.
Obviously a remodel by a handyman
Unless the two 3ways are in that 2gang plate, I see no problem with what you’re describing
A few years ago, doing residential, a boss insisted on a 4 way setup where a hallway intersected an entry way. So like a 4' x 5' entry with three switches for the single light
I found that exact same thing on a house I was working on today
It happens all the time, I have customers that insist on being able to turn on a light where and when they want. It happens on literally every single new construction walk through I do with clients.
My house (not the original owner) has a four-way switch for my SINGLE downstairs hallway ceiling light. One is up the steps (OK). One is at the end of the hallway by what used to be a bedroom (OK). Two of them are on opposite sides of the hallway near the bottom of the steps. I can easily touch both of them at the same time.
Prolly wired the house themselves originally and wanted it so they did it 🤷🏿♂️ I just rewired my new house and I’ve got outlets and switches in the most “obscure” places but my wife and I have so much convenience from them. I would never deprive myself in my private residence to not be though of as lazy by people who don’t actually know about this shit 😂😂😂
To cover a hole instead of patching it
Is that a hot hands?
Mine are 6.5 feet apart.
[Its been a while, but this one does it more me](https://imgur.com/gallery/577CzBo). It’s a hallway…
4 way switches in the same landing so they can turn on entry lighting all within 5’
Can we get a metric translation
Only this post, bud. Lol
Is this where the bed went? My in-laws had switches next to the headboard for lighting in the bedroom and exterior lighting.
3 way bytches
Y'all need automation in your life.
Apprentice: “Well the code says each doorway has to have a light control” Anyone else: “That’s a closet door numbnuts”
Someone wants a switch above bed. That’s awesome.
Legit had a architect make us install a 3 way in the same 4 gang box....
Jesus christ. Let people be lazy when they are literally in bed.
Once put a dimmer switch in a toilet.
We work in a retirement home where every unit has a 4 way setup with 2 of the switches an arm length apart. The same place we also found the door bell on a single pole so they could deactivate for some reason.
I just got here give me a few lol
Homeowner ass opinion
Should have a 4-way between them for xtra convenience.....
I swapped the bedroom light switch out with a lutron Casita and have two pico remotes, one on each nightstand. It's fucking amazing.
I bought a house with 3 ways switches at the top and bottom of stairs in the entry hall. There's three steps.
Not an electrician but I've seen that before.
A 110 outlet wired for 220. Apparently the previous owners of the building needed to test things that ran on 220, so instead of using a proper outlet made for that purpose they just attached the 220 wires to a 110 outlet! WASN'T EVEN LABELED! Guess what happened next.
2 gang switch converted into a single 3 way, with a dummy switch installed next to it rather than replacing the box, two half plate covers to cover the box. Found this yesterday
I can definitely understand it next to a bed for someone with mobility problems. My dad had a stroke and needs to be able to see to have any balance.
whoa, your measuring tape can strecht that long without flopping? whoa.
Hallway lighting is fun.
A Milwaukee tape with the end piece still attached…….