Hot wall in house, what to do?

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Nick1994

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This is at my grandparent's house, built in 1950. When you walk into the spare bedroom, it is very hot in there. The wall is very hot, it's also above an electrical plug where it feels the hottest.

This is an inside wall, not a wall that faces the inside of the house. This is also a wall on the East side of the house. Behind this wall is a closet, and at the bottom is the air return for the A/C. The A/C unit is on the outside of this wall and it is working fine.

It is 85 degrees in that room, A/C is set to 76 and it is nice and cool everywhere else in the house. (I have one of those digital thermometers that also tells you the outside temperature as well).

I'm not sure who to call, a contractor, electrician, A/C guy etc.

What do you guys think? I'm worried that it's a fire hazard. The wall has been very warm for a few years actually.
 
I seem to recall a prior post of yours indicating issues with ac ducting or the like in an old house. Any chance the house is pulling air from underneath it through this wall? I dunno, the ac return actually pulling air from under the wall, or maybe the roof is venting and pulling air from underneath.

Is there a crawlspace under this room? I wouldn't expect to find anything, but gotta start someplace. Likewise, get into the attic and look down.

I suspect the outlet is warmer only because of the metal box conducting heat better. You can pull the faceplate and see how warm it is, or better yet, if there is a draft there. Check with a DVM to make sure it's not hot (if worried), otherwise open it up.
 
You might have an electrical outlet with a loose wire to the side terminal. I had that happen to one of the outlets in my kitchen. It finally burned a hole through the outlet cover so I could see it glowing red hot. When I went to check the outlet, it was halfway melted to heck.
 
What did they call that old wiring? You may have that.

Where they run wires on insulators through the attic, and used fiberglass sheathed "romex"

Are you still using fuses, this is old [censored]. Needs serious updating.
 
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No crawl spaces in Phoenix homes. A/C works good, I think I made a post about what the temperature difference should be between the inside of the house and what comes out of the vents.

It has a 200 amp electrical box. Electrical plugs are 2 prong no ground plugs.

Here's a picture of the hallway so you guys can figure out the layout. It's the bedroom on the far back right. That's a closet for storage, the a/c return is below it and there is return auction for the A/C in each of the far bedrooms. Like 10x14. No suction under walls, concrete foundation.

The wall that is hot is that inner wall, and it's hot throughout the wall, but has hotter spots.
Bedroom on far left has some warm spots too.

2wh42vp.jpg
 
Is the house wired with BX, flexible metal jacket? Pull the fuse that powers the outlet. If the heat goes away, call an electrician. In the late 60s-70s, aluminum was allowed. AL oxide is non conductive. Un coated AL connections will create enough heat to cause a fire. It is outlawed, you can't use it. but there is lots of it still out there
 
Yep, like Andy said, I'd kill power to the circuit that powers that outlet to see if the hot spot goes away.
 
Ok we're all going out of town tomorrow for the day so I'll try to flip the breaker to the bedrooms in the morning and see what happens. It doesn't have any fuses.
 
Get it checked out for sure. I had a house that was built in 1956. My parents left it to me. All aluminum wiring. Burnt to the ground in 2006. It's nothing to mess around with.
 
We never paid much attention since it's a bedroom that's not used much at all. Mostly for storage. We'll definitely get to the bottom of it.

I'm wondering if it's hot air from the attic getting in there? It was 114 today, attic is like 180 degrees. With the air return at the bottom there maybe it has a leak and the auction from it is pulling down the hot attic air through the holes that are drilled for the electrical wires?
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
.

I'm not sure who to call, a contractor, electrician, A/C guy etc.

What do you guys think? I'm worried that it's a fire hazard. The wall has been very warm for a few years actually.


A Priest. To exercise the house. You've got a gateway there.
 
Firefighter here, call fd don't wait till problem finds you they have thermal cameras and will find the problem, and if there is one now your home owners insurence will cover it.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994

I'm wondering if it's hot air from the attic getting in there? It was 114 today, attic is like 180 degrees. With the air return at the bottom there maybe it has a leak and the auction from it is pulling down the hot attic air through the holes that are drilled for the electrical wires?


As I was reading through the thread, this is exactly what I was thinking...especially since you said certain parts of the wall are warmer than others. My guess is a couple stud bays have holes or gaps in the attic and are allowing hot air in. There probably isn't any or much insulation in that attic, and surely no fire caulk sealing up those holes.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Nick1994

I'm wondering if it's hot air from the attic getting in there? It was 114 today, attic is like 180 degrees. With the air return at the bottom there maybe it has a leak and the auction from it is pulling down the hot attic air through the holes that are drilled for the electrical wires?


As I was reading through the thread, this is exactly what I was thinking...especially since you said certain parts of the wall are warmer than others. My guess is a couple stud bays have holes or gaps in the attic and are allowing hot air in. There probably isn't any or much insulation in that attic, and surely no fire caulk sealing up those holes.
It's actually insulated pretty well with blown in insulation.

The side of the house was a garage 60+ years ago, but is a modern fully furnished apartment now, my brother lives there. That's where the attic access is. Attic access is really tight, my brother is much smaller than I am. He's like 130 pounds (and older than me) and only he can fit up there. But there's no chance we're going up there with as hot as it is.

We insulated above the apartment by renting the machine at Home Depot in February last year and it was awful in the attic as far as heat.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
...I'm wondering if it's hot air from the attic getting in there? It was 114 today, attic is like 180 degrees. With the air return at the bottom there maybe it has a leak and the auction from it is pulling down the hot attic air through the holes that are drilled for the electrical wires?

Bingo.

Air is lazy: It always follows the path of least resistance.

All holes & cracks in and between the framing need to be sealed in that lower air return box to prevent unfiltered & HOT air from being pulled down the stud cavities. I had the same issue. Further, insulation is only effective or at its most effectve, when there is no air movement through or across it. Thus the importance of sealing.

Is there any ventilation at all in the attic?
 
Originally Posted By: guitarandoil67
Firefighter here, call fd don't wait till problem finds you they have thermal cameras and will find the problem, and if there is one now your home owners insurance will cover it.

Nick, didn't you read this Firefighter post ? Why don't you listen to the professional ?

Call your Firefighter Department as soon as possible.
 
180f attic temp is ridiculous. Definitely a ventilation problem big time. The goal is to have the underside of the roof ambient temp.

Heat will go to cold too, doesn't necessarily need air flow.

In my house with forced ventilation, any leaks in the ducting under the house will create a low pressure in the house that draws in outside air.
 
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