Thanks for the masonite tip. I also learned about Federal Pacific
electrical boxes from this ng. The last house we looked at was ok, but
I notice that this one (the one my roommates just bought) has not one,
but two FP panels in it- One is an old Fuse style from when the house
was built in the 1950s, and then there's wiring going from there to
another with breakers.

Fortunately I've seen enough things in this house to be wary of others
(rotten cloth insulation on all the wiring, everything wired through 3
breakers, a substantial gas leak in the basement and a couple of floors
that don't feel 'all too sturdy', along with a lack of fire/smoke/c0
detectors), assuming we can buy a house before this one kills me. When
the washing machine is running all the lights in the place 'pulse' with
it.

They're both pretty handy, and they knew what they were getting into
when they bought it (or so they claim). It's coming around, but i
guess my priorities of "what needs to be fixed NOW" are different than
theirs. They're just tired of me bitching about the heavy gas smell in
the house. Air fresheners fix that. Yup.