On 10 Jan 2009 06:52:54 GMT, "DoN. Nichols"
wrote:

On 2009-01-09, David Lesher wrote:
Vernon writes:


Upon removing the old sheet rock from around the old service entrance I
discovered black charring of the insulation face paper by each one of
the romex wires that terminated at the old box. In other words, the
house was just a kiss away from "up in smoke".

Was the Romex charred? Usually it shows heat damage first. Common
cause is poor connections in the box.

Or was it very *old* Romex -- which had an outer jacket which
was a woven cloth soaked in tar. Inside that was rolled paper separating
the wires, and more woven cloth over black rubber inner insulation over
the individual wires.

The black could simply come from migrating tar over the years.

Good Luck,
DoN.
Very common. My dad was an electrician and he often came home black
from end to end efter pulling that old Romex.