Hello, I just moved into this house and it’s a pretty major work in progress. One thing that’s perplexed me though is the front door.
We have a light switch inside that no one knows what it actually does. It’s right inside the door but it doesn’t turn on the porch light. That one is on the other side of the room.
We had a contractor over giving us quotes to install stairs and I asked his opinion. He pointed out the white around the door is not wood but a barely transparent plastic. He’s pretty sure it’s supposed to light up and the reason the switch doesn’t work is because the bulbs are probably burnt.
Issue with that is that I can’t find a way in to check that. It definitely is a very fragile plastic. Wouldn’t take much to break. But I’d like to not break it so I can replace the lights and put it back together. But I don’t see screws or anything. Anyone have any advice?
First off does the switch even have power to it? The switch should be breaking the hot wire (hopefully). So one side of the switch should be hot. A non-contact voltage tester will tell you this very quickly and easily. They aren't that expensive and a wonderful tool to have. Great for helping test and Trace or double checking the breaker is off before you lick the wires.