"Spent ages double-checking connections because the previous homeowner had done some creative DIY wiring... 😅"
Haha, sounds familiar. I've seen some wiring jobs that looked more like abstract art than anything functional. A quick tip: snap a photo of the wiring before you disconnect anything—saved me more than once. Also, don't overlook checking your furnace filter; you'd be surprised how often a dirty filter causes weird thermostat behavior. Worth a quick peek before diving deeper into troubleshooting.
I've seen some wiring jobs that looked more like abstract art than anything functional. A quick tip: snap a photo of the wiring before you disconnect anything—saved me more than once.
Haha, been there myself with some sketchy DIY wiring jobs... good call on snapping a pic beforehand. Also, don't beat yourself up if it takes longer than expected—these things always seem straightforward until you open them up and see the mess inside.
Haha, reminds me of the time I opened up my furnace to swap out a thermostat and found wires twisted together with duct tape... no joke.
"snap a photo of the wiring before you disconnect anything—saved me more than once."
Definitely second this advice. Learned that lesson after spending half a Saturday trying to figure out which wire went where. Sometimes DIY turns into a "why did I?" pretty quick, lol.
I feel your pain on the wiring fiasco. When I replaced my thermostat last winter, I thought I'd save a few bucks and skip calling someone. Pulled off the old one and found a spaghetti mess of unlabeled wires—no duct tape, thankfully, but still a nightmare. Took me hours of googling wiring diagrams and trial-and-error before I got it working again. DIY can definitely save money, but sometimes it's worth weighing the frustration factor against just paying someone who knows exactly what they're doing...
Fair point, but honestly, DIY thermostat swaps aren't always that bad. Usually there's a wiring diagram behind the cover or in the manual. If you take a quick pic before disconnecting anything, it saves a ton of headaches later...just saying.
