There are always surprises...

[Sylvia B.]

I found some interesting surprises behind the wallpaper in a home we are remodeling. The people we bought it from had lived there 50 years, and for the most part, kept it well maintained. But the guy loved his duct tape!

Who needs trim around the door on the inside of the closet? Just cover that gap with duct tape!

But when I found this behind the wallpaper in the kitchen, I was a bit concerned:

Yes, that's duct tape with drywall compound over it. So I peeled it off:

That's right, live wires, loose in the wall with nary a junction box in sight!
Next I found a metal box with a dead wire in it, also covered with that lovely silver stickiness. Then this, also live:

What's that, honey? You don't want an outlet there anymore? No problem! I'll just shove the whole thing into the wall cavity and cover it up. What could go wrong?

The moral of the story? 

Always peel the duct tape!