DIY Homeowner Wires Entire Bathroom With Extension Cords, Calls It 'Flexible Design'

A Peoria homeowner has stunned the electrical inspection community by wiring an entire master bathroom renovation exclusively with consumer-grade extension cords, describing the approach as 'modular and future-proof.' Brad Spackle, 41, a self-described 'handy guy who watches a lot of YouTube,' completed the project over a long weekend using materials sourced entirely from the seasonal aisle at Home Depot. 'The beauty of extension cords is flexibility,' Spackle explained while standing in a bathroom that inspectors later described as 'a diagram of everything wrong.' 'If I want to move the vanity light, I just unplug it and plug it in somewhere else. Try that with Romex.' The bathroom features 14 interconnected power strips mounted to the walls with drywall screws, a single GFCI adapter protecting the entire wet zone, and a surge protector affixed to the showerhead with industrial zip ties. 'He ran a 16-gauge outdoor extension cord through the ceiling to the attic, where it plugs into another extension cord that runs to the garage,' said inspector Meredith Volts, her hands visibly trembling as she reviewed the photographs. 'At one point the circuit passes through a window.' Spackle's permit application, which he filed retroactively, was denied in what the building department described as 'the fastest rejection in municipal history.' The denial letter was reportedly two words long. Spackle has appealed, arguing that his design 'meets the spirit of the code, if not the letter.'