Wonky Wires Safety Disclaimer and Release of Liability

1. Electrical work is dangerous#

Electrical work can cause electric shock, electrocution, burns, arc flash, fire, explosion, serious injury, death, and damage to property. These risks exist even for experienced people, even when the power is believed to be off, and even when wiring looks familiar. Mistakes may not show up right away. A box that seems to work can still be dangerous.

2. What Wonky Wires is#

Wonky Wires is a documentation, reference, and learning tool. It lets you draw how an electrical box is wired, keep a dated record of it, see a common textbook arrangement, simulate how the drawing behaves, read a plain-language description of the drawing, and share it with others.

Everything Wonky Wires shows is based on what you (or the person who shared a box with you) entered.

3. What Wonky Wires is not#

Wonky Wires is not:

• a tester, meter, or inspection of any real wiring;
• a substitute for a qualified person's training, judgment, and on-site verification;
• a substitute for your electrical code, the authority having jurisdiction (the official who inspects and enforces code where you work), permits, inspections, or the device manufacturer's instructions;
• a way to find out whether wiring is safe, correct, suitable, or compliant with any code, law, or standard; or
• professional, engineering, or legal advice.

Wonky Wires can't see the wall. It doesn't know what is actually connected, what is energized, what condition the wire is in, or what breaker feeds what, unless you tell it, and even then it can only show what you told it.

4. Who should do electrical work#

Only qualified persons should work on electrical systems. A qualified person has the skills, knowledge, and safety training for the equipment and the work.

Follow the licensing laws where you work. In many places, electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician or under a licensed electrician's supervision. Some places allow narrow exceptions. For example, Texas generally allows an owner to do electrical work on a home they own and live in, still subject to local permits and inspections. Apprentices generally must work under a licensed electrician's supervision. These rules vary, and following them is your responsibility.

Learning is not the same as being qualified. Wonky Wires is built to help people learn and understand wiring, including homeowners who want to know how their own walls work. Using the app, completing a box, or understanding a diagram does not make anyone qualified or legally allowed to do electrical work. If you're not qualified, or not legally allowed to do the work, don't do it. Hire a licensed electrician.

You must be at least 18 years old to use Wonky Wires.

5. Before you touch anything#

Wonky Wires doesn't replace safe work practices. At a minimum:

• Turn off the power at the breaker and, where required, lock it out and tag it.
• Test before you touch. Use a properly rated voltage tester. Check it on a known live source before and after testing, so you know it works.
• Energized work is for qualified persons only. If your job truly requires working on or near live parts, you must be qualified and must follow NFPA 70E (or the equivalent where you work) and your employer's energized-work procedures, including any required permit, protective equipment, and insulated tools. Wonky Wires doesn't plan, justify, or protect energized work. If you're not a qualified person, never work on live circuits.
• Treat every conductor as live until you've tested it. Never identify a wire by its color, position, or a label alone.
• A box can be fed by more than one breaker. Turning off one breaker may not make everything in the box safe. Shared neutrals can carry current even when a breaker is off.
• Use proper protective equipment and insulated tools, and don't work in wet conditions.
• Older wiring needs extra care. Cloth-insulated, ungrounded, or aluminum wiring, damaged insulation, and older devices can behave in ways the app doesn't model, and some old insulation can contain asbestos. If in doubt, stop and call a licensed electrician.
• Follow the device manufacturer's instructions. If they differ from anything in Wonky Wires, the instructions win.

6. How to read what Wonky Wires shows you#

• Diagrams. A diagram shows what was entered. It may not match the real box, and the app has no way to tell.
• Status labels ("Complete," "Incomplete," "As-found") describe the diagram inside the app, not the real wiring. "Complete" only means the app found nothing missing in the diagram as drawn and that each switch in the drawing lights its load in the simulation. It does not mean the real wiring is safe, correct, finished, or compliant. "As-found" means the box was recorded without being assessed.
• Coverage. Wonky Wires models the most common residential layouts. Commercial, three-phase, and other systems aren't modeled. Some valid configurations aren't supported yet, so a box drawn one of those ways may show "Incomplete" even when the real wiring is a valid configuration. "Incomplete" is not a finding that the real wiring is wrong, just as "Complete" is not a finding that it's right. The app never replaces your own judgment on the job.
• Standard mode places a common textbook arrangement based on the cable roles you chose. To do that, it makes assumptions, such as whether a GFCI protects outlets downstream, how neutrals and grounds are spliced together, and what to do with a spare conductor. The app lists those assumptions for you to review, and you can choose to wire the box yourself instead. Those assumptions may not fit your box, your devices, or your local code. Standard mode is a reference, not instructions for your installation.
• LT mode is a simulation of the drawing. A lit bulb in the app does not mean a real circuit works or is safe. Real-world problems such as loose or failed connections, damaged insulation, wrong or defective devices, backfeed, and overloads are not modeled.
• Explain and See why describe the drawing and point out what looks missing from it. They are not an inspection or a code ruling.
• Colors, terminal names, and jacket marks in the app follow common conventions. Real conductors, devices, and markings vary by manufacturer, installer, era, and location. Always confirm on the device and with a tester.
• Cloth and other ungrounded wiring can be recorded in the app but is not assessed or simulated.
• Information can be incomplete or wrong. Despite our care, the app may contain errors, and code requirements change over time.
• Software errors. Like any software, Wonky Wires can have bugs, including bugs that show an arrangement that is incorrect or unsafe. Never follow anything in the app that conflicts with your training, the device or connector manufacturer's instructions, or your code. If something looks wrong, stop and tell us at hello@wonkywires.app.

7. Codes, laws, licenses, permits, and inspections#

Electrical codes (such as the National Electrical Code in the United States and the Canadian Electrical Code), local amendments, and inspection practices vary by place and change over time. Any reference to a code or "common practice" in Wonky Wires is general and may not apply where you work. You are responsible for knowing and following the codes, licensing rules, permit requirements, and inspection requirements that apply to your work. Wonky Wires does not check compliance with any of them.

8. Assumption of risk#

YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ELECTRICAL WORK IS DANGEROUS AND THAT USING WONKY WIRES DOES NOT MAKE IT SAFE. YOU KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL RISKS OF ANY ELECTRICAL OR OTHER WORK YOU PERFORM, SUPERVISE, OR AUTHORIZE, AND OF ANY DECISION YOU MAKE WHILE USING OR RELYING ON WONKY WIRES, INCLUDING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, AND PROPERTY DAMAGE. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR VERIFYING ALL WIRING ON SITE.

9. Release of liability#

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT RELEASES CLAIMS BASED ON OUR NEGLIGENCE AND CLAIMS BASED ON STRICT LIABILITY OR PRODUCT LIABILITY.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF AND YOUR HEIRS, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, ESTATE, AND ASSIGNS, YOU RELEASE, WAIVE, AND FOREVER DISCHARGE ONYX CONSULTING LTD AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS (THE "RELEASED PARTIES") FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LOSSES, DAMAGES, AND LIABILITIES OF ANY KIND, KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO (A) YOUR USE OF, OR RELIANCE ON, WONKY WIRES OR ANY DIAGRAM, LABEL, SIMULATION, ARRANGEMENT, DESCRIPTION, OR OTHER INFORMATION IN IT, OR (B) ANY ELECTRICAL OR OTHER WORK YOU PERFORM, SUPERVISE, OR AUTHORIZE. THIS RELEASE INCLUDES CLAIMS FOR PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, AND PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND IT EXPRESSLY INCLUDES CLAIMS ARISING FROM THE SOLE, JOINT, OR CONCURRENT NEGLIGENCE OF ANY RELEASED PARTY, AND CLAIMS BASED ON STRICT LIABILITY, PRODUCT LIABILITY (INCLUDING FAILURE TO WARN), OR BREACH OF WARRANTY, SUBJECT ONLY TO SECTION 11.

YOU AGREE NOT TO SUE ANY RELEASED PARTY FOR ANY CLAIM RELEASED IN THIS SECTION.

10. Indemnity#

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT REQUIRES YOU TO DEFEND AND COVER US AGAINST CLAIMS BY OTHERS, INCLUDING CLAIMS BASED ON OUR NEGLIGENCE.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD HARMLESS THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LOSSES, DAMAGES, LIABILITIES, COSTS, AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES) BROUGHT BY ANY THIRD PARTY AND ARISING OUT OF ELECTRICAL OR OTHER WORK YOU PERFORM, SUPERVISE, OR AUTHORIZE, OR OUT OF YOUR USE OF WONKY WIRES, INCLUDING CLAIMS ARISING FROM, OR ALLEGING, THE SOLE, JOINT, OR CONCURRENT NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR PRODUCT LIABILITY OF ANY RELEASED PARTY, SUBJECT ONLY TO SECTION 11.

11. Exceptions#

Sections 9 and 10 do not apply to claims arising from a Released Party's gross negligence, willful misconduct, or intentional harm, or to anything else the law doesn't allow to be released or waived where you live. Some places don't allow these kinds of releases, assumptions of risk, or indemnities, or limit them. Where that's the case, they apply only as far as the law allows, and the rest of this Safety Disclaimer still applies. If you live outside the United States, nothing here limits any right your local law gives you that can't be waived, including, in some countries, rights relating to death or personal injury caused by negligence. Nothing in this Safety Disclaimer waives any right under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, or any similar law, that the law doesn't allow to be waived.

12. The people you work for and with#

If you do or supervise work for anyone else (a customer, a homeowner, an employer, a crew), you are responsible to them for your work, for any warnings they need, and for following the law. Don't present anything made with Wonky Wires as an inspection, certification, or proof that work is safe or meets any code. If you own a Crew Plan, you're responsible for making sure your crew understands this Safety Disclaimer.

13. Boxes shared with you#

A box shared with you was made by someone else. It may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong, and the app can't check it against the real wiring. Verify everything yourself before relying on it. If you share a box, the people who see it are in the same position: tell them to verify it too.

14. How this fits with the Terms of Use#

This Safety Disclaimer is part of the Terms of Use. The Terms' disclaimers, limits on liability, and dispute-resolution rules (including arbitration, where it applies) also apply to it, including to claims brought by anyone claiming through you, such as your heirs or estate. If any part of this Safety Disclaimer is found unenforceable, that part is limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest stays in effect. This Safety Disclaimer continues to apply after you stop using Wonky Wires.

15. What you confirm by tapping "I agree"#

By tapping "I agree," you confirm that:

• you're at least 18 years old;
• you have read and understood this Safety Disclaimer;
• you understand that electrical work is dangerous and that Wonky Wires doesn't make it safe;
• you'll turn off the power and test before you touch (unless you're a qualified person doing energized work under NFPA 70E and your employer's procedures), and you won't rely on the app instead of verifying on site;
• you'll only do electrical work you're qualified and legally allowed to do; and
• you accept the assumption of risk in section 8 and the release in section 9, including the release of claims based on our negligence.

16. Language#

This Safety Disclaimer is offered in English and Spanish. If the two versions differ, the English version controls.

17. Contact#

Onyx Consulting LTD, a Texas corporation doing business as Wonky Wires, San Antonio, Texas, USA. Email: hello@wonkywires.app