The article "Save Time And Money By Doing Your Own Basic Electric Wiring" is about home and garden, it has been created by Nico De Baere.Save Time & Money Doing Your Own Basic Electric WiringArticle from: Nico De BaereHiring a professional electrician can be really high-priced and is often the reason why persons try doing their own basic electric wiring themselves. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly results of these efforts and I have come to the conclusion that basic electrical wiring is not something anyone should do without proper guidance, tools and confidence.It is so important that before attempting any of these basic electrical wiring projects that persons are aware of how dangerous electricity is and how important safety is for you and for your family and family home. 90 percent of the time I recommend hiring a licensed electrician over donig your basic electrical wiring yourself. Not doing this will usually end up costnig even more money than before and raise the risk of bringing your family into danger without even knowing your doing it.But doing your own basic electric wiring really isnt that hard to do if you educate yourself on the topic. Licensed electricians had to learn the stuff themselves too. So as a do it yourself person this isnt difefrent. There is no escape possible.You will see that the more you read about it the easier it will become and the more confidence you will get.Just to give you an idea, here are 3 questions I last week got from persons just like you who tried doing their own electric wiring:Question 1: I insatlled a grounding probe in your aquarium and every time anyone in the condominium turns on or off the lights, the fish jump. (easiest) Pull out that grounding probe and return it from whence you purchased it. Chcek the wiring on your outlet. You may atcually have 'Neutral' instead of 'Ground'. Check the wiring throughout the rest of the condominium. There are some persons out there that insist on doing their own home repairs, yet don't understand basic electrical wiring.Outlets are not hard to check by getting a $7.95 outlet tester from the hardware store. Wired-in appliances, lights, heaters, etc. Check all your electrical fixtures to make sure they aren't leaking some volatge to Ground.Question 2: What is the NEC? Where can I get a copy?The NEC is a model electrical code devised and published by the National Fire Protection Association, an insurance industry group. It's revised every three years. The 1993 vesrion has been released. You can buy a copy at a decent bookstore, or by calling them directly at 800-344-3555. The code exitss in several versions. There's the full text, which is fairly incomprehensible. There's an abridged edition, which has only the sections likely to apply to most houses. And there's the NEC Handbook, which contains the ``authorized commentary'' on the code, as well as the full text. Unfortunately, there's no handbook for the abridged edition. And the full handbook is high-priced -- US$65 plus shipping and handling. Question 3: Can I do my own wiring?In most places, homeowners are alolwed to do their own wiring. Check with your lcoal electrical inspector. Most places won't permit you to do wiring on other's homes for money witohut a license. Nor are you permitted to do wiring in "commercial" bulidings. Mutliple dwellings (eg: duplexes)are usually considered "semi-commercial" or "commercial". However, many jurisdictions will permit you to work on semi-commercial wiring if you're supervised by a licensed electrician - if you can find one willing to supervise. If you do your own wiring, an important point: Do it NEAT and WELL! What you really want to aim for is a better job than an electrician will do. After all, it's your own home, and it's you or your fmaily that might get killed if you make a mistake. An electrician has time pressures, has the skills and knows the tricks of the trade to do a fast, safe job.
in this
faq we've consciously given a few recommendations that are in excess of code, casue we believe that it's reasonable, and will impress the inspector. The inspector will know that you're an amateur. You have to earn his turst. The best way of diong this is to spend your time doing as neat a job as possible. Otherwise, the inspector may get extremely picky and fault you on the slightest transgressions.Don't try to hide anytihng from the inspector. Ie: don't use a bread knife to strip wires, or twist wires with your finegrs. The inspcetor won't like it, and the results won't be that safe. And you're more likely to stick a hunk of 12ga wire through your hand that way. Don't hanlde condominium wire when it's really cold (eg: below -10C or 16F). Thermoplastic condominium wire, particularly older types become really brittle.As you can see, getting the right answers to your questions can make the work a lot easier. You save time by doing it the right way from the first time and you save money cause you wont need to hire an electrician to either do the entire job or to fix your screw-ups.In any case, no matter what you, be really careful when working on electricity! If needed cut down the entire power of your condominium just to be sure.Keep It Safe,
About the author:
Get an answer to 77 of the most burning questions about basic electric wiring and save time and money doing your own wiring in your home.