Hello. This is my first post here so forgive me if this is very basic stuff. We are going to be building a house starting in a few months. My father knows how to do just about everything as far as the construction is concerned but he has asked me to take care of the electrical work as he knows nothing about it. I know all the basics and have wired up outlets and lights before, but there are some things I have never done such as hook up a fuse box and wiring 220. Can someone point me to some good online reading to help me get started? I’ll also need to find out everything I’ll need to do to be up to code. I have a few months to become a competent electrician! 🙂 Any help would be great!
Thanks,
John
Replies
View Image
http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/070669.asp
View Image
http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/070639_intpg.asp
These should help. -Mark
SYSOP
[email protected]
That looks like exactly what I need! Thank you!John
One last question, are electrical codes the same for every state? Will that recommended book give me everything I need or should I consider finding information specific to New Mexico?John
The Code check books we sell are based on National code I belive so I would definitely check your local municipalities on any specific issues you might have. You can also go to http://www.codecheck.com Hope this helps -Mark
SYSOP[email protected]
Edited 3/15/2005 3:29 pm ET by SYSOP
The NEC, unlike the other codes, is very universal. Most places adopt it 100%. But they are free to make changes.For example in the Chicago area on armored cable and conduit are allowed in house.Some places don't allow any 15 amp circuits.So check and see if they have made any exceptions to the NEC.
I'd be pretty surprised if a municipality would allow an unlicenced electrician of little experience wire an entire house. You might want to consider hiring someone with a valid local license who would be willing to work with you. You could save a bunch of money by pulling wire, setting boxes, and such, but let a pro do the design, the panel and other major elements.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
I live in Toronto and the municiple code around here says the home owner or any relative may do the instalation without having to be certified,you still must register etc.But I agree with you if uncertain call a pro.Cheers Pete.
The Rex Caldwell book recommended above is excellent. You'll also need to get the book from the local utility because they have very specific requirements about location of the meter, how the power gets from their lines to your house, etc. Those are in addition to code. It's actually easier because they spell it all out.
Make friends with your electrical inspector. Most can be very helpful.
Sounds like good advice. We are building this house in a very small town (40k) in New Mexico and the word is the inspectors their are not as stingy as they are in the big cities so we are going to try to do as much of the wiring as possible. I just ordered that book and will read through it thoroughly. I have plenty of time to decide what I think I can do on my own and what I may pay someone to do. I am sure I will have many questions along the way. Thanks for the help so far.John
Edited 3/15/2005 6:45 pm ET by John
John,
Most counties follow the national code pretty well, but they do have their means and rights to amend those codes. You might want to locate and hire an electrical contractor to 'inspect' and offer advice prior to the county inspector coming out to have a look. You might get lucky in finding a contractor willing to 'sign off', too, for a small fee. Well, small in terms of what a complete paid-for service would cost. :)
BTW, I think I need to buy those books, too.
I just finished reading the "wiring a house" book. Fantastic reading! Since we are moving to a very small town I am hoping they will let us do all the work and then pay the inspectors to come out and look at it as we go. I have enough basic electrical knowledge to do this so I hope it works out ok. We are trying to build as low cost as possible.John
wiring a house is simple, really easy. Both books are good, I have both. Take your time and do exactaly as the books say. Stay away from the Black and Decker book, they were some mistakes in the early copy, but the pictures are good. Doityourself.com is a good place to answer questions. Ask Mr nelson. Also remember not all county inspectors know everything, make sure it in writing. The NEC book is also good, but hard to read.
Hi John.
i dont want to offend you, but if you take on this by yourself, i think your nuts. electrical isnt something to be played with. not knowing the little things can cause major problems, damage or injury. sure hooking up lights and switches seems easy, but most how to books wont tell you how to calculate loads, wire sizes, drops in amps over distances, ect... i have books that show wiring schematics, but they dont cover every scenario. for yours and your familys safety, hire a pro and get the job done safely. if you need to save money, save it on something that dosent have the potental of killing someone. i tell all my customers that anything hidden or anything that can cause major damage has to be dont right and done by pros, sacrafice something cosmetic if you need to save money or leave a room unfinished untill later when it can be done right.
anyway i hope you make a safe choice
Tmaxxx
Urban Workshop Ltd
Vancouver B.C.
beer is for people who cant decide, vodka is for drunks, coke is for that sugar rush, coffee is for people who need a kick start. boy do i have alot of problems.
cheers, ill buy
I'm not an electrician, but the Army considered me one. LOL That required a 2 week course mostly learning what I already knew. Plus how to read the NEC book, bend conduit, and not overload electrical boxes.
I'd suggest hiring a local electrician to install the service to the house and the panel box/es. I'd also hire him to come back and do a rough in inspection, on top of the local inspectors. This'd be with all the wires run and the sheetrock not installed yet. I consider this the most important inspection because it checks all the stuff that'll be hidden and inaccessable later. Everything later on can be accessed with a screwdriver if there are problems.
Take your time. If your unsure at all ask questions and make sure you do it right.
Also, it helps if you run power into each box in the same location. I always run power into a box on the upper right knockout. It's easy to accidentally miss running power to a box, also easy to miss in an inspection, but a real pain to rectify after the finish work is done. If you never use that knockout for anything else, you'll know at a glance that each box has power to it. It's also worth the extra time and wire to run a neutral wire to every electrical box in the house. Say running 12-3 wire to the light switch instead of 12-2. I also run everything including lights, at least in my house, 12 gauge. That way I can later tap into any circuit anywhere to add an outlet if I later find I need one. A couple hundred dollars in wire upfront can save a lot of hassle later on.
Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
Oh, and take lots of pictures with the sheetrock off of both the electrical and plumbing. These are priceless if you ever decide to remodel later.
Edited 5/1/2005 1:56 pm ET by BILLYG83440