Ask the Builder
Take a Class, and Basic Electrical Tasks Shouldn't Trip You Up
Electric panels, cables and wires can be scary. You can learn the basics of electrical wiring in a class, but it can take months or years to gain the knowledge to be able to perform all the electrical tasks in and around your home.
(Tim Carter)
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Q: DEAR TIM: I have a chance to take a $250 course on electrical wiring that covers how to change outlets, switches, light fixtures, rewiring circuits, etc. I'm terrified of electricity and use a stick to trip my circuit breakers. Do you think this course will help me deal with my fear of electricity so I can be comfortable doing my own repairs, saving me precious money? -- Elaine J., Baldwinville, Mass.
A: DEAR ELAINE: Get out your pen and checkbook, and fill out the registration form for this course. When you discover how to wire electric fixtures, outlets and switches the safe way, you'll be beaming with confidence.
You can learn basic electrical wiring quickly if you have the desire. You'll be wiring things at your home within a month of starting the course. I understand your fear of electric wire. Many years ago, I was adding a light fixture to an existing one. I had been taught that the white wire in a circuit was the neutral and thus not dangerous. Was that ever bad advice!
I simply turned off the switch to the light and took apart the white wires in the electrical box. As soon as I touched them, I was knocked to the ground. Because I failed to turn off the actual circuit breaker, I wasn't stopping the alternating current that was still passing through the white wires that were energized from other things on the same circuit. Once that happened, I was a quick study.
Wiring electrical switches should be a core part of the class, as switches in the average home can get used frequently. They can wear out or need to be changed to spruce up a room. You'll discover that electric switch wiring is really simple.
The class should teach you how to use a voltage tester, which will let you know if a wire is hot or dangerous. Once you understand how the current flows from the panel to the outlets, switches and fixtures in your home, you'll develop confidence in working on the simple tasks in your home.
But this course is not enough to turn you into a master electrician. It can take months or years of day-to-day interaction with electricity to gain a knowledge base that will allow you to do all the things in and around your home. Add to this the intricacies of the National Electric Code, which can be humbling, even for a professional electrician, and you see why there is much to learn about electrical wiring.
If you are taught electric fan wiring, pay particular attention to the part that deals with ceiling paddle fans. These fixtures require a special electrical box to handle the weight and torque the fan exerts on the box up in the ceiling. Many a ceiling fan has dropped from a ceiling because a contractor or homeowner connected the fan to a box not designed to handle a fan.
As you study electrical plug wiring, be sure you discover how to wire a split receptacle, in which one of the two receptacles is always hot while the other operates from a switch on a wall. These outlets are simple to connect, but they constantly perplex people.
Tim Carter can be contacted via his Web site, http:/
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