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Electrical connections to light or fan fixtures are simple: ground wire pigtail to green screw (if any), hot pigtail to black lead wire or gold screw, and neutral pigtail to white lead wire or silver screw. If fixture lead lines are stranded, cut them a little longer than solid-copper pigtails so that both will seat […]

Important: Read earlier sections about installing standard receptacles before installing a GFCI receptacle. As already mentioned, the NEC requires GFCI protection in the following loca­tions: all bathroom receptacles; all kitchen counter receptacles; kitchen receptacles within 4 ft. of a sink; all outdoor receptacles; accessible basement or garage receptacles; and receptacles near pools, hot tubs, and […]

О Before working around any electrical device, disconnect the power to it and test with a voltage tester to make sure the power is off. WIRING RECEPTACLES Before beginning this section, read the previous sections on grouping and splicing wire. The fol­lowing discussion assumes that each wire group (hot, neutral, ground) in the box is […]

With the boxes in place, drill holes to run cable from the service panel to the outlet boxes. As noted earlier, a h-in. right-angle drill with a 7/-in. Nail Eater wood-boring bit is the tool of choice. For individual circuits, in which a cable serves only one appliance, reduce the amount of hole drilling by […]

After mapping the wiring plan, you can install the boxes. But if you’re wiring someone else’s house, first do a walk-through with the owners so they can approve the locations. Use a builder’s crayon or a heavy marker to indicate boxes or temporarily tack-nail (or screw-fasten) the boxes in place. Box heights. There are few […]

Although all UL-rated fixtures, switches, and receptacles will satisfy electrical codes, better — quality devices will last longer. Heavy-duty recep­tacles, for example, have nylon faces rather than plastic and metal support yokes that reinforce the back of the receptacle. Receptacles. Most household receptacles are rated for 15-amp circuits and wired with 14AWG or 12AWG wire. […]

Copper is the preferred conductor for residential circuit wiring. Aluminum cable is frequently used at service entrances, but it is not recommended in branch circuits. Individual wires within a cable or conduit are color coded. White or light gray wires are neutral conductors. Black or red wires denote hot, or load­carrying, conductors. Green or bare […]

Cables provide a lot of information in the abbreviations stamped into their sheathing; for example, NM indicates nonmetallic sheathing, and UF (underground feeder) can be buried. The size and number of individual conductors inside a cable are also noted: 12/2 w/grd or 12-2 W/G, for example, indicates two insulated 12AWG wires plus a ground wire. […]

In some very old houses, you may find that the neutral wires were attached to a switch— rather than the hot wires, as required by codes today. Thus, when working on old switches or fixtures, test all wires for current. Even if you’ve flipped a fixture switch off, there could still be a hot conductor […]

Testing to see if an outlet is energized is so critical to professional electricians that there are scores of specialized testers to choose from, some of which cost hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, amateur electricians can get a reliable tester for less than $30. Here are five types: ► Neon voltage testers are inexpensive and versatile. […]