Wiring a House (For Pros by Pros)

Rating:
Summary: Good for the guy who is doing his own home wiring
Review: I'm building my own house. I am a former industrial electrical engineer (I've moved on to other things). The problem with being an engineer is that I know the big picture, (I can spec a panel and size the service entrance cables in a heartbeat, I used to know the NEC like the back of my hand). The problem that I run into is figuring out the way the guys who install the stuff I spec make what I spec meet code and do it quickly and easily.

This book will show you how the guys who do installations every day do them.

If you understand basic electricity, this book will be a good guide to help you do an installation that will make your inspector happy.

Rating:
Summary: Comparison of 3 how-to books on home wiring
Review: I've decided to remodel my spare bedroom. It's one of those "furnished closet" type spaces that tends to collect junk at an alarming rate. While it's a lovely little room when it's empty, it disappears in the furniture that gets put into it. Even the sliding glass doors over the small balcony don`t give one an illusion of spaceousness. I had a roommate for a while who used that room, and she had to climb over her bed just to get to her bureau.

The plan is to put up lighted crown molding to add dimension and indirect lighting to the room and to remodel the ample closet space into a bureau cum mini-closet cum desk area. By putting in a full sized futon, I can use the room as a sitting room/spare bedroom, and without the clutter, it'll seem quite spacious.

To accomplish my goal, the project required some rewiring of the room, so I found three books that seemed to have the information I needed: Wiring 1-2-3 by the people at Home Depot, The Complete Guide to Home Wiring by the Black and Decker people, and Wiring a House by Rex Cauldwell. Each is an excellent book with much to offer, but I definitely found that each had a slant that made it specialized in some way.

Of the three books, only the Cauldwell book was written in a person-to-person format. The author is a third generation electrician with years of experience, and as he says quite charmingly, "I have written this book from lifelong experience and knowledge--some of which has been passed down through each generation. However, there is no one within my family to pass the gauntlet to--no fourth generation to pick up the trade. Therefore, by reading this book you will become heir to my knowledge and experience. You, in effect, will become the fourth generation (p. 1)." His style is very much master of the craft to learning apprentice, explaining all facets of his field from how electricity is produced, how it is measured, what types of wires carry it to and into your home, and what tools one needs to do electrical work. He not only provides the information, he tells the reader the "whys" of what is, which I find helpful because it permits one to problem solve and trouble shoot more effectively. Particularly useful are those things that he tells the reader to avoid and what can happen when they aren't! The drawings are very helpful, particularly as they are clearer than photographs can be. Sometimes less is more in this regard. The schematic of the main floor of a house (pp. 22-23) which detailed how wiring is arranged for each room was quite helpful for my project, since it described what I should (and did) find in the walls when locating my power source and routing new wiring. I also found that the information on materials to select was helpful. I was able to go to the store and pick out just what I needed without any trouble at all.

While the Cauldwell book is a good one to read from cover to cover because of it's clear and thorough discussion of electronical wiring and its many helpful hints (which I did), it really did not help with my specific plans. It does cover some types of project, but I found that The Black and Decker book was more useful for my specific wiring goals. It's definitely a "how to do it" book with information on trouble shooting current wiring for potential problems (pp. 122-143), on code requirements (pp. 145-146), on how to calculate electrical loads and when to upgrade. It also includes simple repairs for the home owner, everything from checking which fuse controls which part of the house, to replacing plugs and repairing fluorescent lights. It also provides some advanced projects, like rewiring a kitchen or installing outdoor wiring. Of particular interest to my husband, the computer guru in our household, was the information on the home network wiring systems.

For my own project, I found the circuit maps for 26 common wiring layouts of greatest help. With the aid of this feature and the Cauldwell book, I was able to draw on paper the likely arrangement of the present wiring in my spare bedroom, and plan in the pathway to and from the projected new outlets. The diagrams on pages 155-167 also gave me a clearer idea of which wires connected to which specific sites on the receptacles, and what the pathway of the current would be. I was thrilled when I turned on the wall switch in the room, and the lighted crown molding actually came on, first try!

Wiring 1-2-3 is another group-effort type book like the Black and Decker. It'd made a splendid gift for the new home owner or prospective buyer. It provides the most extensive information on inspecting the home for electrical problems and providing measures for repairing them. The table of contents highlights almost every conceivable project, and each project has a list of materials, a skill scale that projects the level of difficulty to expect, and the amount of time that would be required by the experienced, the handy and the novice. It also makes some suggestions regarding the selection of a professional electrician for difficult projects, and does not urge the novice to go beyond their comfort level.

Although I didn't use the Home Depot book for actual planning and wiring, I found it was especially helpful with the messy stuff, things like drilling holes through the attic to route wires, the nitty-gritty of fishing for wires, and repairing the damage to walls where holes had to be made to route wires. In general these books are useful all round books.

I'd give all three books a 5, each for its own area of usefulness. If you're a person who likes to have a multi-perspective approach to your projects, then I'd recommend all three. Certainly the Home Depot book would be a very nice house warming gift.

Rating:
Summary: Comparison of 3 how-to books on home wiring
Review: I've decided to remodel my spare bedroom. It's one of those "furnished closet" type spaces that tends to collect junk at an alarming rate. While it's a lovely little room when it's empty, it disappears in the furniture that gets put into it. Even the sliding glass doors over the small balcony don't give one an illusion of spaceousness. I had a roommate for a while who used that room, and she had to climb over her bed just to get to her bureau.

The plan is to put up lighted crown molding to add dimension and indirect lighting to the room and to remodel the ample closet space into a bureau cum mini-closet cum desk area. By putting in a full sized futon, I can use the room as a sitting room/spare bedroom, and without the clutter, it'll seem quite spacious.

To accomplish my goal, the project required some rewiring of the room, so I found three books that seemed to have the information I needed: Wiring 1-2-3 by the people at Home Depot, The Complete Guide to Home Wiring by the Black and Decker people, and Wiring a House by Rex Cauldwell. Each is an excellent book with much to offer, but I definitely found that each had a slant that made it specialized in some way.

Of the three books, only the Cauldwell book was written in a person-to-person format. The author is a third generation electrician with years of experience, and as he says quite charmingly, "I have written this book from lifelong experience and knowledge--some of which has been passed down through each generation. However, there is no one within my family to pass the gauntlet to--no fourth generation to pick up the trade. Therefore, by reading this book you will become heir to my knowledge and experience. You, in effect, will become the fourth generation (p. 1)." His style is very much master of the craft to learning apprentice, explaining all facets of his field from how electricity is produced, how it is measured, what types of wires carry it to and into your home, and what tools one needs to do electrical work. He not only provides the information, he tells the reader the "whys" of what is, which I find helpful because it permits one to problem solve and trouble shoot more effectively. Particularly useful are those things that he tells the reader to avoid and what can happen when they aren't! The drawings are very helpful, particularly as they are clearer than photographs can be. Sometimes less is more in this regard. The schematic of the main floor of a house (pp. 22-23) which detailed how wiring is arranged for each room was quite helpful for my project, since it described what I should (and did) find in the walls when locating my power source and routing new wiring. I also found that the information on materials to select was helpful. I was able to go to the store and pick out just what I needed without any trouble at all.

While the Cauldwell book is a good one to read from cover to cover because of it's clear and thorough discussion of electronical wiring and its many helpful hints (which I did), it really did not help with my specific plans. It does cover some types of project, but I found that The Black and Decker book was more useful for my specific wiring goals. It's definitely a "how to do it" book with information on trouble shooting current wiring for potential problems (pp. 122-143), on code requirements (pp. 145-146), on how to calculate electrical loads and when to upgrade. It also includes simple repairs for the home owner, everything from checking which fuse controls which part of the house, to replacing plugs and repairing fluorescent lights. It also provides some advanced projects, like rewiring a kitchen or installing outdoor wiring. Of particular interest to my husband, the computer guru in our household, was the information on the home network wiring systems.

For my own project, I found the circuit maps for 26 common wiring layouts of greatest help. With the aid of this feature and the Cauldwell book, I was able to draw on paper the likely arrangement of the present wiring in my spare bedroom, and plan in the pathway to and from the projected new outlets. The diagrams on pages 155-167 also gave me a clearer idea of which wires connected to which specific sites on the receptacles, and what the pathway of the current would be. I was thrilled when I turned on the wall switch in the room, and the lighted crown molding actually came on, first try!

Wiring 1-2-3 is another group-effort type book like the Black and Decker. It'd made a splendid gift for the new home owner or prospective buyer. It provides the most extensive information on inspecting the home for electrical problems and providing measures for repairing them. The table of contents highlights almost every conceivable project, and each project has a list of materials, a skill scale that projects the level of difficulty to expect, and the amount of time that would be required by the experienced, the handy and the novice. It also makes some suggestions regarding the selection of a professional electrician for difficult projects, and does not urge the novice to go beyond their comfort level.

Although I didn't use the Home Depot book for actual planning and wiring, I found it was especially helpful with the messy stuff, things like drilling holes through the attic to route wires, the nitty-gritty of fishing for wires, and repairing the damage to walls where holes had to be made to route wires. In general these books are useful all round books.

I'd give all three books a 5, each for its own area of usefulness. If you're a person who likes to have a multi-perspective approach to your projects, then I'd recommend all three. Certainly the Home Depot book would be a very nice house warming gift.

Rating:
Summary: excellent reference
Review: I've read a lot of how to books on every type of home renovation but this is the best book I've ever seen on electrical. It's an excellent reference - I've used to do things like wire a 3 way light right the 1st time! an excellent book for both experts and beginners. would like to see a little more about circut breaker wiring the next time it's updated. practical code references are excellent.

Rating:
Summary: This is the only book you'll need!
Review: Mr. Cauldwell has a very special talent. He has taken a very complicated and potentially dangerous subject and boiled it down to its essence. Not only is he a master electrician, but also proves himself to be a master teacher. In his chapter on service and subpanels, he dares tread where others fear to go! Using his book, I bought a quality panel and successfully upgraded my 100 a. service to 200 a. and also converted my old main panel to a subpanel. I worked with the utility company to change from overhead to underground service (thanks to this book). The city inspector was very pleased with my work and passed it on the first "final." Exterior branch circuits were easy to install based on his diagrams and expanations. The use of GFIs was clearly explained. I followed Mr. Cauldwell's guidance on exterior grounding and used "Hot Shots" to tie my ground rods together--ground resistance is zero, Mr. C!! I highly recommend this book over all others for non-pros. I wish he would offer more on the techniques of bending metal & pvc conduit.

Rating:
Summary: lack of info
Review: Not a bad book but totally lacking in tables and calculations for completing the projects described in the book. The better choice would have been the book by the N.E.C. This book didn't even have ampere ratings for the different size conductors. I would only recommend this book to beginners.

Rating:
Summary: For DIY folks who think they are ready for the "big jobs"
Review: Particularly well-suited for the experienced DIY homeowner, this is an outstanding reference work. As the author explains at the outset, he is passing along his hard-won experience as a third-generation electrician. Of particular interest to me were the discriptions (and consequences) of how NOT to do certain things and "code-work" and "better-than-code" work. While no one book can cover it all, this one comes close. This is a great "graduate-level" course for someone who has reached the limits of what is available in the typical home electrical books. While you still need someone knowledgable in local code issues, this book gets you 95% there on your own.

Rating:
Summary: For DIY folks who think they are ready for the "big jobs"
Review: Particularly well-suited for the experienced DIY homeowner, this is an outstanding reference work. As the author explains at the outset, he is passing along his hard-won experience as a third-generation electrician. Of particular interest to me were the discriptions (and consequences) of how NOT to do certain things and "code-work" and "better-than-code" work. While no one book can cover it all, this one comes close. This is a great "graduate-level" course for someone who has reached the limits of what is available in the typical home electrical books. While you still need someone knowledgable in local code issues, this book gets you 95% there on your own.

Rating:
Summary: New Home Wiring for the Intermediate DIY Electrician
Review: Rex Cauldwell's book is an excellent text for those with basic electrical knowledge who are looking for guidance on safely performing common wiring tasks in new construction. The text is concise, practical, well-organized, and well-targeted for its audience. The photographs and illustrations are plentiful, clear, and well-coordinated with the text. His explanation of code requirements and recommendations on best practices are valuable, but should be checked against local codes.

This book is not intended for, nor does it serve, people who have absolutely no experience with electricity, nor does it address the many issues associated with updating old wiring or remodeling. For those projects, I'd recommend David Shapiro's book, Your Old Wiring.

Rating:
Summary: expert information simply explained
Review: Rex gives a complete overview of wiring a house and gives the reasons why and examples of 'how to' do it. I apreciate a master electricians' insight and wisdom explained in easy to understand terms.