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Summary: Essential reading from a wise author for do-it-yourself'ers
Review: Don't sell yourself or family short, get this or another comparable book if you are going to tackle electrical work in your home.This book is somewhat technical and that may put some folks off. However, it is only as technical as is needed to provide for safe installation of electrical wiring in the home. I appreciate the code references, as a do-it-yourself'er it is important to understand why it is done as it is, because no home project is ever an exact copy of problem in a book. This book is an essential part of a do-it-yourself'ers library, especially if you are going to take on any substantial projects.
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Summary: Used 1993, 1996, and 1999 versions of this book.
Review: I have wired four new homes and remodeled one using the concepts in this book. The homes ranged from 3200 to 5000 square feet in size. The 5000 sq/ft house used 400 amp service for the main panels. I am a do it yourself homeowner. I am a firmware engineer by trade so I don't wire for a living. This book was magnificent in helping me understand how to put the entire picture together for a large complicated home. These homes included security systems, phone systems, home audio systems, internet wiring, and of course power and lighting everywhere that I needed it. I learned so much from this book and the way that it walks through each room in the house. I recommend following it all of the way through on your own house plans. What it lacks I was able to find by looking at homes being constructed in the area. Things like how high up do I put the outlets and switches comes to mind. The code changes every three years and so does this book. I got most of my knowledge from the 1993 book. I used the 1996 and 1999 books on the later homes but the basics were already there. All code changes are very well covered in the latest edition and nothing is dropped from edition to edition that I know of. I am very impressed with Mullin's style and thought that I could show some of my gratitude back for the help that he gave me to do this over and over again. I have recommended this book to many friends who have also wired their own homes. If I needed to I would buy it again but I have decided to live in one of my houses for a while. What I believe this book has that others do not is a grasp of the whole picture. I was able to do the entire project each time with this book. I installed the service conductors from the transformer to the house. I built up the main breaker panels and subpanels. I performed the load calculations to make sure that all circuits were properly balanced. I don't think that many of the other wiring books cover all of these things. You can perform the entire wiring of your residential home by yourself with the knowledge that you can glean from this book and a few questions asked of your local inspectors and examining the work of electricians wiring in your area. Make sure that you follow the code and not the local electricians though because I do not know how some of them pass inspections with some of the work that they do. Good luck on your project.
Thanks Ray for a great book.
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Summary: Dunwoody uses it -- you should too
Review: I went to Dunwoody Institute, and their electrical department uses this as a textbook for future electricians. The biggest downside is it doesn't cover some of the low voltage/HVAC in the depth that it does everything else. It has constant code references, but it also explains things plainly enough that most people can understand them. It is a little expensive, but I would definately recomend it.
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Summary: 95% of what you need to know to wire your house
Review: This book attempts to cover everything you'll need to know in order to wire your house and it comes pretty close to acheiving that goal. Every point made in the book is backed by citing chapter and verse from the NEC, though you'll rarely need to actually reference the NEC because usually Mullin's description is clearer. However, there were a few areas where I found the text lacking, specifically, the discussions of when derating factors should be applied and the wiring of smoke detectors and other life safety equipment. Overall, though, this book is certainly worth buying if you're considering doing any major residential wiring.
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Summary: The best I have tried.
Review: This book is my electrical bible. I tried several books before I found this one. I bought it when I was trying to rewire an old house. The first 2 books I bought left me dazed and confused. I finally spent an afternoon in the bookstore browsing through every electrical book I could find until I ran across this. What a find. It not only explains clearly what has to be done, but why. The book makes good use of tables to summarize information and excellent use of diagrams. It not only teaches you to wire correctly, but teaches you the code as well. Highly recommended. If you don't know what a wirenut is, this may not be the book for you as it assumes some level of knowhow on the part of the reader. Otherwise, this is likely to be the last residential wiring book you will ever buy.
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Summary: Too Technical!
Review: This book may be a good choice if you're studying for an Electrician level test but I found the constant references to the NEC code both distracting and confusing. Text lacks any overview of electricity and any description of good wiring practices such as when and how to use wire nuts and which sizes to choose, etc. This book is filled with technical knowledge but is NOT a good choice for the "Do it Your-selfer"! I later wandered into Lowes and started browsing the books there and found the Black and Decker "Home wiring"... clearly superior for the "Do it your-selfer". Unless you're studying for a code test, save your money and get the Black and Decker "Home Wiring" book.
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Summary: comprehensive, yet easy to understand
Review: This is a highly detailed book that clearly describes how to wire a home that meets 2002 National Electrical code requirements. The book is nicely organized and contains a wealth of information on how to select proper wire and box sizes, locations for recepticles, lighting requirements, etc. However, it is not a "how to" book-it won't tell you how to fish a wire or change a circuit breaker. I used this book to completely rewire my 1950's kitchen and it took all the guesswork out of the project. Now every time I start an electrical project, I consult this book to make sure I do it correctly. One of my goals in life is to never have to call an electrcian for help again and this book has taken me a long way toward it.
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Summary: Excellent Text!
Review: We used this book in a year-long class and it took me a long way. While not specifically a "how to" book, it provides a wealth of information on how to do a code-conforming (and therefore safer) job in about any residential application. The questions at chapter ends and drills that have you draw wiring diagrams will effectively reinforce material read and help you learn how to use the code. A valuable reference and addition to my electrical library! I cannot recommend it strongly enough!
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