Home Electric Wiring Book Review
Some Background (You Can Skip This)
About 4 months ago, we completed the framing in the basement and moved to electrical installation. I’ve done minor electrical work in the past (replacing fixtures, switches, outlets), and a small amount of medium-skill work extending circuits. Our basement, presented a big enough challenge that I didn’t feel completely equipped to proceed without help.
In Baltimore, Co. MD, you cannot obtain an electrical permit unless you are a licensed electrician. Fortunately for me, my sister’s husband’s father (Jim) is - and that’s a close enough relationship that he agreed to help me out. He would pull the permits, help me plan the job, supervise and inspect my work, and do all the final wiring to the main panel. In exchange… well… he didn’t really ask for anything in return. So, Kim and I are planning to send he and his wife out to a couple of nice dinners when the work’s done.
Stanley’s Complete Wiring Manual
OK. That was a lot of background to tell you this: The first day we got started, Jim handed me Stanley’s Complete Wiring Guide and said everything I needed to know about simple home wiring projects could be found inside. The book includes everything from running receptacles and light fixtures, to installing radiant heated floors, to common outside jobs like installing path lighting. The book’s illustrations are top-notch. It’s so good, in fact, that I found myself reading from one chapter to the next, even though I had no immediate plans to do all the jobs it describes.
If you’re considering an eletrical project around the house, I highly recommend this book. You can pick it up from Amazon for a surprisingly good price. Here’s the link.
What do you think? Any other books that impressed you enough to recommend them? Do you have a better home wiring manual?
February 16th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I’ve been looking for a good book like this! Thanks for the link. Also, everytime I click to your blog I keep thinking I’ve somehow mistakenly found my way to the “OPC”, Orthodox Presbyterian Church. So if people start leaving blog comments about heretics and 5 points of Calvinism and Imputed vs. Imparted Righteousness, that’s why. Just so you know.
February 16th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Speaker: Believe it or not, you’re not the first one to make such a connection. When I first setup the site, so did I. My wife and I attend a local PCA church in Marriottsville, MD called Chapelgate. My parents-in-law and several friends attend an OPC church in nearby Columbia called Columbia OPC.
I hope you enjoy Stanley’s wiring book. If you browse further on Amazon from the link you can find Stanley’s complete books on many topics. The book has been really helpful to me.
February 16th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Well, I grew up in the OPC but have since made the small jump over to the PCA… And I think I prob knew a couple of folks growing up who went to Columbia OPC from an camp called French Creek… I’ll check out the book.