Your home’s electrical wiring is one of the most important systems in your home, mainly because it’s responsible for assisting almost everything else you use in your home. It is responsible for providing you with the power needed to heat and cool your house as well as the ability to cook and power any number of amenities or entertainment systems. When it fails, it can cause a lot of problems for you and anyone living with you.
If you are having electrical troubles in your home, you may want to consider replacing some or all of your existing wiring. However, before doing so, there are some things you should be aware of when rewiring a house. If you are not a licensed electrician, you should hire one to help you wire your home’s electrical system. Also, consider what type of wiring system your home has. Here are the steps to rewiring a home.
Find Your Home’s Circuit Breaker Panel
The first thing you should do is locate the circuit breaker panel, which should be located somewhere there would be low traffic in your home, such as the basement, garage, or laundry room. This box contains the breakers that control all of the circuits in and around your home and is responsible for supplying the various areas in your home with the necessary power. If you do not know where this is, turn off all of the lights in your home and look for a box with a switch on top of it. You should also find a fuse box at this location, which also works to provide power and prevent it from going out of control, but they do so through different mechanisms. Circuit breakers will flip, physically breaking the currents flowing through them while fuses will allow their filaments to melt to disrupt the flow of electricity.
Turn Off Power to Your Home
Once you have found your circuit breaker panel, you need to shut off the power to each room in your house. This will prevent any problems from occurring when you begin rewiring your home, namely electrocution. It’s always important to remember that no electricity should be running through any appliance or part of the house where you’re going to be working with or messing with the wires.
Remove Old Wiring
The next step is to remove any old wires from the wall that are no longer needed or are in desperate need of being replaced. This can be as simple as unplugging an electrical outlet or more difficult if the wiring is behind a wall. To get to these wires, you may need to remove your drywall and cut it into your studs. Keep an eye out for wires that look broken, frayed, or damaged as these can cause a lot of damage to you or your house should they be allowed to remain. Also, monitor the wires you’re working with to see if they’re putting out as much power as they should be.
Install New Wiring
It’s time to install new ones. You will want to use copper wire in this situation because copper is easier to work with and less expensive than other types of wire. Copper wire comes in different sizes depending on what you are using it for. For example, if you are rewiring an outlet for a light switch, you need a smaller gauge wire than rewiring an outlet for a lamp or power strip.
Install Switches
Once all of your wires are installed, it’s time to install the switches that will control the lights or other amenities wired into your house. You will want to use switches with a toggle or a rocker switch, as these are the easiest to control.
Test Your Wiring
Once you have completed all of the steps, it’s time to test your new wiring. You can flip the switches and check that the lights work. If they don’t, you may need to repeat some of the steps until it works properly.
In conclusion, you can use the above steps to rewire your home. It requires time and effort, but it’s well worth it once you get the lights turned on. If you do not have the expertise, hire a professional to do the rewiring for you.
