Saturday, June 9, 2012

fun with outlets

An easy and inexpensive way to refresh a room is a fresh coat of paint.  Almost everyone knows that...and if you don't, you might want to come out from under that rock you've been living under. Well,  I should say that it's cost effective if you don't need 2 gallons and 3 coats of paint for one small bedroom because your daughter wants orange (paints with a high concentration of red do not cover well, no matter how much you spend on the best paint with primer in it).

I would argue that another inexpensive way to refresh a room is to replace the electrical outlets, switches and cover plates. Many times when you buy a home more than 10 years old, the outlets are pretty beat up with paint and dirt or they're an undesirable dirty ivory color.  As I was prepping to paint my daughter's room, I noticed how nasty the outlets and switches had become.

BEFORE                                                     AFTER

The process is not as difficult as you might think, but I can't legally encourage you to do it on your own without a licensed electrician, so I will just show you exactly what I did.  For easy to follow instructions on how to replace outlets and switches and additional information, click here.

1. TURN OFF THE POWER TO THE ROOM.
2. TAKE THE COVER PLATE OFF.

3. REMOVE THE SCREWS HOLDING THE OUTLET OR SWITCH TO THE WALL.
4. PULL THE OUTLET OUT FROM THE WALL.

6. REMOVE WIRES FROM OLD OUTLET.  Note that black is always hot and white is neutral.
7. ATTACH WIRES TO NEW OUTLET.

 8. TRANSFER COPPER GROUND WIRE FROM OLD TO NEW.

9. DOUBLE CHECK WORK.

10. ATTACH CONNECTED NEW OUTLET TO THE WALL.

11. ATTACH NEW COVER PLATE.

12. TURN ON POWER.

For more information on what I do with my life, stay tuned.


Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. JimmyDeeJune 9, 2012 at 6:24 PM

    Notice the way the old outlet was wired. The wires were pushed into the quick connection holes in the back of the outlet. Very poor way to wire an outlet. Almost will assure you of a trouble call sometime in the future.
    The way The Snarky Dabbler has wired the new outlets is the way a real crafts-person would wire an outlet to assure a no call back installation. I have repaired many outlets that even though an approved install, will burn themselves open because of a junk contact with the wire against the spring.
    So not only do ya get a great looking outlet and plate, a much improved electrical job as well.
    Rule #1, not only turn off the power but check to make sure it is off as well. One gets to live a little longer with this method.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SnarkyDabblerJune 10, 2012 at 4:45 PM

      Thank you, JimmyDee. I had originally written a description of everything I'd done and explained in greater detail why I did everything. Instead I opted to post the link to the "for dummies" video. I thought it was more concise and a better explanation.
      However, you highlighted why I avoided the quick connect. An electrician friend of mine explained to me why to use the traditional wiring method.
      And YES! Always check to make sure the power is off before starting!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)