If you need to save a bit of money by doing the electrical yourself, or if you just want to keep a better eye on what your electrician is doing, you may want to do some reading.
I hit my local library and got out a bunch of books on the subject… I skimmed through most of the books over about 3 evenings. I was really just looking for the books that seemed most applicable and had the best approach to teaching. I chose to renew the top few, and read those completely over the past couple weeks (including the Easter Holiday). These were the best ones…
note: with wiring, the code changes from year to year, so you really want to find the books that are up-to-date enough with the National Electric Code (NEC) so you can pass inspection. You could/should start in the library, but you are going to need to buy an up to date version of your favorite that you can keep with you while you actually do the work. I recommend Amazon.com as the cheapest and easiest way to get your hands on the book you want.
Wiring Simplified (44th Edition); This book had the fewest pictures, but gave the most specific references to the 2014 National Electrical Code. The authors of this book (Richter, Schwan and Hartwell) are extremely well respected. The writing style was a little bit dry, but I liked how, in addition to explaining what the NEC rules were and were to find them in the code, this book also explained the “why” behind each rule. “Wiring Simplified” really covered everything from the planning stage to how to actually setup the service entrance and wire everything up. In also included tricks for making the job easier. This book is so respected that it is the only electrical book you will find at Home Depot, and they put it right in the Electrical isle.
Wiring a House (5th Edition); This was my favorite book. It stood out for me because it was really about wiring a whole house, which is what I needed to do. It included sections on designing the circuit layouts and the service entrance. Many other books seemed focused only on renovations and assumed that the serious electrical work was already done. The Author, Rex Cauldwell, also has a great reputation and brings both his experience as a master electrician (and plumber) and his degree in Electronic Engineering to this book. He tells you how to meet the code, and then common sense ways you should exceed it. The explanations and images are excellent (pictures on every page). The book is actually a fun read with humor sprinkled throughout and as a result, I was able to read it much more quickly than some of the other books.
You’re about to learn all the top secret information about… wiring that contractors rarely discuss. You’re putting your ear to the keyhole and listening as we discuss what to buy and what to avoid, what looks good and what really is good, what works and what doesn’t. ~ Rex Cauldwell, Wiring a House, p 207.
I have one more book to go through, I may come back and put that here later…
While a lot of great content is available on the internet, including this site 😉, books are still your best bet for in-depth and comprehensive information.
If you have been on the internet for a while, you realize that any wackjob, including myself, can start a website and spout whatever they want. There is no threshold of competence required. And while I love the internet and wide range of information available on a whim, I also like that confident feeling of peer reviewed authority that a published book usually carries. You can take books anywhere and they never give you a “low battery” warning (unless it is an ebook).
I have read many dozens of books on topics ranging from Earth sheltering to Electrical wiring, as well as books on topics beginning with other letters. I always read the authors credentials before I decide if I can trust what they have to say. There are some really terrible books out there, but thanks to the difficulty in getting something published, those are the exception.
You can get books from the library, and the majority of the books I read were from there, but I have found that they are often pretty out of date. This is a problem for time sensitive books based on the building codes for a given year or for getting access to the latest research. However, since my local library also has some earth sheltered books published in the 1970’s that are hard to buy today, I lucked out. I also have a bit of a problem with forgetting to return books on time and the fines add up (but I don’t mind “donating” to my local library). My favorite part about the library is that you can find groups of books that you can browse while still in the stacks and then leave behind in a great big discard pile as you carry a slightly smaller “investigate further” pile to the checkout counter. I usually end up purchasing my favorites from that reduced set.
I also love book stores. They offer the same opportunity to browse and stumble upon books you may not have known existed. However, book stores stock “popular” books and may not have much of a selection when it comes to earth sheltered reading. The large Barns and Noble near me had no books on earth sheltering and only one book on electrical. Even Home Depot got rid of their book section (they still sell one book in their wiring department) and Lowes only had a very small selection.
Fortunately, there is a thing that combines the best of the internet and books… Amazon lets you buy books on line! The selection is very wide. They are almost always cheaper (even after shipping) than the book store and they arrive in a couple days. Many let you preview the books and read reviews. Actually, Amazon is a pretty good way to buy lots of things, but books are especially convenient. Here are my list of the best books (and warnings about some of the worst)…
- Concrete books (links to come)
- Earth sheltered books (links to come)
- Electrical Books
As I went through my budget, it soon became apparent that I would need to put in a considerable amount of sweat equity to get the job done for what I could afford to pay. We already talked about how I would take care of the concrete ribs and steel studs.
But I always planned on hiring out for most of the more conventional trades (such as the excavation, concrete work, plumbing, HVAC, etc.), but the sum total was just too high for my budget to accept and something had to go. I chose electrical for a number of reasons. First, Cost. The electrical quotes were particularly ridiculous, electricians were doubling or tripling the quote due to FUD. Second, experience. I have done a little bit of wiring in the past, like adding a circuit and some lights and outlets to my current home. I was a bit concerned about doing the main panel or grounding system, but a friend assured me it was possible. Third, tool costs. Of all the options, the electricians tools box is the cheapest. It is certainly cheaper to buy my own electrical tools than to purchase a backhoe and bulldozer to do my own excavation. Bottom line. I think I can handle electrical better than I could handle HVAC or Plumbing or concrete work.
I am also getting some minor help from some friends with some better experience, and I plan to take it slow and learn as I go. But in the mean time, I hit my local library and got out a bunch of books on the subject, and that is also the subject of this post…
I skimmed through most of the books over about 3 evenings. I was really just looking for the books that seemed most applicable and had the best approach to teaching. I chose to renew the top few, and read those completely over the past couple weeks (including the Easter Holiday). These were the best ones…
note: with wiring, the code changes from year to year, so you really want to find the books that are up to date enough with the National Electric Code so you can pass inspection.
Wiring Simplified (44th Edition); This book had the fewest pictures, but gave the most specific references to the 2014 National Electrical Code. The authors of this book (Richter, Schwan and Hartwell) are extremely well respected. The writing style was a little bit dry, but I liked how, in addition to explaining what the NEC rules were and were to find them in the code, this book also explained the “why” behind each rule. “Wiring Simplified” really covered everything from the planning stage to how to actually setup the service entrance and wire everything up. In also included tricks for making the job easier.
Wiring a House (5th Edition); This is one of those books with pictures on every page. It stood out for me because it was really about wiring a whole house, which is what I needed to do. Many other books seemed focused only on renovations. The Author, Rex Cauldwell, also has a great reputation and brings both his experience as a master electrician (and plumber) and his degree in Electronic Engineering to this book. He tells you how to meet the code, and then common sense ways you should exceed it. The explanations and images are excellent. The book is actually a fun read with humor sprinkled throughout and as a result, I was able to read it much more quickly than some of the other books.
You’re about to learn all the top secret information about… wiring that contractors rarely discuss. You’re putting your ear to the keyhole and listening as we discuss what to buy and what to avoid, what looks good and what really is good, what works and what doesn’t. ~ Rex Cauldwell, Wiring a House, p 207.
I have one more book to go through, I may come back and put that here later…
I took some of what I learned from the books, YouTube, friends, etc. and put it here under Technotes => Conventional Systems => Electrical.
