Electrical
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Installing a Dimmer Switch
A dimmer switch is one of life's little conveniences that, once installed, you wonder how you ever got along without it.
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Troubleshooting Your Thermostat
Pick one: it's freezing/sweltering out, and you're a) turning into an ice sculpture; b) sweating like a fiend. Before you throw in the towel and make a service call, make sure the problem isn't something you can fix yourself – like a simple glitch with your ...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Wiring in Unfinished Framing
Running cable through bare framing members is far easier than fishing it through a wall finished with drywall or plaster and lath. If the existing wall surface is flawed or if you also are installing plumbing in a remodeling job, it usually saves work to tear off all the drywall....
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Adding a New Circuit
To install a new electrical circuit, ensure your service panel can accept a new breaker. Now plan a circuit that won’t be overloaded. To buy a breaker to fit your panel, note the brand and model number of your current breakers, or bring a sample to the store. Install the...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Joining Wire to a Terminal
First, it’s important to ensure that the power is off, then use long-nose pliers to strip and bend the wire. Use either long-nose pliers or a wire-bending screwdriver to form a near-loop with an opening just wide enough to slip over the threads of a terminal screw. Then...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Installing a New GFCI
What's a GFCI and why do you need one? Ground-fault circuit-interrupter receptacles are safety devices that protect you from electrical shock in the event of a short in an appliance, extension cord or plug. When they detect even small current variations, they shut off power...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Adding a Telephone Extension
Pity the poor phone line. Few things have had to pick up the slack to take us into the information age like telecommunications. So it's not unusual to find answering machines, fax machines, and computer modems sharing space with telephones on our ever-stretched phone lines....
Skill: Beginner
Time: 3 hours
Lighting a Suspended Ceiling
Many fixtures require some assembly. To wire the light, feed cable through the opening in the top. For long runs of fluorescent lighting, connect the fixtures end-to-end with special locknuts and connectors. The mounting bracket varies from brand to brand – some have a tee-bracket...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Installing a Programmable Thermostat
Forget the stock market. Few hour-long home-improvement projects will pay year-in, year-out cost-saving dividends like replacing your old thermostat with a new programmable - or "automatic setback" - model. Depending on the severity of the winters where you live, you ...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 2 hours
Working with NM Cables
You'll find nonmetallic (NM) cable easy to cut and quick to install. Just be careful when you remove the sheathing so you don't accidentally slit the wire insulation. If you do, cut off the damage and start again; otherwise, you may get a short or a shock. Whenever possible,...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Low-voltage Lighting
Low-voltage lighting is available in ready-to-install kits and as individual lights. Surface-mounted lights are easier to install than recessed lights, but you can create a more finished look with recessed lights. Spend some time looking at the outdoor lighting options available...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 2 hours
Installing a Cable TV Jack
You've probably seen cable-TV installations where the bare coaxial cable simply enters a room via a crude hole drilled through the floor or a baseboard (maybe you've seen them in your own house). They're functional but not too decorative. For a more finished and permanent...
Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour
Installing Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting
Low-voltage landscape lights — those that are 12-volt AC — literally are a snap to install. The lighting parts snap together, and the connectors snap into place. The cable looks like a lamp cord.
Skill: Beginner
Time: 2 hours
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