Electricity wiring in house: 10 proper steps to follow

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Electricity wiring in house: Your home’s electrical system is a complex system and knowing how it works will help you be a more “empowered homeowner”. Some areas do not allow an unlicensed homeowner to wire his own house because of the risk of an electrical fire from faulty wiring. However, one can still do so under the direction of a licensed electrician. In other areas, especially in rural locations, you are free to wire your house.

The following are the proper steps to follow when wiring your house.

1. Disconnect power

Electricity wiring in house

Power disconnection is the first step to do before trying any electric wiring in your home. Ask the power company to put off the service to your house or disconnect just from the meter on the wall or side of your house. Ensure it is off before starting any work.

2. Design a writing diagram

Electricity wiring in house:

Design a wiring diagram which shows the location of the breaker box and the path of the wires to each outlet.

3. Install conduits

Electricity wiring in house:

Start by running the longest wires first to avoid waste conduits in walls even if you don’t anticipate using them right away. Start each wire upstairs and pull it through to the basement. This way, you do not use a ladder to push the wire up between floors.

You should also leave at least one foot of extra wire at each end just in case you need to move things around later.

4. Get familiar with the different wires.

Electricity wiring in house

Make sure you understand which coloured wire should go and its purpose to avoid electrical shock and ensure wiring your house is safe. When installing wires, you need to recognize the parts of the cables for wiring, the non-metallic electrical cable: the outer sheathing (the jacket) and the inner ones.

5. Know outlet count

Electricity wiring in house

Determine how many outlets and switches will run on one circuit. Normally, six outlets per 110-voltage circuit are advisable in a living area, while as few as two per circuit are standard in a kitchen, where appliances use more wattage.

6. Drill wire holes

wiring your house

Before drilling any holes, make sure you know what is on the other side of the wall/floor to avoid drilling through any electrical wires, ductwork, or water pipes. Proceed by drilling holes with a 1-inch bit in the middle of the studs where your wires will travel. The more outlets you have, the safer your home.

7. Set a breaker

wiring your house

Set your breaker box where you can easily access it in the future. A location in a basement or a utility room is desirable.

8. Pull the wires to the outlets

wiring your house

When wiring your house place the roll of wire next to the breaker box and pull the wire according to your diagram to the closest outlet or switch for each circuit. You can also run the wires straight through the box. Any wires sticking out of the box may just get dry-walled over or could get cut from the electrical box.

Use wire strippers to remove the outer plastic coating from the ends of the wires and attach them, according to the instructions on the box, at each outlet, fixture or switch.

9. Install the circuits

wiring your house

Install individual circuits for each wiring set. The circuits must match the amperage of the wire and the intended purpose of the outlet.

10. Check Your Work

wiring your house

Before closing up and calling it done, check your work! Pull on the connections to ensure they are safe. Switch on the power and make sure everything is correctly done and starts up without incident. Also, inspect the casings with a voltage tester to ensure they are not electrified. Deploy the right insulators also for longer life.

Wiring your house is not an impossible task but you need to consult a professional to ensure that all regulations are met and to ensure that your safety is ensured as well!

87 thoughts on “Electricity wiring in house: 10 proper steps to follow”

  1. I learned something new today thanks to your post. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

  2. Great post on wiring installation! As someone who is not very experienced in this field, I found your explanations and tips to be extremely helpful. Your attention to detail and emphasis on safety were especially appreciated.

  3. I’ve been searching for steps on how to wire my house and this article really provided a step by step procedure plus the things I need to consider like the type of wires. Extremely helpful!

  4. Thanks for the info about wiring a home. My home has an old wire system. I’ll look for an electrician who can help with rewiring.

  5. It was very informative to know that there are different types of wire colors, and learning them is essential. I recently opened a candy store in town, and I need help with maintenance because I have no experience in tinkering with electrical stuff. To keep me safe, I’ll be sure to inquire with some of the best commercial maintenance services here in my area.

  6. Iam constructing a new home, This information gonna be very useful for me, It means a lot, Thank you

  7. Thanks for pointing out the need to determine the number of outlets and switches that need to run on one circuit. This reminds me of industrial factories where panel breakers and wiring need to be replaced with an updated one. I could imagine the importance of finding an electrical equipment and devices supplier for all the needs.

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  9. I truly roused by your blog since you have the best data about appropriate strides to follow when wiring your home, who assists us with each planning to take care from electric charger. Much obliged for sharing this.

  10. My father called me up last Sunday night right before bed and told me about how he is looking to hire electrical services to rewire his house. He noticed how many light in his home flicker at the same time constantly and that’s where I decided to help him look into it. Luckily for him, I found your very helpful post here. I am most fond of where you explained to use wire strippers to remove the outer plastic coating from the ends of the wires and attach them, according to the instructions on the box, at each outlet, fixture or switch. This is a great point you brought up here, which I’m sure those like my father will be sure to keep in mind. Thank you! I’ll pass this over to him in a bit!

  11. Electrical wiring is done by electricians who install, repair and maintain wiring, switches, conduits, circuit breakers, lighting and other apparatus in buildings and other structures.

  12. Merci pour cet article, une vérification par des électriciens professionnels est tout de même indispensable !

  13. Thankyou it is very informative for me, but i think should every room have its own junction box.

  14. This is very educative, i had learn a lot from it as a new graduate of the electrical department.

  15. I know some electrical work, but I am not an expert electrician. I need to wiring my house, and that’s why I was searching for some tips for wiring. After following your suggestions, I succussed in completing the wiring. Thanks for this helpful post.

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  23. It’s good to learn that set a breaker box when wiring your house for lights. My wife and I are wanting to renovate our bedroom and we were wondering what we should know before redoing our ceiling. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should set a breaker box somewhere when wiring the house.

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  25. A professional electrician knows how to upgrade your wiring to eliminate the damage. You could end up in a hospital with severe injuries from an electrical shock. It could also get worse.

  26. Thanks for explaining that it’s important to know how many outlets will run on one circuit when you’re rewiring your home. My husband and I would like to finally finish our basement, and we are trying to figure out all the electrical that will go down there. Since we don’t know how many circuits or switches we will need, I think it would be smart to hire a professional electrician that can help figure everything out and make sure it’s done correctly.

  27. The wiring for the lights and switches is running through the roof, the socket’s wiring is running through the floor, that is how it is installed when a house is newly built. what to do when you want to install extra sockets in and existing house, can the wiring also run up the wall and through the roof within conduct?

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  33. Information like this is extremely valuable. I cannot stress the importance of safety when it comes to wiring your home. Always be safe and make sure the job is correct if you want to prevent a fire. I would recommend this read to anyone interested in doing their own wiring. Proper supervision for a job like this is very important as stated so make sure a licensed electrician is there with you, or just hire him for the job!

  34. thank you so much l have got 3 houses needed to be re-wiring lm going to use your idea which l read and make more money

  35. It makes a lot of sense to put the breaker box in a very easily accessible location so that work can be done in the future. My brother is trying to build an addition on his house and garage this spring and he needs help. I think it’s time to hire an electrician that can do all of this work safely and efficiently.

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  37. That’s good to know that you would have to do things like install conduits and thing like that to rewire your house. that sounds a bit more complicated than I was expecting it to be. I should consider getting someone to do that for me since I am not sure that I would be able to do that safely.

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  40. My family has been doing some construction on our home recently and I think that it’s important for us to rewire our home correctly. I’ll take your advice and only put a few outlets in each area of the home so we don’t overload anything. Hiring an experienced electrician to help us with this project would allow us to focus on other things.

  41. I am not aware there are lots of safety concerns with this. I will be eternally thankful that I read this piece and it can save lives as well.

  42. Great, thank you for sharing a very informative article with us. This is true that we need an electrician every year for this repetition could we have an experienced electrician who can arrange each and everything in the manner. You can call us for this electrical problem at this number 1800205219

  43. Yes, you are right it will be very helpful to follow these steps to avoid any type of electrical problem in the future. Sometimes an electrical system will display signs when there are potential problems. Bad quality of electrical wiring can affect the functioning of electrical appliances. There are various equipment available to maintain the quality of your electrical system. Use a good quality of wire that will be long-lasting and protects the home with any type of electrical issue. I have heard about Electricians Exton PA who are specialist in all type of electrical works.

  44. I like how you mentioned using a wiring diagram that shows the path of each outlet. Having a solid plan makes any project go for mo smoothly. If I ever look for electrical services, I’d hope they’d do something similar when working on my house.

  45. This is very interesting. I will definitely start putting more time into something like this. Definitely sounds like it will be very beneficial in the long run.

  46. Great post! First of all, i want to thanks to this site,its really a amazing place where anyone can enhance his/her knowledge related to electrical designing. Each step were explained very clearly. It’s easy to understand for me. keep up the immense work!

  47. Thank you for pointing out that you should make sure you design a diagram so you know where each wire in the breaker box is. My husband and I are needing a new breaker box and want to find the best electrician in our area. I”ll have to look into finding the best electrician in my area.

  48. I truly enlivened by your blog since you have the best data about legitimate strides to pursue when wiring your house,who causes us each opportunity to take care from electric charger. A debt of gratitude is in order for sharing this.

  49. I want to make sure that I wire my house properly. I didn’t even think about setting a breaker and everything! Maybe it would be a good idea for me to get a professional to handle it. They have the proper training to get it done easily.

  50. As someone who is interesting in building a new home, I find your article about wiring houses as very informative. My favorite part was when you said that one can be “empowered” once properly finished. In my situation, however, I would rather have a professional have mine wired. This is to make sure that not only will the entire house be supplied with the proper electricity but also make sure that its construction follows local ordinances and other legal agenda.

  51. I really inspired by your blog because you have the best information about proper steps to follow when wiring your house,who helps us every time to take care from electric charger. Thanks for sharing this.

  52. Thanks for the information that you should check what is on the other side of the wall or floor before drilling to make sure you don’t hit any electrical wires, ductwork, or water pipes. My mom’s house was built in the ’50s so she wants to have it rewired to make sure everything is up to code. I’m not sure how to check what’s on the other side of a wall so we’ll have to find a professional that knows electrical design that can rewire the house for us.

  53. Excellent and helpful post. I am so glad to leave a comment on this. This has been so interesting ..I appreciate your effort. It really teaches me a lot. Big Thumbs up for the effort. Use wire strippers to remove the outer plastic coating from the ends of the wires and attach them, according to the instructions on the box, at each outlet, fixture or switch.

  54. Thanks for helping me understand that the breaker should be installed in an area where you can easily access it. I think that is important since it can prevent further emergency situations if you can switch off the breaker immediately. I will tell this to the electricians that we are going to hire when it is time to install wirings and everything related to electricity in our newly constructed house. As of now, the contractors are still in the finishing process of the roof.

  55. Thanks for your article. The above steps are very exact and i also think the everyone should also think to have annual electrical maintenance checks. There are some reasons why annual electrical inspections is a must for every home or business like 1. fire safety 2. Safety of the occupants 3. Adherence to Government Electrical Standards.

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