Dwelling

Wiring Complete

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Best electrical DIY

The clearest, most intelligible, most up-to-date, step-by-step instructions of how to wire most household electrical jobs. Heavily (1,000 photos), smartly illustrated. Besides unraveling the complexities of 3-way switching (I always need help with this), this second-edition deals with other wiring besides electrical power: cable, phone, ethernet. Despite the wireless era, I’ve got more wires in our home every year, and this book has encouraged me to tackle them myself. The guide is supremely practical, full of great tips for working with real wires in real walls. It helped me figure out how to tap a power outlet inside my house for an outdoor line. I can’t think of anything it misses.

-- KK 04/30/20

Excerpt

In some old houses, the neutral wires -- rather than the hot wires -- may be attached (incorrectly) to receptacles or switches, in violation of code. So when testing existing receptacles, switches, or fixtures, test /all/ wires for voltage.

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Each multimedia connector is to the left of the cable It terminates. From left: RG6 F-connector, dual-shielded RG6 coaxial cable; RJ-45 (eight-pin) jack, Cat 6 UTP data cable; RJ-ll (six-pin) jack, Cat 3 phone cable; two RCA audio jacks (sometimes called banana jacks), 14-gauge low-loss audio cable.

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A nut-driver bit speeds up splicing, but be careful not to over twist wires.

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They then use a plumb laser to transfer marks to the ceiling.

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(This is a Cool Tools Favorite from 2014 — editors)

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