Electrical Repairs
Easy to Learn Steps Toward Considerable Savings In Home Electrical Repairs:
Lesson two: tool kit
The greatest fear a new “Mr. Fix-it” often faces is considering the challenge of an electrical project. The primary hurdle is the fear of being shocked. It is this unnecessary fear which often times prompts a call to a costly service repairman. A healthy respect for electricity cannot be over emphasized however; working on electrical components is undoubtedly one of the safest, easiest and certainly the cleanest undertaking for the home owner
The truth of the matter is: It is absolutely impossible to receive an electrical shock if there is no current passing through, or stored in, the device or appliance. Pull the plug, remove the fuse or trip the breaker. It is as simple as that yet literally hundreds of home owners meet with an untimely demise every year due to electrical shock. Disconnecting the source is a very simple, common sense rule to avoid such tragedies.
There really is nothing difficult in any phase of electrical work. Once you have a fundamental understanding of electricity the odds are you may have a more difficult time assembling a child’s toy at Christmas than replacing a light switch, receptacle or ceiling fan.
Now then, most electrical panels are located either in a utility room, garage or basement. Ironically these are the very rooms which you are most likely to find either a wet or damp floor. Go figure! Institute a few Precautionary and Safety measures: they are a must.
Beneath the electrical panel in my home I have an 18 inch by 24 inch rubber matt. Secondly, stored in a clear plastic envelope I have a sign which reads: “Stop. Work In Progress Do Not Open”. I tape this sign to the outside of the panel’s door whenever I am doing electrical work in the house. If I need to flip a breaker to the “off” position, I place a small piece of Red Tape across the breaker.
Furthermore, in an occupied home communication is extremely important. It is not uncommon for a circuit to supply electricity to more than one room. Let everyone in the house know you are working on the electrical system. Do not feel that you are going a bit overboard. The way I see it; should someone stumble upon me lying on the floor, with my hair really, really curly, it will be extremely difficult for them to convince me that: “It waaas an ac-ci-dent” if they try to explain why they turned the breaker back to the “on” position.
Lastly, make certain you have allocated enough time to finish the project. Leaving an open, unattended circuit for any unnecessary length of time is an invitation for disaster. Considering the speed of electricity is in the neighborhood of 20,000 miles per second, unless you are extremely gifted with exceptionally fast reflexes, you will have very little chance to avoid an electrical shock should you accidentally grab or brush against a live wire.
Modern civilization has brought at least a hundred different machines, devices and appliances into our home. Any one of them has been known to “pass their electrons on to the Great Voltage Meter” in the sky at the most inopportune time.
You need not wait for a repairman.
With an inexpensive tool kit you can manage just about any electrical home repair project. Your electrical portion of this toolkit should consist of at least the following:
One pair of needle nose pliers
One pair of lineman’s pliers
One large and one small spade screwdriver
One #2 and one #1 Phillips screwdriver
A wire stripper capable of stripping 10, 12 and 14 gauge wire
A voltage tester, a continuity tester, and jumper wires
Electrical tape and wire caps for 10, 12 and 14 gauge wire
An electrical soldering iron and electrical wire solder.
I enjoy going to yard sales and flea markets for tools. Shopping this way a basic electrical kit will cost around 25 or 30 dollars to put together and it can literally save you hundreds of dollars the first time you use it.
While this is a good starter kit, it goes without saying the more extensive your tool kit the more work you can do and so you have a greater potential for saving exceptional amounts of money.
If your budget allows, here are a few additional items I consider to add safety and potential to your kit.
Circuit Breaker Finder is the perfect tool for tracing live wiring and outlets! New – about $80.00
A Non-Contact Voltage Detector is great for detecting energized wires and terminals without touching them. This device is just generally good to have around but also is great for the novice to determine where the “feed” is coming from. New - about $21.00.
A Circuit Analyzer. It plugs directly into the socket just like any other plug. Yellow and red indicators instantly signal which wire is defective. The pattern can be easily decoded with a chart located on the top of the unit. Most have built in GFCI testers. New - about $8.00
This recession is real and we haven’t seen the bottom yet. If you buy your tools only as you need them your budget should stay intact. Flea markets, yard sales and learning to do some very easy repairs around the home are great providers during any economic situation.
In Lesson Three: What to get for the Man Who Has Everything, but Doesn’t Know Squat!
Brian Pacatte is a light commercial/residential builder of 18 years.
Entertaining, down to earth and easy to read information and/or instructions are offered for the homeowner wanting to stretch their remodeling budget.
If you are selling your home and wish to get the highest return for your investment, his articles are a Must Read.
Brian heads up a 24/7 forum where you are invited to ask questions regarding ‘How To’ projects. Questions are typically answered in 24 to 48 hours.
They also manage Creative Building Solutions where the DIY novice is guided through various home improvement projects
Save Money by Grouping All Your Electrical Repair Jobs Together
Many people are greatly concerned regarding the total cost they will need to spend to have their electrical projects completed. One great way homeowners and business owners can save money on electrical repair jobs is to group the projects together and have the electrician perform all of the work at one time. The best way to ensure that you have all of your electrical needs repaired at once is to make a thorough investigation of your electrical problems and have them fixed immediately.
You may find that the best way to locate all of your electrical projects is to have regular inspections of your wiring and electrical system. If your electrician determines that you need any repairs, you should arrange to have everything fixed as soon as possible. By having a qualified electrician regularly inspect your home, you can make certain that you are aware of all of your electrical problems and can devise a reasonable time frame to have them addressed.
When your electrical system is working in proper order, you’ll find that you’ll save more money as well as energy costs. In addition to having your jobs performed at once, you may find that you can benefit by using a few energy saving tips. First, you should make sure that you turn off lights throughout your home when they are not in use. Though it may seem simple, this is a great way to cut back on wasted energy and will significantly lower your energy bill. You’ll also find that switching all of your light bulbs from incandescent to CFL (or compact fluorescent light bulbs) will also reduce your total energy usage. At first, you may wonder if the switch is worth it due to the fact that CFL bulbs are more expensive but when you compare the amount to the lifespan of the bulbs, you’ll see that the benefits are great. By having your home or business regularly inspected by an electrician, having all of your repairs performed at once and taking steps to lower your energy usage, you will find that you save money on both your electrical repairs and use.
Shocking Facts on Electrical Safety
When it comes to electrical safety, many people in commercial, service and light industrial sectors view their workplaces as low risk environments where their safety is not at risk. Unfortunately, electrical shock accidents in the workplace are increasingly common in all work environments; not just in construction and heavy industrial settings. In fact, between 1997 and 2003 the workplace became the primary environment for electrical shock accidents!
Identifying electrical hazards and effectively addressing them to prevent accidents that could cause injuries and/or property damage is essential. You may have even noticed some of the most commonly occurring electrical hazards in your workplace without recognizing them as such. For example, lights that flicker, switches or receptacles that are warm to the touch, extension cords not rated for the equipment to which they’re connected, frayed or cracked wires, a slight burning odour coming from panels or transformers or equipment such as computers and photocopiers left on for extended periods of time when not in use.
Though these conditions seem relatively harmless, the fact is that they represent a serious risk of electrical shock or fire; a risk that can and should be prevented. How? By taking a common sense approach that includes:
1. Employee Training
Ensure all employees have taken the appropriate safety training relative to the work that they do; a wide range of training in electrical safety is available through the Electrical Safety Authority and other sources.
2. Awareness
In Ontario, any electrical product sold, displayed, or connected to a source of power must be approved by a recognized certification agency. Any electrical product that is not approved by such an agency may be unsafe and could pose a serious electrical shock and/or fire hazard. Inexpensive extension cords are a primary example; many imported items such as these are not certified to Canadian safety standards and should not be used.
3. Inspections
Electrical Inspections are required for all new electrical equipment installations and for the electrical maintenance of existing electrical installations. Ensure that all work is performed by a licensed electrician as mandated by the Ontario Ministry of Labour.
4. Planned Maintenance
Stop trouble before it starts! Plan electrical maintenance checks for all systems including production, HVAC and others; this not only helps to minimize risk it can also minimize costs by reducing emergency electrical services, electrical maintenance requirements and expensive, avoidable repairs.
Painting Kitchen Cabinet – Remodel, Reface or Paint your Kitchen Cabinets?
You kitchen cabinets take everything from grimy hands to cooking grease to messy spills. They really take a beating. If your kitchen cabinets need eventual remodeling, but you are short on money right now, painting kitchen cabinet may be a cheap and easy solution.
You will spend far less than you would for replacement or even refacing. And, if you plan on painting kitchen cabinet yourself, you can expect to save even more money. For even the cheapest cabinets for a 10X12 foot kitchen can easily run over $5000 and this doesnt include the cost of putting them in or new countertops. You may find that your new cabinets dont have the same high quality as your old cabinets either.
Even refacing, which is the process of veneering your existing cabinet boxes, and replacing old drawers and doors can cost about $3500. When you decide to on painting kitchen cabinet, the cost of materials like brushes, primer and paint will cost you a low price of about $200. If you have a professional do the job of painting kitchen cabinet, expect to pay about $1000 more.
But, even painting kitchen cabinet cant help if you have a poor kitchen design or any fundamental structure flaws. When you have cheap cabinets, they grow old and feeble just like people with age. When you have thin sides and backs, they are often veneered with vinyl paper and they can peel. An undersized particleboard cabinet bottom or the shelf can sometimes sag or even break. Rails that hang, especially on the upper cabinets, can begin to come loose as well.
You can replace doors and drawers easily, but if you have structural problems, then the cabinets are not a good bet for refinishing or much of anything else. You are better off just replacing them. But, if the damage is only limited to worn surfaces, nicks and cuts and little dings, a new coat of paint can work miracles on those old cabinets. When you decide that painting kitchen cabinet is the way to go for you, dont forget to replace your old kitchen hardware with some new, so that the kitchen will have a bright and fresh look all over.
Discount Kitchen Cabinets vs. Kitchen Cabinet Refacing
A complete set of kitchen cabinets can start at around $800 at the bottom of the line for discount kitchen cabinets and go all the way up to $100,000 for a high quality set.
To estimate the costs of your kitchen cabinets measure the length of the area that will have base cabinets, the ones that sit on the floor, and the length of the wall cabinets.
Add these two numbers together and you have the number of lineal feet of required cabinets. If it is your intent to install a pantry or other cabinet that is floor to ceiling, include the length dimension in both the base and wall cabinet number.
Most home centers and kitchen cabinet specialty retailers will post an average lineal price for each design and quality. The price per lineal foot does not include the countertop or cabinet installation.
The lineal foot price indicated is usually based on a 10-foot long, straight wall configuration, (no corner cabinets required or glass doors). It will not include any trim or cabinet options and in most cases will not include doorknobs, or drawer pulls. Unless specifically indicated the price will not include installation.
As a rule of thumb, you can double the lineal foot price of the cabinets to arrive at the total cost of the project, installed.
The lineal per foot cost is in the doors and hardware. Doors can be made of veneered MDF or hardwoods that are richly stained. Luxury door hardware, such as hinges, knobs, and pulls can add as much as $50 to the price of a specific cabinet.
Drawer slides are also an important price driver. Quality drawer slides make a major difference to the price of a cabinet.
When you are shopping for your cabinets, pay special attention to the hardware that is used and fabrication techniques. Make sure you are comparing similar qualities when looking at best price.
Knowledge and planning are the keys to a successful home remodel project.
Kitchen cabinets have an enormous spread in pricing from $80 a lineal foot for laminate faced, self-assembly to $300 a lineal foot for hardwood doors, glass insets, and ceiling trims.
Because of this spread in price, it is important to set a top amount that you can afford. Then you consider the cabinet designs available up to that price point.
If your cabinets are in good shape, or at least the frame is in good shape, and you like the configuration, consider replacing just the doors. Combined with a refinishing job on the frame, this option can give you a whole new look at a fraction of the cost of new cabinets.
The choices are simple when it comes to doors: replace them completely, refinish your existing doors or do a combination of both.
Replacing your doors is quite self-explanatory; unless you have strangely designed custom-built doors, door sizes are standard and replacements will be easy to find at any good home renovation store or cabinet manufacturing company.
Judge replacement doors just as you would the entire cabinets. Look for quality materials and excellent finishes.
Another option is kitchen cabinet refacing. kitchen cabinet refacing involves removing your kitchen cabinet doors and drawers and resurfacing them with wood or laminate veneer. The newly refaced doors and drawer fronts are then mounted using new hinges and pull.
For the best look, the interior edges of the face frame should also be faced, or at least completely sanded and refinished. This process is much less expensive than replacing your kitchen cabinets, yet provides a fresh updated look.
The cost of having the average kitchen refaced by a professional kitchen cabinet refacing company can run between $2500-$5000 depending on the size, number and layout of the existing cabinets, and is considerably less than replacing the whole kitchen. Kitchen cabinet refacing can usually be done in about 3-5 work days.
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