Unless you really know what you're doing, hire a pro (and make sure the pro knows what they are doing)

I'm with you Emily. A mistake with wiring could lead to such a disaster that it's well worth it.

check your building codes, typically you always need a licensed electrician if its hardwired. also check your homeowners policy. If yomething happens and its your fault it wont be covered

I think most homeowners would be comfortable changing a bulb :)

Anything beyond that I suggest engaging with a pro.

Best of luck!

I call an electrician for any work that requires me to change something INSIDE a ceiling or wall rather than simply ON it. I'll change out fixtures, install dimmers, that kind of thing, but if it involves running wire - no way.

When you don't want to burn your house down.. If you are asking than you might want to call an electrician.

I've changed ceiling lighting fixtures & wall switches & receptacles, but anything requiring going through JB or to breaker panel, I'm on the phone w/ my sparky (Navy slang for electrician).

Anything beyond changing an outlet or switch should be done by an educated licensed electrician. Even a simple outlet is easily are backwards so doing research and having an understanding of basic electrical theory is needed. Switches and outlets also can be wired without grounding or switching the wrong side.

People don't realize there are very specific regulations that define everything from outlet spacing to where staples are placed retaining wires. They see on TV simply hooking up or running 2 wires, how hard can it be?

I say it every day here it is an insult to educated licensed tradespeople. Yes, there are the very few homeowners who take the time to educate themselves and learn the correct way to do smaller simpler repairs. The others just create a mess that is hidden behind something pretty.

I was Navy electronics tech, I have some familiarity. My house was built before GFCI's were req'd. I did hire sparky to convert std. receptacles near water to GFCI's. Converting ungrounded to grounded should also involve an electrician. But a basic like-for-like is no trouble. Most components come w/ instructions that tell one which color wire to connect to what color post. Exception might be 3-way ckts. One has to pay attention w/ those. Most should hire sparky for 3-ways.

Also, unless you know how to CHECK wiring, you never know whose work you are dealing with. A previous DIYer may have done a number on the wiring. Even contractors are known to make mistakes.

Joe

my husband will change light fixtures, outlets and regular switches, but he won't deal with 3 way switches on up.

I'm married to a man that loves to go to school. 4 years of electrical school, 2 years of computer tech, 2 years auto mechanics and various short term classes. All in all, doing the work himself has probably paid all the tuition.

In Ontario Canada, by law you must hire a certified electrician. The days of "my mechanic buddy who is good at electrical is going to wire my new house and save me tons of money" is looonnnng gone.

When we built our home, I wanted to do something myself. I didn't want to paint, wasn't good at carpentry and didn't know plumbing. I figured electricity was just physics and I was pretty good at physics. I found some good reference books (including "wiring a house" published by the Fine Homebuilding people) and read up on it. If electricians could learn it, so could I. When it came time for my inspections, the inspector checked EVERY receptacle. He was hard on me but I appreciated the safety check. Since then I wired my own swimming pool and detached garage. It can be done and now that you tube exists the resources are even better.

BorisMD1, I agree. I'm a lot more afraid of gas than electricity. Once I was trying to figure out why my gas heater for spa wasn't working. It had loud explosion. I thought I'd been mortared in Vietnam. I drove to ground & covered my head. Turns out, a spider had laid eggs in gas line, building up pressure. When I tried to light it, the backed up bolus of gas blew up. Electricity's never scared living H out of me.

When we sold our home of 15 years' worth of DIY projects, the only re-wiring that was required after the inspection were 3 items that were installed by licensed electricians--and inspected. One dated back to the original construction--an outdoor outlet on a screen porch that was no longer up to code. The other two were an upgrade to the electric panel (a whole house surge suppressor) and an improper junction box under the house. In the rest of the house there were extensive changes and improvements done by my husband that met with approval. My husband simply knows how to read a code book--and does. We call in an electrician when the local laws require it or if the job is more work than he wants to deal with. We also have more complex jobs done by electricians--like the installation of the whole house surge suppressor. In that case the licensed installer didn't get it right either, nor did the inspector that checked the box after the work was done. It was an uncommon upgrade and we should have checked into the requirements more and made sure that it was done right. You can work on your wiring if you watch youtube like BorisMD1, check the code book and learn what your local building codes require.

As someone who works with electricity, anyone not afraid of working with electricity has no business working with electricity. It is not that it is difficult, but it is every bit as lethal as an explosion.

It is possible work on your own wiring, it really isn't that complicated. But if you have something go wrong that causes damage, make sure _your_ insurance will cover it since you don't have a bonded electrician to blame.

Electricity might not have spiders in the line, but ants love electricity and also happen to be quite conductive. I've had shorts cause by an ant body crossing the hot and ground.

Joe

JFutral, interesting re ants. I worked w/ electricity up to 3-ph, 480VAC in Navy.

Some things require a licensed electrician, in order to ensure code compliance and passing inspection. Simple outlet, dimmer additions, and fixture replacement do not require a licensed electrician. I have no electrical training or experience, but these simple tasks were not hard to learn or accomplish, once I became a home owner. Though, I do have 17 yrs of electronics repair experience.

Right, once you get down to the household level of outlets and switches, it is basically hot-common-ground. As long as you know which wire is which and where they go, it is simple, no worrying about single or three phase power. But even these days the common is expected to attach to a particular blade in the plug. Plus, more and more the ground should be over the blades when installing the outlet, as opposed to traditionally the ground went below.

Joe

Yup. That's how the book I referenced (Wiring a House) suggested. They all looked "upside down" to me, but it makes sense. If a metal object falls onto a partially plugged in device, instead of causing a short, the object hits the ground.

Also, it is critical to make certain that there is no juice flowing to the wires you are working on or around. You can't trust what the electricians wrote in the main panel. You must verify with a voltage detector.

JFutral is right about common being connected to correct post. On purely resistive loads, such as incandescent light bulbs, it didn't make a difference. But today so many things are electronic, i.e. LED bulbs & digitally controlled small appliances, polarity is important. Killing the circuit beforehand is also important. A lot of older electricians worked w/ hot circuits serving resistive loads. I'd suggested to a sparky to kill circuit before doing a job for me, but he said he could handle it hot. Well, he drew small arc & blew out controller for ceiling fan. He replaced it at his cost, and I think he now de-energizes the circuits.

Great story, about sparky! Yeah that's someone who forgot to be afraid (a good healthy fear) of electricity.

Joe

I can change a bulb, maybe a switch plate (I might trip the breaker on purpose first!). Everything else - and I mean everything - gets a licensed electrician. And I will not only check the license, but BBB.

ALWAYS hire a lisc. electrician for everything except changing a bulb in a table lamp!

I was a Florida Power & Light brat (thanks Dad.) I wandered around the plant with him on weekends and learned a healthy appreciation for caution, safety and not accidentally electrocuting myself...or burning down my house (which I'm sure LMIC appreciates.). Light bulbs, yes. I have excellent companis that I use for electrical, plumbing and weird stuff. Yes, I pay $ for the services but I help support the other people who live in the community (they have to eat and raise a family too.) The peace of mind is worth it AND, best of all ... If I have a real emergency I have established relationships so getting OMG help is no problem...simple...

Always hire an electrician....never take a chance!

I do all my own electrical work on my house but I'm a retired electrician of 44 years and I find people scared of electricity

electricity is something that I'd like to do myself, even the wiring. I do think and rethink and draw out the schematics to figure out if what I want to do is right and am not afraid to ask a pro (who's a friend) to look over my plans and to help out when I'm not sure. But about 80% of it I can manage myself. I take my time with it. I've seen pros make mistakes that I wouldn't make, not because I'm better at it but because they work faster and wanted to get the job done and could go home in time.

As long as you get your plan permitted by your local authority you can pull your own wiring and do your box and fixture install. Just dead end and label the wires at the breaker box (don't connect them to the breakers) and call an electrician to make the connections.

Had to smile when Mr. Hutson said people are scared of electricity. DMn straight. But a healthy respect is good. I have found when I think I have something totally figured out what s when dumb mistakes happen..I commend his ability and I'll bet he's good since working w/juice 44 years...but I vacuumed barefooted as I prefer and stepped a strip of staples...you want hurt? Forget glass...try staples. I didn't pay close attention and one of my bozo cats must have found them. Thanks Zoe!! So now I am more careful..so each person has a scared level for certain things...

I've done lots of wiring -- outlets, light fixtures, switches. One of the "bonuses" of old houses is not having anywhere near enough outlets. With my first house, I bought Sunset Basic Home Wiring. The first outlet (an easy, crawl-space fish job) took all day, including calls to my dad. Got a lot easier after that. I check my work, and I'm very careful. Haven't burned anything down yet.

If you are qualified then you can do it yourself, some electrical repairs are dangerous, so it's better to hire a specialist for major repairs. Feel free to replace light bulbs but for other repairs call electrical contractors.

Thanks for updating this, Wendy, as I am replacing one of the outdoor wall lights. The old one is kind of separating from the wall and it's rather ugly so I bought a nice new one. There is, I think, no re-wiring to be done, just a replacement, but does anyone here know if that kind of job is best done by a licensed electrician rather than a very, very good handyman? Also, a picture recently fell off the bedroom wall and broke part of the plate. Is that something I can just replace or should I have an electrician do it? I have a healthy respect for electricity and don't want to risk anything.

It would never be too early to hire an electrician. But5, you should know better when it is the right time to hire an electrician. For me, the job of an electrician is very important, so even before starting the repair, I would look for an electrician. When I moved into our new house, I planned for it to be full of lights. It was important for me to hire an electrician who would do his job qualitatively. And from the beginning, I turned to some Electrical Contractors with specialist skills who did a great job. So if I had been in your place, the work of the electricians would have already been done. But you decide the right time.