Residential Services

5 Residential Wiring Aspects of Home Improvement Projects

Posted by on Jul 26, 2014 in Blogs, Residential Services, Residential Wiring | Comments Off on 5 Residential Wiring Aspects of Home Improvement Projects

5 Residential Wiring Aspects of Home Improvement Projects

Growing families and aging houses combine to create a need for home improvement projects big and small. You may be adding a second story over your attached garage while your neighbor puts on a new roof, but each job has one thing in common: a need for professional electrical work. A lot depends on the size of your project and the age of your house, but a professional electrical contractor will work with you to determine what factors you need to consider before starting on your home improvement project.

#1: New Wiring

If you’re adding a room onto your home, you’ll need to look at your wiring needs before you finalize your plans. You should work with a licensed electrician from the very beginning to determine the amount of power you’ll need running through the room, the number of outlets that are necessary, and any lighting fixtures you might want to install. This should all be part of the original planning stage before any actual work begins.

#2: Upgraded Wiring

Your basic house structure is solid, but you don’t like the old-fashioned moldings and you’re using the room much more than you used to. You may not need an entirely new set of electrical wiring, but an upgrade may be in order. Adding more outlets to a room due to increased entertainment use may put a strain on your system. Older fuse boxes should be replaced by modern circuit breakers, and old wiring should be inspected to make sure it’s still in good condition.

#3: Outlets and Switches

Upgrading a bedroom or dining room may call for installing a dimmer switch to help with the mood as well as controlling electrical costs. High efficiency fixtures combined with dimmer switches can enhance any room while saving money.

Any room which can contain moisture should be equipped with GFCI outlets, including:

  • Bathrooms
  • Garage
  • Workshop
  • Backyard
  • Kitchen
  • Wet bar area of basement
  • Hot tub
  • Pool area

#4: Lightning Safety

Every home improvement project that includes a new roof should have lightning protection installed in the form of air terminals, also known as lightning rods. These short, unobtrusive poles allow lightning that strikes your home to be harmlessly diverted into a grounding pad away from your house, prevent electrical and fire damage. In addition, a contractor will advise additional protection in the form of surge suppression, to ensure the safe operation of your delicate electronics during sudden power outages due to lightning.

#5: Energy Savings

Instead of replacing old materials with newer versions of the same type, consider changing them completely to more efficient and less expensive energy-saver varieties. All light bulbs can be improved upon by changing them out for LED lighting systems. They run cooler, use less power, and give off a brighter light than older incandescent bulbs. For fluorescent lights in basements, kitchens, and hobby rooms, replacing the ballast in each light for new, high efficiency models can save power and add to a greener lifestyle. Even a simple study of the way your family uses the rooms can reveal wasted electrical power and ways to rearrange your living space to make the most of what you’ve already got going in each area.

When you’re considering a home improvement project, don’t neglect the residential wiring aspects – it will just cost you more in the long term if you do.

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Electrical Considerations for Renovating a Home

Posted by on Jul 18, 2014 in Blogs, Home Renovation, Residential Services | Comments Off on Electrical Considerations for Renovating a Home

Electrical Considerations for Renovating a Home

It’s always a smart idea to check and update the wiring in a home when taking on a renovation project. The wiring itself is often less work than actually accessing the works inside walls and flooring, so the best time to work on them is when the bones of the house are already showing. Age is always a factor when it comes to electrical work; if your home is more than 30 years old, it probably has outdated wiring and inadequate power outlets. Keep your family and the next 20 years in mind when deciding on how much electrical work to do while you’re renovating a home.

Planning for the Future

Technology tends to creep, and the total quantity of electronic gadgets in a home generally increases every year. This means a bigger need for electrical outlets in every room in the house. Look at what your family uses right now and double the number of outlets you think you need. Renovating a room or house is a major project, and something you won’t want to do any more often than necessary.

Pay attention to daily tasks your family does now, and those likely to be common in the next ten years or so. These might include:

  • Recreational reading
  • Crafts and hobbies
  • Using a computer
  • Gourmet cooking

Each of these activities will have special electrical needs, from extra outlets in a kitchen for the gourmet cook to special corner task lighting for a reading nook. Adding extra outlets is rarely a bad thing, especially in the busiest parts of your house.

Updating for Flexibility and Safety

Convenience is one reason to update your electrical wiring, but safety and flexibility of use can be even more important. Older wiring can fray and become a fire hazard, and homes with fuse boxes or inadequate circuit breakers can be safety hazards, as well. It makes sense to check out all the wiring and electrical installations in a room or portion of the home when taking it apart for renovation. Even if you only decide to upgrade a portion of the room, you’ll have peace of mind knowing the wiring left behind is safe for your family.

One way to save money on a new wiring system when you’re renovating a home is to use the old conduits, if the wiring plan hasn’t changed too much. These major installations have already been shown to be safe and logical ways to deliver power and protect wiring. If you find you can use much of the same older wiring plan, then using the old conduit will save you a significant amount of money on the upgrade.

Use a Professional Electrical Contractor

General contractors and handymen are useful for many types of home improvement project, but when it comes to the wiring planning and execution in your home, you need to use a licensed professional electrician. An experienced professional will sit down with you from the first day to coordinate an electrical plan with your renovation and remodeling ideas. He knows building codes and safety issues having to do with electrical work, and can offer improved and alternate ideas for your upgrade plan. A local professional will also know the local building codes, and can pull permits for doing work on your project. He can work with you on the original blueprint and offer suggestions on how to improve on your electrical system for both safety and economy.

Contact us to discuss your electrical needs when you’re renovating a house.

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4 Reasons You Might Need Residential Rewiring During Renovations

Posted by on May 2, 2014 in Blogs, Residential Services | 0 comments

4 Reasons You Might Need Residential Rewiring During Renovations

A quick tour through South Florida will find charming neighborhoods filled with classic older homes. Instead of tearing down and rebuilding, savvy homeowners are renovating their existing buildings, saving money while keeping the unique Florida flavor. A lot of these classic older homes are structurally sound and mostly need cosmetic work, but it’s always a good idea to look at the wiring during a renovation. Residential rewiring isn’t just for putting plugs in more convenient places; it can be needed for many different reasons.

Increased Use

When many of these classic homes were built, entertainment included evenings around the radio and playing cards at the dining room table. With today’s increased electrical use, you’re pulling huge amounts of electricity through a system designed for minimal loads. Compare the electrical usage in the 1930s with today’s mega refrigerators, air conditioning, computers, and gaming systems. You’ll see why all but the most casual summer cottages are in the need of a rewiring job.

Older Hardware

Your older South Florida home may have been state-of-the-art when it was built, but it’s probably sadly out of date. Older electrical hardware is more likely to burn out, short out, or become a fire hazard than newer equipment. A quick search through your home during the renovation process can find some clues that your equipment needs replacing.

  • Fabric covered wires instead of today’s modern vinyl or plastic coated variety
  • Bakelite wall switches
  • Ceiling lights with pull chains
  • Electrical outlets with only two plug holes

A Fuse Box

One of the biggest clues that you have an older electrical system is that you have a fuse box instead of a modern circuit breaker. Fuses prevent electrical overload by burning out, just as a circuit breaker does when it flips a breaker, but they require replacement every time they blow. If your system is old enough to have fuses, it’s likely they’re blowing out often, because you’re using much more power than the system was designed for. Make a circuit breaker part of your residential rewiring to ensure your system is rated for safe usage.

Outdoor Living

Seventy years ago, outdoor home use usually meant sitting on the porch after dinner or letting the kids play in the yard after school. Now most South Florida homeowners consider their backyard as another room in the house. It’s great for entertaining, with barbecues, pools, and fire pits, and often used as an alternate dining room for many months of the year. With all these additions being done to the home, you’ll need lots of extra electrical wiring and outlets to handle it. From outdoor lighting for dining as well as security, to pool filters and landscape lighting, your residential rewiring job probably includes quite a bit of work outside of the house itself.

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