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Old House Rewiring
The designs on houses built in the 1930’s and 40’s are one of a kind. The intricate details on the hardwood and distinct features of the structure are priceless. An old ancestral house allows us to travel back to centuries past. Still, as attractive as the house may be, there are various safety measures and precautions that must be taken to ensure that you and your family can move in without any unnecessary worries.
As you well know, the electrical wiring in old homes is not compatible with modern-day electrical standards. If you are thinking of owning or renting a Victorian or Colonial style home, rewiring the building is a crucial step which must be taken care of prior to moving in. Neglecting to rewire the house is quite simply a life risk.
The first thing you must do, then, is talk with a professional electrician. While a rewiring project is a feasible DIY undertaking, it is imperative that you be 100% certain that you are, in fact, skilled and equipped to perform the job. Are you aware of all the required safety codes, standards and regulations? Remember that any hitch or blunder on your part could prove to be a potential hazard for you, your family and your home. It is therefore best to entrust the rewiring project to an experienced electrician. It is safer and more practical to hire an electrical contractor who is familiar with older wiring techniques, and can easily update them so they can accommodate your electrical appliances.
Before replacing the old wires, the electrician must carefully inspect the premises. He must check the building both within and without, and list down all the features and items that need to be repaired. Old houses are not equipped with sockets and wirings suitable for modern appliances and these must therefore be added to the building. The electrical contractor must be extremely thorough when conducting this preliminary electrical inspection, as this could prevent future accidents.
Next, the electrician is required to perform electrical power checks. After locating the fuse box or breaker, he must write down all the cables, light switches, and electrical devices that run through each breaker, and check the electric power in each and every room of the house. This can sometimes be a rather dangerous task, which is why it is best that you hire an expert that knows how to safely check amperage and other related matters.
The electrical work in your home – whether old or new – should only be handled by experienced professionals. Finding a qualified and reliable electrician is not always an easy task. You can begin by going through electrical directories and searching the internet. Do not forget to ask for references, as these can be quite helpful when you're trying to determine the electrician's quality of work. Clearly, the electrical contractors you speak with must come over to your house. It is only after conducting a preliminary inspection that they can assess the extent – and cost – of the rewiring project. True, rewiring an old house could turn out to be expensive, but it is not something you can overlook, and having a professional electrician perform it is ultimately more beneficial, and is much safer than doing it on your own.