5 Tips for Electricians working in Residential Remodels
Service electricians and remodel construction electricians often go hand-in-hand. It is crucial to know and understand how residents are wired. it will aid in how long it takes you a complete a remodel and is critical. along with understanding costs exactly. knowing exactly what you need and where you're going to need it. following a good electrician or a good installer will simplify your process because all wiring should be properly labeled outside of receptacle boxes and switch Box locations as well as the stubs that they are secured to.
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This guy is an accurate description of a "very well rounded electrician". Dustin is an awesome dude, knows what he's talking about
This is a Message to all the Apprentices and Helpers. Don't trust your journeyman or mechanic when he tells you to cut out any wires or cut any conduits. Always check what breaker or remove the jacket and test the individual wires.
Whether an apprentice or another skilled electrician, test before you touch, every time. Test when coming back from break or lunch. Hopefully you have the chance to install a LOTO device before beginning the work. But even if you do, always test.
you don’t have to tell me lol
There's no better way to learn than blowing up a pair of linemans. Theory is one thing, memory is another.
One of my first jobs the foreman told me to ring out an escalator circuit he told me wasn’t hot. After I smoked my handset on a 480 circuit I called him out and he said “don’t you know how to use a wiggy dumbass? Never believe me or anyone else without checking for yourself.” A lesson I never forgot.
Amen! I know an apprentice that got blown up cutting a conduit that a 40 year vet told him to cut and it ended up being 575 volt circuit
I remember one time I was tracing out wiring in front of a panel to find certain circuits and make a junction box. The GC watching me said that he thought I was a damn good electrician. I told him thanks, I worked hard to get my license and was proud of it. I then immediately grabbed the wrong wire and ended up cutting a hot wire, ruining my Klein side cutters. I just turned around and told the GC he isn't any good at judging electricians. Objectively, it was one of the funniest moments of my career. Subjectively, it was pretty embarrassing.
Dude. Happens all the time. Literally just did it yesterday lol
@@johnsandlinjr happened to me this last spring...I had that pair of dikes for 30 years...I still get mad at myself just thinking about it. On the good side, that the homeowner drop shipped me a new one the next day...with a note saying, " I can't replace and old friend, but ya can meet a new one". Hahahaha 🤣 that was 👍.
@@samspade5648 lmao that was nice of them some people are defn nice 😅
I've done it once and it really ticked me off because the wire I cut was supposed to be a neutral, but whoever did the initial install hooked it up backwards. (The strippers were also touching the side of the can so that's why they got fried even though I was only cutting a single wire.
@@bradleydobie3891 ouch Yeah sometines people label stuff very wrong for sure Have discovered it myself also sometimes
I honestly hate doing remodels especially when the last electricians who wired the house had no clue what they were doing. Thanks for tips Dustin!
Did some work for some friends and I lost track of how many times I traced wires in the ceiling and found buried junction boxes. I’m not convinced I found them all since it wasn’t totally gutted, but that was probably the worst job I’ve had.
@@benfowler2127 LOL, that happens all the time...sometimes it makes you just want to pack up and say not worth it. 😉
@@samspade5648 totally agree
Working on a 60 year old highrise with the last remodel being 20 years ago I fell this pain, panel labeling is useless, wires strapped to pipes, Data Cable being fed everywhere, some that can be cut and some that are live and can't be cut, makes me wish i could pull every cable out and rewire everything.
Yup. That's why I'm 100% gutting and renewing everything in my personal residence. Last time is was "updated" was in 1985.
I love wires hanging everywhere and identifying them all. It's a good feeling getting it all figured out and put back together, plus I'm paid by the hour😁. The best are the old nasty nob and tube that's hard to tell the difference between hot and neutrals because everything is black.
This was fantastic. More on remodelling! I think a video on cutting into drywall would be great. When to cut, when not to cut. Show the most common scenarios when you have to, and the best ways to do it with minimal damage.
This please^^^
Thanks for the sermon on professionalism and doing daily cleaning up. Takes no longer to keep up with it than waiting and you get to work more organized daily.
I always did this as an apprentice. I also asked the customer if the clean-up was acceptable. Customers always appreciated this, and I talked to them like they were my boss. Soon many people thought I was in charge and or just came to me with questions or add ons etc. That got me in hot water with journeymen many times, though. I was always dressed as clean as I could for the job and looked like I was ready to work, not mad I had to work.
I did a complete Rewire on a friend's house that he remodeled and used most of the original wiring that was usable. I had to test each romex cable and label it so I knew what it was for !
A loud FM radio makes a good circuit finder if you're working alone. Also a hair dryer, etc.
12:16 FIRST OFF, right on, b/c in “MOST CASES” you’ll have homeowners (and kids) walk thru at end if every day Secondly , loving this vid, b/c remodels is most of my work, Thx for the vid, was really awesome; and 100% agree that every trade needs to CLEAN everyday (and doesn’t mean deep clean during demo stage, but binning your old food, drinks, and sweeping up areas etc….making site “clean” and organizing tools just a great way to start next day, imo)✌🏻
Electricians are notorious "mess leavers"! When I was first starting out I guess I thought it was our special "right" to let someone else sweep up our clippings! Not good!
Great Video! One thing I’d add is a Circuit Tracer with the adapter to a set of leads can really save a lot of time tracing wires that are still on in a remodel and will keep you from flipping every breaker on and off 15 times!
Speaking as a carpenter who has many times been in the position of having to demo structure before the wiring has been moved, I appreciate your perspective. I was always taught to look out for the guy that comes behind you. (Treat then how you would want to be if you were that next guy.). To that end, I try to leave the wires as long as possible and neatly rolled up if I have to remove devices or boxes. I also always label them as best I can with a sharpie or tape with identification on it. That said, it still has to be a headache to sort it all out. In fact, I know it is because I’ve also worked as an electrician in the past or been the one doing it in lieu of an electrician. Point is, always do your best to make the job easier for the next trade or for yourself when you get to that part.
I’m doing a full remodel on the house we are moving into. There are three separate main panels in this 1952 cement block house. I’ve decided to completely rewire but not kill many of old circuits until I’m done. It looks like every time they wanted to add something they just sliced in at the drop & added a new panel. I’m just about convinced that the cement block construction is the only reason it didn’t burn down ages ago. I’m enjoying your channel. It, some code books, & a few other channels are helping me get ready for this project. I am no electrician but was raised by one & I’m looking forward to the work, minus the crawling around in the attic part.
It’s not only professional to clean up work sites before an after But it’s a part of OSHA to maintain the work area safety for everyone to walk on It’s called “housekeeping” Great vids brother !
One big tip is to get a circuit tracer and label circuits as you turn them off. Never just flip Breakers on and off.
never ever
This is why i love my country's electrical system, i do remodels all the time i can swoop in cut everything away and make it to my hearts contempt, we lay pvc pipes to boxes in the middle of the room behind a ceiling light. Which on their turn go to the fuse boxes. Way easier to modify later on down the line
Walked in on a remodel this fall,wires were marked and as you said...That saves so much time.
I do a lot of commercial remodelling and am always grateful when someone, over a decade ago, had the courtesy to clearly label things!
You are an Excellent Teacher Dustin!!!
I'm a DIY homeowner who does some electrical work. I'm enjoying learning more from your site--including where my limits lie! I have some very nice tools tradespeople have left behind when the job is done. I always call and let them know but the great bulk of the time, they never come to get them. So, there's an odd advantage to the homeowner from those tradespeople who do not pick up after themselves!
My favorite kind of video. Super helpful to a 3rd year
Hey I recently start my electrical schooling at a training center, I did electrical work in my home country Jamaica my teacher here always let us watch your videos I love it u teach good nuff respect!!
I’m grateful for people like you contributing to society in so many ways. I wish you continued success. 👍🙏💪
Nice video, thx! - I'm a builder in MI, mostly $1m+, & had to respond to your comment re: clean up. I'm amazed at the mess the electricians leave behind on our projects & this is across the board (almost every elec. sub I've used) They'll come in, even on the finish and leave a mess in their wake; screws, wire, etc on FF - and yes, I b...h. Feels like it's almost learned behavior; Get the sense there's a bit of arrogance there, like "hey, I'm an electrician, cleaning up is beneath me".
A few service guys and myself are finishing up a remodel for our company and it's not that bad. Before Thanksgiving we finished moving the panel and setting up the meter
In Russia, we usually don't solve problems like that... We just cut everything out and run new lines.. Because 1)old runs and lines may be damaged. 2)it saves a lot of time. So we just ask a blueprint or homeowner, where he wants new plugs or switches to be installed.
Ya, that is done here also, a lot, but many times there are limitations and so how Dustin explained it is the general default approach. Imo, tearing it all out and putting in new is faster and cheaper. Spending time, sometimes a day or 2 back tracking even with a tracker is just a waste since ya know that what is going in has nothing remotely relatable to what was there before.
I agree as well. Sometimes even going a service call where a customer wants some new outlets or a fan on a switch, sometimes the cheaper way is to cut some drywall out rather than spend a few hours fishing wire through a wall. Everything in contrast
You have electricity in Russia?
Love watching your videos. Electrical work is the thing I miss most about leaving the construction field. Try to get some little handyman electric jobs whenever I can.
I was amused at your cleanup comment., I was a chief photographer for a newspaper in North Carolina in the early '70s. I got the OK from the publisher to do some major remodels of the darkrooms. When the job was just about done, I asked some of the tradesfolks if they were going to leave that mess behind. "Kid," one of them said (I was called "kid" until I was nearly 30), I'm not sure how much you make, but I bet I'm paid a lot more an hour than you are." I grabbed a broom and a dustpan.
Dustin. You the Man!! Love you energy. You are 1000 volts!!!
Appreciate your knowledge man, I've been an electrician for 7 years
I'm retired residential wireman with 35 years experience and you come across better then ANY other U Tuber . You are #1. THANKS!
Nomoni
Best electrician channel
90% of my work is remodels, strictly residential. A lot of people say I’m not a “real” electrician or whatever but I love it, it’s satisfying work and fun. Only thing that sucks is a lot of troubleshooting and you see some hack jobs from the previous electricians
why do a lot of people say that?
Thank you Dustin, great show as always.
smoke detector junction box; that's really smart.
We did a kitchen remodel a couple of months ago, and my boss (over 30 years experience in the field) said it was the worst kitchen he has ever seen. There was not a single wire that wasn't spliced inside the wall. Romex splice into type UF, spliced into cloth wire. The old GE panel was a joke. It was so jam packed we refused to bring any of our new circuits into it, so we installed a sub-panel (which serves as my avatar picture). That kitchen still gives me nightmares and is the driving reason why I will build a house instead of buy one.
Ou boy. Not an electrician but the guy I use recently told me about a flip that he was working on where the previous homeowners boyfriend added a bunch of outlets and grounded plugs. As expected, the outlets weren’t actually grounded, but when he started taking them apart he found the truly remarkable feat… he had wired the new outlets with 16 gauge speaker wire. He was genuinely gobsmacked.
@@brianbelgard5988 The first house I owned had some circuits added using lamp cord. They literally used the cord from lamps, 4' to 6' pieces run through the attic, spliced together by twisting the wire and putting friction tape over the splices, no wire nuts or junction boxes. Here in the south attics can get very hot so the friction tape had dried up and fallen off most of the splices. It was a horror show...I finally got it all corrected but until I did I was always worried about fire.
great videos I use them to train some of my guys at the Schaumburg Park district in Illinois. keep up the good work.
Great points and perfect make sense. Thank you.
was on a job years ago and got a call for an automatic generator running even though the power was on. Was told the electricians and the GC had already left for the weekend so let yourself in the back door. Usually I find a blown fuse for utility monitoring and I'd be done in 5 minutes, but not the case here. The gen set wants to see 240 volts in order to go back to sleep. Anything else and it wants to power the house. (partial house in this case) I start poking at wires and find they are all hot. (head scratching now) I check from neutral to each leg and find 120 volts... then I walk around to clear my head and find the oven and stove are not working. (customer is home now) They also tell me the AC is not working. Hey, I'm the generator guy, not the electrician or AC tech. (although I was in a previous life) The customer also mentions the new 320 amp service was finished up today... and the light bulb over my head goes on. Back at the panel I find all the hot legs are hot but I can't find 240 volts anywhere unless the gen set was running. Out at the meter (metered main with a pair of 200 amp breakers) I find bug lugs all nicely done and branched off to each breaker... BUT.... L1 is going to both terminals on one breaker and L2 is going to the other breaker. IOW, each double breaker was switching a single leg. I had 240 volts between those breakers but that was it. Every other 240 volt appliance was being fed with two wires from the same leg, unless the gen set was running. The transfer switch was supplying 240 volts to some items when it ran and that isolated the improper utility fed. Took a half hour to reach the GC through an answering service and tell him the story about how the electricians had screwed up. All he could say was the lights were on when he left. (but nothing else worked)
When you clean your jobsite it also cleans your mind so you can clearly see the next step when you get back too👍🏻
I rewired several single family homes into duplex apartments and had to identify what circuit breakers were feeding circuits on second floor so used a radio. Had one goofy customer wanted me to give another electrician a map of all the circuits I spent a hour on identifying so they could give an estimate. Sure no problem. Just give me $75 for my work. So glad that last 25 years as a sparky only did commercial work.
I had a Medusa's head once in a kitchen. It was intimidating looking but wasn't too bad.
I agree with everything you said and Tool band is the best.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you for being a human a human😊
Awesome content. Very helpful. Don’t forget to protect your eyes! Pulling wires very hazardous!
Love it! Thanks for the tips!
Im going to electrician school in January! Im loving your videos! So excited!
Good luck!!
Me too! Good luck to you and me lol
@@shawn2104 Aha yes good luck to both of us!
Had to follow up on a remodel where guy used all #10 Romex that he stole and installed 2 & 3 of them in a shallow box. Homeowner stuck up for this guy. Told home owner that I' m tom the electrician not tom the magician.
Another great video Dustin .
Handyman here I watch ur video all the time, I have learn a lot from them. I’m in California and wanted to know how is a house divided up in regards to home runs. Most of what I do in regards to electrical is replace outlet, and move them if needed, relocate light fixtures, mainly in bathrooms and kitchen. One of the things that bug me is a building code that allows electrical wires to be pushed into the back of the outlet. Most of the outlets I replace have scorched marks behind the outlet. I would bet there has been a few house fires caused by this. Please talk about the use of extension cord. I see a lot of the used in homes with large families in a 3 bedroom house. I explained the dangers of electrocution and house fire from a over heated cord. Thanks
Definitely 💯 % knows his shit!
It amazes me that you would even have to mention about cleaning up after yourself. I think I learned that back in kindergarten. Personal experience, flooring and plumbing guys have been the worst. Leaving razors all over the place and cutting random size holes that they don’t patch or tell anyone about. Just blows my mind. I do property maintenance btw.
You’ve came a Long way from 300k or 320k subscribers! Great job bro. You inspire me in my field of plastering! I got a few years of apprenticeship and a couple in the field by myself. 😂no journeyman… I guess he trusted me enough 😅 lol great job bro. I’ve been watching since the beginning in your garage cutting out your own drywall lol. 🎉
Many years ago I started using 12/3 on all sw. legs---saved $100's---Thanks Jim
I just had a service call where they were remodeling the kitchen and living room and it was a mess I agree please to anyone who does demo help us out and help save the customer money sheeeesh troubleshooting gets expensive
Good advice!!! Thanks-Great video!!!
Great video... Also, if you don't have the options mentioned here, to solve extending a HR circuit that's too short, you can also place a J-box in an "accessible " attic (keyword - "accessible") as long as it's above the insulation. If accessibility is an issue and that's the only option, I usually request the GC to cut me in a removable drywall capped scuttle hole hidden away in a closet ceiling. I agree with using of a "surface mounted" fixture outlet as a j-box, I just rather avoid splicing extra circuits in them (if possible) because dropping a fixture when trouble-shooting is pain in the .....
Nice vid real good information differently will use it
Yes! Thank you so freakin much
Make sure you are paid in full before having power or meter installed. Twice had customers try to beat me out of last payment then attempted to go over my head to have the meter installed. Best was installed 4 meters for a triplex apartment. Guy never gave me a second check after I had 4 meter sockets and 4 panels installed so I took the panel & meter covers home and canceled permit. Luckily at that time panel manufacturer changed the design
Great tips. Thanks
Another great chat ...👍👍👍
I just watched Stud Pack's: Why Your Electrician Probably HATES YOUR GUTS 😡⚡ It gives real time procedures on how to make your electrician really happy. Actually, by the time he's done, all the electrician has to do is double check his work and complete the connections. Save $$$$.
Great video. Thank you
Can you do a video on reading wiring diagrams and schematics?
remodeling is a good time to put in nail plates that the original builder skipped.
Hi Have you done anything with a solar panel to the service panel for a home or shop. I have enjoyed your show learned a lot thanks. Have great one
Thanks good advice
amen bro. thank u.
The one time I went through and just cut everything out was during a full rewire and remodel of a building and nothing was being saved so first step I did was pull the electric meter and disconnect the overhead service drop from utility company triplex. That way I knew everything was dead and I didn’t accidentally cut through a live conductor. Then I took a sledgehammer to the wall that the panel was mounted in as it was coming out and then went through with the big loppers and just cut all the wires at the top of the panel
10:49 Oh shit. Ngl I totally use light boxes as junction points when doing remodel work. It doesn't come up all the time, but there's definitely situations where they're the only box around where I need a splice. Guess I'll start throwing some blanked boxes in the attic from now on.
well new construction is useualy easyist when it comes to wiring and plumbing !! On the otherhand remodel can be quite complicated !! Of course if you go hightech and wire a smart house than you adding a hole new level of difficulty to the project !!
Do you ever use a low voltage toner to trace conductors in a remodel? As long as the power is off, it might help especially when you're by yourself.
great information
Question for you. Does the NEC differentiate electrical requirements for above ground pools vs in ground pools?
Dustin... you're good at what you do, you also bring back into us old farts some reminders. If I test out old work, I always keep decent lengths of scrap wire around because well, hey, will come into use somewhere and will save going and buying 250 ft rolls of 14/2 or 3.......or 12/2, or 3. You should do some stand up, hilarious.
When your doing new construction residential homes, do I go off a newer blueprint, or was this the exact NEC dementions for the locations?
Hey I got a question that was bouncing around the job site today. Can you wrap ten solid around a 1900 box ground screw? I was always told by the old guys that I have to use a stak-on
I got into a huge remodel last year, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. It ate my lunch. I got 90% of the work done but had to tell the guy to find another electrician to finish up. It was killing me and wasn't fair to him because I couldn't be there 5 days a week to keep up with his other contractors and keep him on schedule with his inspections. The amount I told him I'd charge him was half(or less) than I should have changed him and I got paid 1/3 of the amount I should have.
Messy worksite is something Matt risinger talked about.
Should make a customer reaction video to the price of copper wire now. I swear everybody is so gung-ho to get electrical work done until they see how expensive wire has gotten.
As much time as it seems to save, I'm more of a pull it all out an re run. Depends on the sevarity of the remodel for sure. But I tend to save more time stripping it all and running wire.. just me 🤷🏽♂️
That really depends on the scope of the remodel, doesn't it? If the panel is beyond the perimeter of the construction area, getting cables into that area or in the panel may be very time consuming, especially if you have to crawl into the attic some distance. His point is well taken about drywall removal. Extending the scope of that removal could be prohibitive for several reasons, including the disruption to the family living there.
I had about half of my electric redone back in 2016. I had knob and tube in half my house and I paid to have a company re-do all of this. They ABSOLUTELY did NOT clean up after themselves. In fact, they made HUGE messes pretty much everyday and I cleaned up after them pretty much everyday. The only benefit is I gained a whole lot of electrical supplies that they left behind. But it was just a really awful (overall) experience. I only wish they had gone through the Dustin Stelzter professionalism courses!
@703 what with all the NMC coming out of the panel through the large knockouts with out approved connectors
nice hand writing
I agree on the cleanup. Hated walking jobs with crap everywhere be professional act professional!
Can accessible atic is ok be put ur junction box?
I am considering buying a home and some abando crazies that stole the outside weather head, feeder, and socket by cutting all the wires short and at the panel box inside the property they cut all the wires going right inside the panel box. What would you do In this situation other than make a s$:( ton of junction boxes before the panel box?
damn, you make me miss working in the field.
And definitely get your “rough-in” done and wire pulled before the GC puts the drywall back up
What about installing a listed junction box with a listed cover in a ceiling accessible by removing a Canless recess light ?
Question: what do you suggest for an older (aluminum wiring) house that has the power run to the lights/fan but the hot is run down to the switch on the hot wire and back up to the device on the neutral leg of one length of 12/2?
Suggest how? What is your issue? Obviously aluminum wires arent good but thats of course a rewire or replace your devices with aluminum rated devices if they arent already
I installed a whole house fan a few months ago in our (unfinished) attic, and I had to move a couple of home run conductors out of the way because they were over the spot I needed to install the fan. One HR was a regular 120v line and the other was the 240v going to the AC compressor. I cut the conductors, ran the service sides to junction boxes and connected it to a new length of romex which I ran to secondary junction boxes and connected the cut load sides to the new length of romex. I of course used the same gauge romex as the existing conductors, used properly rated wire nuts, and clamps in the knockouts. Was it okay that I made those joins in junction boxes in the attic and not in devices that you could access from within the single story house?
Yes, that is totally fine! Junction boxes need to be accessible, not readily accessible. The difference is basically obstructed access and unobstructed access.
How about using the hole from a canless reset light for access to a junction box? Loophole?
I worked with a electrical company for a while and this remodeling contractor would call us for miscellaneous stuff like this except usually it was one time to see the house and it was for final assembly, maybe we would have one or two labeled wires and it was funny after the first couple of these jobs, he would still expect us to be “quick and cheap” but leave us a massive amount of mess to untangle and sort out with walls in the way of seeing what was there 😂😢
I’m in the IBEW and currently I’m working at a industrial job site. Don’t really like it since all I know so far (a year in) is to bend pipe and pull wire. Hence I start my apprenticeship this September. I’m thinking on going residential because honestly wiring things up is more interesting to me than just bending conduit everyday.
Stay industrial. You will make more money and actually learn stuff.
If im doing a remodel and my home runs are short i just set a junction box and go from there to wire what i need to wire. Unless theres a dedicated circuit i have to add!
Question please? My mobile home got hit by lightning. Had the meter box replaced and 11 electrical outlets and one breaker. One side is still weak, and the lights are dim. Turn microwave on and the TV goes out. Is there a junction box for both sides. I can't get an electrician to come out. They are all afraid of going under house.
So does this mean 2020 NEC prohibits hot jumpers between pot lights?
Ive had many drywall guys tell me a bigger hole is better as its easier to blend. I dont know how much water that holds as i dont drywall. I always ask the GC or homeowner on a remodel before i cut. Gotta always clear your name before and get the ok.