DIY Electrical – Big No-No!
Everyone likes to save money by performing do it yourself projects. Hiring an electrician to come and do a task for you can be very costly, so a lot of people attempt to do their own electrical work.
Any major wiring projects should always be done by a professional, but there are a few minor projects a handyman can do for you or if you consider yourself to be handy you may do some minor electrical DIY.
Even though they’re minor tasks, there’s still danger of electrical shock involved with them and sometimes it's just better to leave things of this nature to the professionals. While getting shocked is a prime concern with electrical projects, an electrical fire can also be involved if you don’t take special precautions to protect yourself and your home.
Here are some tips on how to stay safe the next time you work around wiring:
- CUT OFF POWER: Go to your fuse box and either remove the appropriate fuse or flip the right switch to cut the power off completely.
- LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING: Alert anyone in the house what you’re planning to do (and keep children away from the work in progress). It would also be a good idea to place tape over the circuit switch in case someone else comes along who doesn’t know what’s going and tried to turn the circuit back on.
- WORK SLOWLY: Take your time doing the work. You should be free from any distractions. There’s no room for mistakes, so don’t try to hurry through the project just to get it done.
- LADDERS: Use a fiberglass ladder if you need one because they’re non-conductive ladders and will absorb any electric shocks that may come through. Wear heavy rubber soled shoes as well to help absorb as much of the electric shock as possible should one occur.
- POWER TESTERS: All electrians and handyman use a power tester to test the wires before working on them. Make sure there’s no power going through the wire. It’s possible that you could have hit the wrong switch on the fuse box, so take that extra precaution and test the wire before working on it.
- KNOW YOUR LIMITS: Make sure you know what you’re doing before you do it. Taping the wrong wires together can result in a major electrical fire when the electricity is turned back on. Even a good handyman will not do a lot of electrical work.
You can save quite a bit of money by doing some of your own minor electrical work, but don’t take these tasks too lightly. If you worry that you’ve gotten in over your head, call in a professional and don’t risk your life or your home.
There are good reasons why most tradesmen like electrians are in an appreticeship for 4-5 years, this stuff is not easy and very dangerous.

