How to Easily Rewire Your Entire Home Without Hiring an Electrician

Rewiring your entire home can seem like a daunting task, but with some planning, patience and basic electrical skills, it's entirely possible to do it yourself without hiring an electrician. Here's a step-by-step guide on how I managed to rewire my entire house on my own.

Assess Your Electrical Needs

The first step is to assess what needs to be rewired in your home. Walk through each room and take notes on:

• Outdated wiring - Knob and tube, aluminum wiring or insufficient amperage for modern appliances. These will need to be completely replaced.

• Grounded vs ungrounded outlets - Most modern codes require grounded outlets for safety. Replace ungrounded with grounded.

• Addition of circuits - Consider adding dedicated circuits for large appliances like refrigerators or high-power electronics. This prevents overloading.

• Lighting needs - Plan where you want new lighting installed and ensure wiring can support it.

• Switch and outlet placement - Decide if you want to move any switches or outlets while walls are open.

Create a Wiring Plan

Once you've assessed electrical needs, create a detailed wiring plan that maps out:

• Locations of new circuits, outlets and switches

• Circuit load calculations to avoid overloads

• Wire gauge needed for each circuit

• Panel amperage rating and number of spaces needed

• Any special wiring needs for appliances

• Locations for new lighting fixtures, smoke detectors, etc.

Gather the Right Supplies

Rewiring requires having the right supplies on hand:

• Wire - Use copper wiring in the gauge specified in your plan. Have plenty extra.

• Breakers - Purchase enough circuit breakers for planned circuits.

• GFCI outlets - Needed for bathrooms, kitchens, garages and exterior outlets.

• Junction boxes - For housing wire connections.

• Conduit - As needed for protectiving wiring.

• Wire strippers, cutters, staples, nuts and other fundamentals.

Turn Off Power and Remove Old Wiring

Safety first! Before beginning, turn off power at the main panel and use a contact voltage tester to verify it's off. Then:

• Remove existing outlet and switch cover plates
• Disconnect and remove old wiring, outlets and switches
• Take down light fixtures and other electrical components

Removing old wiring can be tedious, but taking your time will pay off later.

Install New Wiring and Components

Now the fun part - installing the new system! I recommend working one room at a time:

• Run cable between the room and electrical panel
• Install junction boxes and conduit as specified in your plan
• Run wires from boxes to outlets and switches
• Install new grounded outlets and light switches
• Attach wires to devices and connectors
• Use wire nuts and crimp connectors to secure connections

Follow your wiring plan closely and use cable staples to secure new wiring.

Connect Wiring to Main Panel

Once new wiring is run to each room, it's time to connect it to the main electrical panel:

• Shut off main breaker and verify power is still off
• Remove panel cover
• Connect wires from rooms to appropriate new circuit breakers
• Attach neutral and ground wires to bus bars
• Double check connections are tight and no copper is exposed
• Attach cover and turn main breaker back on

With things reconnected, you can turn the power back on room by room.

Add Finishing Touches

You're in the home stretch! Just a few small jobs left:

• Install cover plates on outlets and switches
• Attach light fixtures, smoke detectors and other devices
• Label new circuits clearly in the electrical panel
• Test all outlets to ensure they are wired correctly
• Verify ground on outlets with a circuit tester

That's it - you now have completely rewired your home safely and upgraded it for modern electrical needs. While it was a big job, doing it yourself saved thousands over hiring an electrician. More importantly, you expanded your skills.