How to Rewire Your Entire Home Without an Electrician (Step-By-Step Guide)

Introduction

Rewiring your home can seem like an intimidating task, but with proper planning and safety precautions, it is possible for a homeowner to rewire their entire house on their own. As an experienced DIYer, I have successfully rewired my 1950s era home from top to bottom over the course of several months.

In this comprehensive guide, I will walk through the complete process I followed to rewire my home safely and to code without hiring an electrician. I'll cover key steps like how to plan your rewiring project, gathering the right materials and tools, important safety tips, shutting off power, removing old wiring, running new wire, installing receptacles and switches, and reconnecting appliances.

By the end of this guide, you'll have the confidence and know-how to tackle a full home rewiring project yourself! Let's get started.

Develop a Rewiring Plan

The first step is to plan out your rewiring project. Here are some key things to consider:

Evaluate Your Electrical Needs

• Walk through your home room-by-room and take notes on where you have outlets, switches, lighting fixtures, and appliances. This will help determine how much wiring you need.

• Consider any new outlets or lighting you want to add during the rewire. Factor those into your plans.

• For major appliances like a refrigerator, stove, washer/dryer, etc make sure your circuit wiring will support their electrical needs.

Choose a Wiring Method

• Modern homes use NM (nonmetallic) cable. This has insulation over the wires and an outer plastic sheathing. Easier for DIY than armored cable.

• Plan circuit routes from the main service panel to outlets/switches. Sketch wires going to each room.

Develop a Schedule

• Rewiring a whole home can take weeks or months depending on house size and scope of work. Make a reasonable timeline.

• Work on one room or circuit at a time. Don't let wires dangle unfinished for days.

• Only take sections of the home offline as needed. Avoid having your entire home without power.

Gather Materials and Tools

With your plan in place, it's time to get the supplies you'll need. Here are the essentials:

Materials

• NM (nonmetallic) electrical wire - Make sure to get enough for all the wiring circuits you'll run. Have extra.

• Wire stripper - For cutting wire insulation and stripping ends.

• Wire nuts - To connect wires together. Need many. Get variety pack.

• Electrical boxes - For mounting outlets, switches, and wiring splices.

• Conduit - Protects exposed wiring. Need for surface-mounted boxes.

• Cable staples - To affix wiring to beams or surfaces. Required every 4.5 ft.

• Receptacles and switches - Buy GFCI outlets for kitchens, bathrooms, garages, exterior. Match colors.

Tools

• Voltage tester - To confirm power is OFF before working. Crucial safety tool!

• Screwdrivers - For outlet and switch installation. Get Phillips and flathead.

• Pliers - For bending wires and grabbing nails/wires. Needle-nose are helpful.

• Hammer - For nailing electrical boxes and cable staples into studs.

• Drywall saw - For cutting into walls to install old work boxes.

• Stud finder - Finds studs to secure boxes and staple wires.

• Ladder - For accessing ceiling boxes and wires. Get sturdy multi-position ladder.

Safety Tips

Electrical work carries inherent dangers. Follow these precautions:

• Turn off power at the main breaker before starting work. Verify it's off with a voltage tester.

• If you have aluminum wiring, consult an electrician or have them do the rewiring. It requires special connections.

• Wear safety glasses and gloves since you'll be working inside live electrical boxes.

• Never work on live circuits. Cap off any live wires with wire nut caps.

• Take steps to avoid electrocution, fire hazards, and falls. Be extremely cautious.

• If you have any doubts or uncertainty, hire an electrician or ask them to review your work. Safety first!

Shutting Off Power

Before removing any wiring, you need to shut off power to the circuits you'll be working on. Here's how:

• At the main service panel, locate the main breaker and flip it to OFF.

• Then flip all individual circuit breakers to OFF.

• Go to areas of the home those breakers control and turn light switches on. This ensures there's no power.

• Test outlets with a voltage tester to verify they are dead. Recheck with tester frequently!

• Once you verify power is OFF, you can safely remove existing wiring before the new install.

Removing Old Wiring

With power confirmed off, here are tips for removing the old wiring:

• Start by taking off any wire staples, conduit, outlet, and switch covers so wires are exposed.

• Cut wires coming off outlets/switches and pull them out of boxes. Remove screws holding boxes.

• Unscrew wire nuts joining circuit wires together. Carefully unwrap and separate.

• Pull wires out from holes they pass through beams and studs. Coax them out.

• Take down any suspended ceiling tiles to access ceiling junction boxes and remove wiring.

• Maintain slack in wiring as you work to avoid leaving wire ends stuck inside walls.

• Dispose of removed wiring/materials responsibly. Copper can often be recycled for scrap value.

Running New Wiring

Now for the fun part - running all new NM electrical cable throughout the house! Follow these tips:

• Plan routes from the service panel to rooms that minimize cable lengths and avoid obstruction.

• Ensure cables are secured every 4.5 ft with staples to studs or joists. Follow code.

• Use conduit to protect any exposed cable sections. Important for safety.

• Fish cable through holes drilled in studs and joists. Use wire lubricant if pulling is difficult.

• Group wires entering a single junction box together with cable ties. Keeps them organized.

• Label wire ends so you know which runs to specific rooms. Helps avoid confusion.

• Install junction boxes anywhere wires split off in different directions.

• Always leave 10-12 extra inches of wire at outlets and switches for connections.

Installing Receptacles and Switches

Here are some tips for properly installing receptacles and switches with the new wiring:

Receptacles

• Choose right box type - old work for existing walls or new work for new construction.

• Secure boxes to studs. Position 15 inches above floor (standard outlet height).

• Feed wires into box keeping 6 inches of slack. Use clamps to secure cables.

• Carefully strip wire ends using wire stripper. Wrap ends around terminal screws.

• Follow outlet wiring diagram. Connect hot (black) wires to brass terminals, neutral (white) to silver.

• For GFCI outlets, connect line and load wires correctly. Follow diagram on outlet.

Switches

• Use old work or new work boxes like with receptacles. Anchor well.

• Position switches at standard height of 48 inches above floor.

• Connect switch hot wires to bottom terminals. Top terminals connect to light.

• Single-pole switches get one hot wire. 3-way switches get an extra traveler wire.

• Attach switch grounding wires to green ground screws or box. Provides ground path.

Reconnecting Appliances

The final step is reconnecting appliances, fixtures, and devices:

• One at a time, turn each circuit breaker back ON at the service panel.

• Go to that circuit and check for proper function of all outlets, lights, and appliances.

• Plug in and switch on every appliance on the circuit to verify it works.

• If outlets or lights on the circuit are nonfunctional, inspect connections for issues.

• Check for any sparking or abnormal behavior indicating a bad wire connection.

• Once everything checks out, you can move on and energize the next circuit.

• When all circuits are complete, turn main breaker ON to restore full power.

Conclusion

While rewiring an entire home is an ambitious project, it can be successfully tackled by an intrepid DIYer like myself over time. The key is taking it slow, following safety best practices, and double-checking all electrical connections. I hope this step-by-step guide gives you the confidence that you can rewire your home without hiring an electrician if you put in the work and research. Just be sure to call in professional help if any part of the process seems unsafe or overly complex. Enjoy the satisfaction that comes with upgrading your home's wiring yourself!