In Which We Cast the Runes and Read the Entrails to Determine Receptacle Placement
There’s another reason why, when it comes to a home wiring diagram, that I make infographic-style diagrams that anyone can easily understand (instead of schematics with industry-standard, yet layman-baffling symbology). First of all, I don’t really know the electrical symbols well enough; “…should I just do the little circle with 2 lines here or the one with 2 lines and a shaded part…?”
But aside from using blueprint symbols I’m not overly familiar with, I want anyone who’s an experienced electrician to understand—without ambiguity—what I’m planning on doing. Every white wire that needs to be taped black, every wire nut’s pigtails. Then, on a DIY forum, one of the helpful folks can tell me what I’m about to screw up before I do and tell me how to bring it up to code.
What’s Next, Food Supply Inspections?
IMO, they often make government regulations for very good reasons (or maybe they’re just lonely and want scores of constituents calling and screaming at them about “liberty”). I imagine one-too-many precious children burnt in their cribs after a homeowner decided rewiring the attic couldn’t be as hard as them fancy professional electricians make it out to be. And then someone calls their legislator after seeing the heartbreaking baby pictures on the evening news and says “Ya know: There Oughta Be A Law.” And then soon it is so (after a cynical display of partisan posturing and a backroom trading of horses upon the barrelhead of public safety).
Said homeowner must now perhaps pull a permit if he wants to wire his attic (if not grandfathered in nor living on an odd-numbered street in an even-numbered county), then have the work inspected and approved. That’s regulatory regime at work, saving lives. And I don’t want to be the guy who causes a safety issue in his family’s home just because he’s a frugal fool. You’re not saving any money if you burn the house down or screw up so bad you have to call an electrician anyway.
“I’ve always depended on the kindness of electricians”
I make the diagrams so obvious that even I can understand them, and then some experienced electricians who must just enjoy contributing to DIY forums will either be very nice and helpful in pointing out my mistakes, or very rude and helpful by explaining how if I don’t want to wire like a moron, I should do it how they say. Either way, someone will usually pipe up and claim that if I do such and so, it will be compliant with NEC-2011. And That’s what I want to do.
Diagram!
This diagram was created using the program “Xara Designer Pro.” I found the component images on Google Images and saved them as PNGs so they could have transparency, then used GIMP to delete backgrounds and crop.
And after it was revised a few times because of electrician feedback, and finalized, I decided to make a lighter shaded black and white version because I hate printing in color unless absolutely necessary. I’m a grayscale type a guy.
Aren’t computers neat? Makes you wonder how cavemen wired their homes.
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