Question - Electrical Building Code

[cjbenedict]

Hi, I am renovating a couple rooms in my basement and will be replacing & upgrading all the electrical wiring. I plan to get the permit, run all the wires myself, have a licensed electrician come in to do all the connection, and have an ESA inspector come in for the two inspections.

Id like to read up on the proper wiring practices and materials before I get started. Can anyone suggest books or websites that I can find the Building Code (and better) information, other than spending over a hundred dollars to buy the actual Building Code book of Ontario?

I live in Mississauga, thanks for any help.

[nazawale]

I have a copy of this book, comes very handy in many aspect of home life.

http://www.sequoiapublishing.com/pdt_pocketref3ed.htm

[CheapScotsman]

Here in BC, Home Depot carries a red book titled "Electrical Code Simplified" which has a summarized version of the major Canadian codes/requirements.

[BuildingHomes]

Hi, I am renovating a couple rooms in my basement and will be replacing & upgrading all the electrical wiring. I plan to get the permit, run all the wires myself, have a licensed electrician come in to do all the connection, and have an ESA inspector come in for the two inspections.

Ontario Electrical Code Simplified is a yellow book available at most book stores, Rona and Home Depot.

Why not just have a licensed electrician do the whole thing? They don't usually like it when the home owner does 'part' of their job and try and guess that

[deep]

How much are you really saving by splitting the work? I would either do it all, or have someone else do it all. I can guarantee that the electrician will find something about your wiring he doesn't like, which will cost you in time. And if you can run the wiring, why can't you just make the connections yourself? The ESA doesn't care, as long as it's done right.

[cjbenedict]

My reasons for wanting to do as much work as possible is that I've been burned in the past having contractors do projects around the house. Twice I've had people do some work for me and twice I haven't been satisfied. I'm doing alot around the house, but between work and trying to have a social life (still a work in progress) I know that I am not able to do everything so I tried to get more done in less time, but in the end I didn't save any time and spent more money than necessary.

Also, by running all the wires I know what materials are going into my house and that no short cuts have been made that could cost me in the long run. Even if it costs me a little more in time and money do split up the work I'm not worried about that.

I wanted advice on reading material so that I can do some research and see what are good practical methods of wiring, along with what is the min building code.

Also, I've already contacted the municipal ministry building code office and the ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) and asked about wiring and permits. They said that the home owner and a licensed electrician are the only people who are legally allowed to do the wiring (probably for liability purposes). Although I can easily learn how to do it right, I figured having a licensed electrican would make the insurance company happy.

Any more comments and opinions are welcome!

[Regin8r]

You can do it all yourself with the permit and the licensed inspector will come and validate everything is ok. That will be sufficient for the insurance company.

Your permit fee pays for 2 inspections, one just before sealing up and just after when everything is sealed. You have to pay additional fees if they find something wrong and they have to schedule another visit.

Reg

[cjbenedict]

Thanks for the book suggestions, I looked them up online and the electrical code book is a reasonable price. I'll also be picking up two or three wiring books at the same time for a few references to pull tips from. Does anyone have an opinion on the Black & Decker or Stanley wiring books? They are a reasonable price and I would like to hear from anyone who has bought them and used them. Any other suggestions?

Both sides present good opinions for renovating a basement. A friend of a friend is a young guy who has gone into the contracting sector, and he'll help me with the two-man jobs like hanging the drywall. Although I'd prefer to do it myself and not farm out work, I think I can compromise and have someone with more knowledge than myself help me with the larger things.

Cheers.

[BuildingHomes]

Thanks for the book suggestions, I looked them up online and the electrical code book is a reasonable price. I'll also be picking up two or three wiring books at the same time for a few references to pull tips from. Does anyone have an opinion on the Black & Decker or Stanley wiring books? They are a reasonable price and I would like to hear from anyone who has bought them and used them. Any other suggestions?

Suggestion is don't buy it unless it actually states that it conforms to Canadian electrical codes. Things can be wired a little differently in the US and most of the books are US based.

[Drthorne]

the PS Knight book is Ontario Code specific, big book with lots of illustrations and diagrams

http://www.psknight.com/