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Getting Your Home Electrical Wiring Up To Code

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 18Dec2011 Word count: 1569 Viewed: 216 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

You sometimes hear a lot these days about "getting electrical wiring up to code," especially in regards to renovating older homes. However, although most people understand that upgrading a home's electrical wiring so that it is standard with the national requirements and local building codes is a good thing, they do not always understand what the term actually means. In fact, because electrical installations certainly vary between homes, the required tasks to get the wiring up to code could vary between different houses. Here is a list of some of the most common wiring situation to take into account when considering an upgrade to bring your electrical wiring up to code.

Basement Electrical Upgrades

Many older homes simply do not have basements that are wired according to the current electrical codes. One of most common code violations is standard electrical outlets. Even if your basement is unfinished, you should have your basement outlets protected with GFCIs. Basements have a tendency to be damp, so GFCI outlets can be an important safety consideration.

Kitchen Electrical Upgrades

The kitchen is another room in an older home which frequently suffers from electrical code violations. The microwave oven should be on its own circuit for the purpose of safety in case it generates a surge, a spark or if it should happen to overheat. Additionally, all electrical outlets accessible from the kitchen countertop area and around the sink need to be upgraded to a GFCI outlet if they are simply regular outlets.

Bathroom Electrical Upgrades

Bathrooms are usually in the same category as kitchens when it comes to electrical code upgrades. For the sake of safety around water, all outlets should be upgraded to GFCI outlets. Or, plan to protect the entire circuit which supplies the bathroom with a GFCI breaker. For lighting installations in the bathroom #12 gauge wire should always be used in order to meet electrical codes.

Attic Electrical Upgrades

Even the attic may have issues that will keep it from meeting all the pertinent electric and building codes. For example, if the attic happens to be used for any home equipment, such as a heating or cooling system, there should always be a light installed. This is also the case if the room is used for storage. For the sake of safety, plan on installing the light close to the equipment or storage area.

Other Safety Considerations

As you can see, many electrical code requirements focus on safety issues. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons why electric codes exist in the first place - to protect the safety of the public. While you are upgrading your electrical service, it is also a good idea to upgrade your fire protection. To be safe, every bedroom should have its own smoke detector. Each floor of the house should also have an individual smoke detector. While you are focusing on the wiring in your home, you could go the extra mile and connect the various individual smoke detectors for added safety.

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