National Electrical Code explained in English

We had to re-wire our new kitchen and the areas of our house that were gutted for structural repairs. Of all the work that we did, I enjoyed the wiring the most. I did, however, want to make sure that everything was on the up and up, so I purchased the latest version of the [...]

Dangerous Electrical Condition

A shocking shower experience at the cottage:

Last year or perhaps the year before, while I was in the shower at the cottage, I received a shock from the faucet. I told this to my wife who said “No, I never got a shock from the shower, it must have been something else.”

Fast forward [...]

Replacing outlets and switches

Our house sat empty for a few years before we bought it. I noticed that several of the outlets had broken plastic and exposed live metal parts. In the bathroom and kitchen Ground Fault Circuit Interrupted (GFCI) outlets had not been installed. Most of the switches were in pretty rough shape. I opted to replace [...]

Plumbing Part II – Soldering

This morning I was at the hardware store staring intently at the 1 1/4 inch ball valves thinking to myself that it would be nice to put one of these on the output side of the boiler. Just then a Young Man wearing a ball cap, who was perhaps five years younger than myself, asked:

[...]