Black & Decker Complete Guide to Wiring: Upgrade Your Main Service Panel - Discover the Latest Wiring Products - Complies with 2008 NEC

The plan is to put up lighted crown molding to add dimension and indirect lighting to the room and to remodel the ample closet space into a bureau cum mini-closet cum desk area.

To accomplish my goal, the project required some rewiring of the room, so I found three books that seemed to have the information I needed: Wiring 1-2-3 by the people at Home Depot, The Complete Guide to Home Wiring by the Black and Decker people, and Wiring a House by Rex Cauldwell. Each is an excellent book with much to offer, but I definitely found that each had a slant that made it specialized in some way.

Of the three books, only the Cauldwell book was written in a person-to-person format. The author is a third generation electrician with years of experience, and as he says quite charmingly, "I have written this book from lifelong experience and knowledge--some of which has been passed down through each generation. However, there is no one within my family to pass the gauntlet to--no fourth generation to pick up the trade. Therefore, by reading this book you will become heir to my knowledge and experience. You, in effect, will become the fourth generation (p. 1)." His style is very much master of the craft to learning apprentice, explaining all facets of his field from how electricity is produced, how it is measured, what types of wires carry it to and into your home, and what tools one needs to do electrical work. He not only provides the information, he tells the reader the "whys" of what is, which I find helpful because it permits one to problem solve and trouble shoot more effectively. Particularly useful are those things that he tells the reader to avoid and what can happen when they aren't! The drawings are very helpful, particularly as they are clearer than photographs can be. Sometimes less is more in this regard. The schematic of the main floor of a house (pp. 22-23) which detailed how wiring is arranged for each room was quite helpful for my project, since it described what I should (and did) find in the walls when locating my power source and routing new wiring. I also found that the information on materials to select was helpful. I was able to go to the store and pick out just what I needed without any trouble at all.

While the Cauldwell book is a good one to read from cover to cover because of it's clear and thorough discussion of electrical wiring and its many helpful hints (which I did), it really did not help with my specific plans. It does cover some types of project, but I found that The Black and Decker book was more useful for my specific wiring goals. It's definitely a "how to do it" book with information on trouble shooting current wiring for potential problems (pp. 122-143), on code requirements (pp. 145-146), on how to calculate electrical loads and when to upgrade. It also includes simple repairs for the home owner, everything from checking which fuse controls which part of the house, to replacing plugs and repairing fluorescent lights. It also provides some advanced projects, like rewiring a kitchen or installing outdoor wiring. Of particular interest to my husband, the computer guru in our household, was the information on the home network wiring systems.

For my own project, I found the circuit maps for 26 common wiring layouts of greatest help. With the aid of this feature and the Cauldwell book, I was able to draw on paper the likely arrangement of the present wiring in my spare bedroom, and plan in the pathway to and from the projected new outlets. The diagrams on pages 155-167 also gave me a clearer idea of which wires connected to which specific sites on the receptacles, and what the pathway of the current would be. I was thrilled when I turned on the wall switch in the room, and the lighted crown molding actually came on, first try!

Wiring 1-2-3 is another group-effort type book like the Black and Decker. It'd made a splendid gift for the new home owner or prospective buyer. It provides the most extensive information on inspecting the home for electrical problems and providing measures for repairing them. The table of contents highlights almost every conceivable project, and each project has a list of materials, a skill scale that projects the level of difficulty to expect, and the amount of time that would be required by the experienced, the handy and the novice. It also makes some suggestions regarding the selection of a professional electrician for difficult projects, and does not urge the novice to go beyond their comfort level.

Although I didn't use the Home Depot book for actual planning and wiring, I found it was especially helpful with the messy stuff, things like drilling holes through the attic to route wires, the nitty-gritty of fishing for wires, and repairing the damage to walls where holes had to be made to route wires. In general these books are useful all round books.

I'd give all three books a 5, each for its own area of usefulness. If you're a person who likes to have a multi-perspective approach to your projects, then I'd recommend all three. Certainly the Home Depot book would be a very nice house warming gift.


Current information   August 6, 2004
Stephen McHenry (Olney, MD USA)
55 out of 55 found this review helpful

This originally was two separate books, Basic and Advanced Wiring, that B&D combined into one book. Extremely well written, with lots of photographs, this is an excellent book for a do it yourselfer with a project in mind, or for a home owner to keep on hand to have when the need arises. The book covers basic repairs and maintenance, with a not too complicated introduction to electricity, but quickly gets down to the basics, with chapters on Wall Switches, Receptacles, Light Fixtures, Doorbells & Thermostats. The second half covers how to do more complicated electrical tasks. The first half is repair and maintenance, the second half moves into renovation and remodeling, with chapters on project planning, tools & techniques, Wiring a Room Addition, Wiring a Remodeled Kitchen, Installing Outdoor Wiring, etc. From this book I learned how to install new breakers in the main fuse panel, a project I was terrified of trying. This really is a very good book for the non-professional. It was a good idea to combine the two books into one, a handy reference and guide


Good detail, well organized.   March 22, 1999
Cliff F. Gray III (Chicago, IL, USA)
110 out of 120 found this review helpful

I found this book to be most informative; lots of detail, that isn't buried in volumes of text. Tons of pictures, and real-world examples. Would be valuable for the novice, as well as the seasoned home-improvement enthusiast.


Very good wiring reference...   May 29, 2001
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

Of all the books I browsed and purchased, this was the best. The wiring diagrams are great as a reference. Any circuit I've had to wire up so far was diagramed in the book. There are pages of diagrams so I would expect that most people would find what they needed there.

There's a good example of adding a sub-panel if you're up to that task. They warn that if you want to re-wire or replace your main panel, you should hire an experienced electrician. That's a task not recommended for even the handiest of homeowners. Good advice....

There's tons of info here. If you are reasonbly handy and willing to heed all of the safety warnings, this book is a great one to have.

There's examples of wiring room additions, kitchens, etc., that are very informative.

I also have the Home Depot "Wiring 1-2-3" book. It's good also. Arranged on a task by task basis... sort of cookbook-like. Most taks homeowners would tackle are in there but the Black & Decker book covers more issues. I also see that there what I believe is a new edition of this book (Mar '01 vs Apr '98 publication). Haven't seen contents but maybe that's the one to get.


Best of the home wiring books   April 18, 2003
Ann B. Winslow (Somerville, MA USA)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I started out knowing nothing about home wiring. I bought all of the books I could find, and this one was the best. I've used it many times for small and large projects in my house. I've repaired lamps and rewired a gut-renovated bathroom. Explanations for making circuti changes in your service panel are excellent.