We've broken ground and will begin framing our mountain house soon. The plan is to dry it in as quickly as possible and then take our time with finishing. I plan to do as much as possible myself, including all plumbing and electrical. My resource materials are a bit dated, so I am looking for the best updated books and/or websites for guidance on best installation practices. Any suggestions?
Check the shelves at Depot/Menard's/Lowes. Since these places are geared toward homeowners, they usually have useful books.
I also special ordered "Plumbing for Dummies", and I believe an electrical book is also available. Frankly, I didn't find any questions answered in it that were not in most of the other books.
Before I did the electric in our new house, I bought Electrical Wiring Residential by Ray C. Mullin. I also had access to a NEC code book.
There is no great mystery in wiring a home but I did have to change my ways to meet the newer codes. I found the above book at Amazon .com.
I was very fortunate to have a wholesale retail electrical supply just ten miles away. Great family business and a wonderful source of valuable information. I bought almost all my supplies from them. Just some special lighting fixtures were purchased elsewhere. I told them that I was going to be building a home and they gave me great prices on everything. When I was at the HD or Lowes I would check their prices. I never paid more at the family business and most times supplies were at least 10% cheaper for better quality items.
If I had a question I would ask them, if it were your house how would you do it. They never sent me in the wrong direction.
We have a plumbing supply house close by that is similarly providing both great advice and competitive pricing. The staff is knowledgeable, courteous and friendly. I picked up the PEX needed for the radiant floor last week along with myriad parts and fittings for plumbing DWV and feeds. I generally prefer to deal with neighbors, but find the box stores awfully convenient to "shop" because of display and selection. I'm visually oriented, so sometimes it helps me to wander among the shelves and just look at stuff to stimulate my thinking.
I looked at the several books at Depot....I was actually more impressed with the HD plumbing book at 14.95 vs. the others at 19.95, but was underwhelmed by all the elec books. Coincidentally, I just read another review of the electrical book you mentioned. Sounds like the best one out there...I'll order a copy today.
I agree that neither elecrical nor plumbing presents any great mysteries. I've got all the materials for the temporary pole drop....weather head, conduit, meter box, grounding rod, copper wire, clamp, etc., and will erect that next week. I guess I'm just stubborn enough to want to tackle these more technical aspects of the house, along with design, myself. I will save a bit of money in the process, which is important, but also will take enjoyment and satisfaction in learning from the experience and making sure it is done right.
Again, thanks for taking the time to provide suggestions and insights.
I had a wonderful time designing and contracting our home. Jane and I did the electrical, painting, tile and wood floors. We are still working on the landscaping and other projects.
Soon we will be starting on a home for our son. I will GC his home and again do the same parts of the project. We are sitting down this weekend to do the first plan on lighting. That should be fun.
What is really nice is you know how everything works and who to blame. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
<font color="blue">( Electrical and Plumbing Books? ) </font color>
You may also want to pick up a copy of the Code Check series on Electrical & Plumbing... that Home Depot and others sell... [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
(by Taunton Press-publishers of Fine Homebuilding)
Up here in this part of the snowy north (Ontario), you have the right to do you wiring yourself. There is this thin (1/4") C $12 yellow book you can buy everywhere which explains in all the detail you need all you need to know about any residential wiring challenge.
Although I am not exactly new to electricity (I used to design computers) I used that book for all my wiring including entrance, fusebox, etc., & passed with flying colours. There is probably a similar one in your neck of the woods, if for no other reason than as a study guide for apprentice electricians.
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