The Black & Decker Complete Guide to Home Wiring: Including Information on Home Electronics & Wireless Technology, Revised Edition [Paperback]

Editors Of Creative Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Earlier editions of The Complete Guide to Home Wiring sold more than 500,000 copies, and this expanded new book includes all the tried-and-true projects from earlier editions, updated to feature the latest fixtures. The book now meets the requirements of the 2005 National Electrical Code, including important changes for bathroom, kitchen and utility area wiring. No book is more complete when it comes to traditional wiring, but this is only the beginning. One of the biggest challenges facing homeowners today is hooking up the many electronic components they own-computers and printers, home theaters and surround-sound systems, CD and DVD and DVR units, to name a few. Getting electronics to operate together correctly has its own dedicated chapter on how to solve this common source of frustration. You'll learn everything you need to know about home media connections, including how to create a high-definition home theater  with surround-sound. And the newest wave in home wiring is to lose the wires altogether. Technologies with names such as "Bluetooth" and "wi-fi" are creating homes with fewer and fewer wires and greater and greater freedom of movement and communication. The final chapter in this book covers this exciting technology, and will show you how to integrate computers, printers, telephones, audio and video equipment, and more-all with no wires attached.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Earlier editions of The Complete Guide to Home Wiring sold more than 500,000 copies, and this expanded new book includes all the tried-and-true projects from earlier editions, updated to feature the latest fixtures. The book now meets the requirements of the 2005 National Electrical Code, including important changes for bathroom, kitchen and utility area wiring. No book is more complete when it comes to traditional wiring, but this is only the beginning. One of the biggest challenges facing homeowners today is hooking up the many electronic components they own-computers and printers, home theaters and surround-sound systems, CD and DVD and DVR units, to name a few. Getting electronics to operate together correctly has its own dedicated chapter on how to solve this common source of frustration. You'll learn everything you need to know about home media connections, including how to create a high-definition home theater  with surround-sound. And the newest wave in home wiring is to lose the wires altogether. Technologies with names such as "Bluetooth" and "wi-fi" are creating homes with fewer and fewer wires and greater and greater freedom of movement and communication. The final chapter in this book covers this exciting technology, and will show you how to integrate computers, printers, telephones, audio and video equipment, and more-all with no wires attached.

About the Author

The Editors of Creative Publishing international (Minneapolis, MN) have produced dozens of America’s best-selling titles in the categories of home repair, remodeling and landscaping.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Creative Publishing international; Third Edition edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589232135
• ISBN-13: 978-1589232136
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for an overview, but not for adding circuits or anything more complex, July 16, 2006

By 

E. Barnes "Never enough tools" (Solana Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Black & Decker Complete Guide to Home Wiring: Including Information on Home Electronics & Wireless Technology, Revised Edition (Paperback)

I was getting ready to add a couple rooms to my house and wanted to do the electrical myself. I'm an electrical engineer and have done plenty of wiring throughout the years, but none of it that necessarily complied with the NEC. Oh sure I used 14 awg for 15 amp circuits and 12 awg for 20 amp circuits, but that was about the extent of the code compliance (out of ignorance of the code, not contempt). Well, I wanted to start following the letter of the law so I got the B&D "Complete Guide to Home Wiring".

Did this book meet my needs? No. Is it a bad book? No. The book just doesn't go into enough detail (and has errors) to give you all the information you'll need to wire a house. On the other hand, if all you're looking to do is replace some existing wiring or add on to a existing branch circuit, this may the book for you. If you're really wanting to understand the NEC (in a very straight forward manner), I would recommend getting "Electrical Wiring Residential" by Ray C. Mullin along with the NEC Pocket Guide to Residential Electrical Installations. Those two books alone will provide 99% of what you need to know for your remodel.

P.S. When I wrote to the editors of the B&D book to point out the errors that it contains (direct contradictions from one page to another), I got no response back from them. I guess they sell enough of them not to care.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, June 7, 2007

By 

This is My Opinion "For What It's Worth" (Private, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Black & Decker Complete Guide to Home Wiring: Including Information on Home Electronics & Wireless Technology, Revised Edition (Paperback)

I consider myself mechanically inclined but have never touched anything to do with electricity before. Well I bought a house a few years ago and it's either learn how to do it, or pay double and hire someone.

Most books always leave me with only 75% confidence to do the job myself but there are always some important parts that are confusing. Not with this book, it is step-by-step with full color detailed photos.

I went to Home Depot and got circuit breakers, receptacles, switches, GFCI's, etc. and they are exactly the same thing that are in the photos.

So far I have completely wired a 250sf addition, outside lights, and run a full 50amp sub panel to my garage with a dedicated 240 volt circuit for my compressor and welder. All from this one book.

Highly recommended

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great photos, great information, January 16, 2007

By 

Manish Laxmikant - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Black & Decker Complete Guide to Home Wiring: Including Information on Home Electronics & Wireless Technology, Revised Edition (Paperback)

This book is an excellent reference when you have to tackle electrical jobs around the house, yourself. Honestly, I still don't have great ambitions like wiring a brand new room in the house or anything. I bought this to simply be informed. However, after reading some of the well-explained fundamentals and going over some of the projects clearly explained in the book, I've gained enough confidence to venture into projects of my own.

At first, I thought that when I hire an electrician to do some minor changes around the house, I won't be confused or fall for double-speak that I don't follow - because I would have information from the book.

After the book de-mystified some tasks and explained some basics, I was able to open up some ceiling lamps and change them without getting killed or abandoning the project.

Then when my cooktop was malfunctioning, I was able to trace the problem and fix it. I could read the wiring diagram attached to the cooktop and figure out where the problem was. The book doesn't show you how. But once you know a few things, you can build on that knowledge.

A part of my house lost power. I tracked the problem down to a covered box that had wiring held together with electrical tape and some of the wires appeared to have oxidized because of the bad connection. I cleaned up and joined the right wires with connectors, and fixed the problem.

My next step is to add a few ceiling fans in my home. Then maybe a wireless switch so I won't have to walk to my door in pitch darkness. Wire my yard for low-voltage lighting. I feel very inspired, because I feel very informed. And the book definitely paid for itself.