Changing a lightswitch

[Anonymous]

I watched a YouTube video. It seems easy. But is there a risk of electrocuting myself or burning the house down?

[Anonymous]

Turn off the power first. It’s a pretty simple thing to do.

[Anonymous]

Turn off the power to the whole house to be absolutely sure and make sure that you don’t have loose wires in the box and you’ll be fine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I watched a YouTube video. It seems easy. But is there a risk of electrocuting myself or burning the house down?

Not if the power is off. Get yourself a $10 contactless voltage tester at Home Depot or Amazon. Turn off the circuit breaker. Wave the voltage tester around to make sure you got the right one.

That's exactly what an electrician would do.

[Anonymous]

Just turn the power off, you’ll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just turn the power off, you’ll be fine.

I generally don't side with the worry-warts here, but I've gotten shocked that way. It's legal to have more than one circuit in the same box. Check with the voltage tester to make sure you've gotten them all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just turn the power off, you’ll be fine.

I generally don't side with the worry-warts here, but I've gotten shocked that way. It's legal to have more than one circuit in the same box. Check with the voltage tester to make sure you've gotten them all.

And this is why I should not do it myself. Adding it to the handyman list instead. -op

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turn off the power to the whole house to be absolutely sure and make sure that you don’t have loose wires in the box and you’ll be fine

House power should do it.

[Anonymous]

You all are nuts. You turn the power the breaker to the box you need, not the entire house. DEFINITELY test the voltage to make sure it's off. Then change the switch. This is not a big deal, is a DIY project that will save you a lot of money.

FWIW, whe we first moved in, I changed out at least 6 switches to dimmer switches (am female)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched a YouTube video. It seems easy. But is there a risk of electrocuting myself or burning the house down?

Not if the power is off. Get yourself a $10 contactless voltage tester at Home Depot or Amazon. Turn off the circuit breaker. Wave the voltage tester around to make sure you got the right one.

That's exactly what an electrician would do.

Electricians might not turn it off. At least, I've seen apprentices who didn't bother.

[Anonymous]

Get a contactless voltage tester or multimeter to test for the presence of electricity. Two things I can tell you about electricity: you can't see it and it can hurt/kill you.

Most homeowners can handle changing out a light switch. Be safe about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched a YouTube video. It seems easy. But is there a risk of electrocuting myself or burning the house down?

Not if the power is off. Get yourself a $10 contactless voltage tester at Home Depot or Amazon. Turn off the circuit breaker. Wave the voltage tester around to make sure you got the right one.

That's exactly what an electrician would do.

Electricians might not turn it off. At least, I've seen apprentices who didn't bother.

Yeah, I was surprised recently when I had an electrician do some work and he never bothered with the main panel. I always flip the breakers and test when I'm doing minor work.

We bought an estate sale from an original owner (1960s) and the outlets and switches were original and had been painted over. I changed out every outlet, switch and wall plate, and it made a world of difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched a YouTube video. It seems easy. But is there a risk of electrocuting myself or burning the house down?

Not if the power is off. Get yourself a $10 contactless voltage tester at Home Depot or Amazon. Turn off the circuit breaker. Wave the voltage tester around to make sure you got the right one.

That's exactly what an electrician would do.

Electricians might not turn it off. At least, I've seen apprentices who didn't bother.

This is true but since I’m not an electrician I flip the breakers and use a voltage tester every time. There’s no reason to shock yourself.

I also highly recommend taking lots of photos before you do anything. That way you can at least put it back how it was. Switches are pretty easy but I had one weird (but to code) circuit once that I messed up. It was like a three way that I didn’t know where the other switch was.

[Anonymous]

Easy job. Follow the tips above. Save yourself a couple hundred bucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched a YouTube video. It seems easy. But is there a risk of electrocuting myself or burning the house down?

Not if the power is off. Get yourself a $10 contactless voltage tester at Home Depot or Amazon. Turn off the circuit breaker. Wave the voltage tester around to make sure you got the right one.

That's exactly what an electrician would do.

Electricians might not turn it off. At least, I've seen apprentices who didn't bother.

This is true but since I’m not an electrician I flip the breakers and use a voltage tester every time. There’s no reason to shock yourself.

I also highly recommend taking lots of photos before you do anything. That way you can at least put it back how it was. Switches are pretty easy but I had one weird (but to code) circuit once that I messed up. It was like a three way that I didn’t know where the other switch was.

Strong advice!