Late to this but I did this several years ago in our 80s TH. It was really cheap and easy for the most part, I think it was 1 or 2 bucks per outlet. I had an electrician out to install something, and they said they charged $25 per outlet. I always turned off the power to the whole house when doing it, it was a lot easier than figuring out which circuit was the right one when knocking out multiple rooms in a few hours block.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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.

With older houses, it's difficult to isolate things. The load centers are poorly labeled, so it's a guessing game most of the time. While not an electrician, I will replace a switch live. It's "safe enough," especially if you don't have to deal with push-to-wire switches. Those should be illegal.

Out house is older and I'm convinced that our circuits are run randomly randomly. I always turn off the whole house breaker when I'm replacing a switch or fixture.

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.

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.

With older houses, it's difficult to isolate things. The load centers are poorly labeled, so it's a guessing game most of the time. While not an electrician, I will replace a switch live. It's "safe enough," especially if you don't have to deal with push-to-wire switches. Those should be illegal.

Turn off all the power and take pics. Once I got into practice (during a reno) I just shrugged when a light switch got knocked loose and I had to replace.

That said, it only takes a handyman/electrician a minute, so if they're already there doing other stuff, it shouldn't cost much.