Episode 006 1995 - 96 Season

| Plumbing Top Out | Window Treatments (design) | Electrical Rough-In | Toilet Repair | Steel Frame Rough-In | Dimmer Switch Installation | FHA Loans | |

To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #006.


You Can Do It - Installing Dimmer Switches

Al Carrell: Most of us have a dining room light that cuts on and off, and that's all it does. Wouldn't it be great if you had one that could dim down so you could set a more romantic mood? It's a do-it-yourself project and we'll show you how. The first thing you do for any electrical project is go to the entry box and cut off the circuit that you're going to be working on for safety sake. So the next step is to remove the old wall switch, and that's very easy to do. Make sure, after you've gone out to the entry box that you've checked to be sure that there is no current in here. And we checked it and it doesn't turn on, so we're safe. And we have two more screws to take out. These are the ones that are holding the switch in the box here. Now we just ease this switch out and as you can see, it is connected right here. We'll need to take these two wires off. All right, once these are loosened, the wires will come right on off of there. The next thing we want to do is to trim off the tips of the wires and start all over again. And that's a real simple thing to do. This is a special tool that will strip the insulation off. Okay, then we just put this in place down here. That cuts through the insulation and strips us off some new bare wire. Now the dimmer switch is hooked in by using these little wire nuts, and that'll make a good connection. We will first twist the wire around and the put the wire nut over the top, and twist it real good. After we get the second one done, then we have to cram all this stuff back in to the box, and that's not going to be that difficult. Now, we start easing this stuff back in there and you want to be careful that you don't break any of the connections while you're doing this. Once you get it back in there, and you've made room for this fixture to go back in there, it will help to hold all that stuff back in place. Now we just have to take the two screws and attach this box. Now, as soon as that's tightened down, we're ready to put the plate back on and when we get that done, this handle's going to fit right over there and we're going to have a dimmer switch. And now with the current back on, let's see if the thing really works. Hey, the light comes on, but does it dim? Hey, look at that. That's fantastic. Remember now, you only want to use a dimmer switch on lights. You never want it to control something like your television or your refrigerator or any appliances. Now it took us about 10 minutes. It cost under $10.00 and it's something that you can do yourself.

Episode 006 1995 - 96 Season

| Plumbing Top Out | Window Treatments (design) | Electrical Rough-In | Toilet Repair | Steel Frame Rough-In | Dimmer Switch Installation | FHA Loans | |

To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #006.