Let there be light!
- Andrea Ridout
- Aug 14, 2017
- 2 min read
When you're remodeling an older home, the electrical system presents one of the most challenging areas of renovation. There are so many small things that need to be rewired, repaired, etc... At the Washington Street house, we wanted to be sure that the new homeowners were going to have a home that was safe, had conveniently-placed fixtures and switches – and still honored the history of the old house.
We began by replacing the old electrical panel. The original panel was out-of-date, too small for today's modern electronics, and could potentially be a hazard due to its location in the master bedroom closet. At our electrician's suggestion, we opted to relocate the panel to the outside of the home. The new, larger panel cabinet also has plenty of room for expansion.
Next we opted to replace the old plugs and switches with new ones, choosing white to match our paint scheme and installing non-grounded plugs with old-fashioned two-slot outlets. The former homeowner had added some grounded plugs throughout the home so we updated those with new 3-prong outlets. There will be plenty of both in all of the rooms so that just about any type of electrical gadget will be able to use the correct type of plug. We also added several ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) plugs in the kitchen and bath areas. GFCI's can help prevent a shock in moist zones of the home.
Then we hung several new light fixtures and ceiling fans. We were also able to clean and re-use a few of the older ceiling fans but with updated glass that gave them a clean, sleek look (see below). All in all, it's great to have plenty of light throughout the home – and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as we approach the last few weeks of our renovation. Plus it was very exciting to get our green tag from the City of Garland electrical inspector!
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