Thanks for the tip, Mutt. I'll look for that book. Honestly, I'd like to have 220 service, would like to rewire my table saw as well, and put it on a separate circuit so the lights don't dim when I fire it up. But I've only owned a house for a little over a year, and haven't gotten up the courage to try "taming the lightning bolt."
One question, though. I live in Indiana, and not sure if this has to be done by a licensed electrician. Does anyone know, or know where I can find out?
If you ask anyone in the electrical business, they will say YES. If you're even halfway "handy" and can follow directions in a book, go for it. Just be sure anything you're working on is "dead" when you're messing with it.
Question: Does the house already have 220 coming in? If so, it's a piece of cake. If not, you DO need an electrician.
I assume we do because we have electric dryer and stove.
Norman D. Crow wrote:
In _almost_ every jurisdiction, a _home_ *owner* is allowed to do their own electrical work. A 'building permit' _may_ be required, and you (the home owner) may be required to pass a _very_basic_ test on electrical wiring before the permit is issued. (NOTE: 'rules' for a =multi-family= structure (condo/townhouse/etc.) *may* be different. There is a risk of 'bad effects' from a defective job spreading to the *other* owner's property; thus a 'licensed and bonded' professional _may_ be mandated by law. )
The way to find out, authoritatively, is to *ask* whatever government controls such things where you live. For a municipality, or an un-incorporated 'village', this will be the department that has the 'building inspector(s)' in it. The city hall switchboard almost invariably can connect you to the right people, with nothing more than a "building inspector's office" request.
We don't have any statewide requirements. It's all at the local level. Short answer: whatever city or county you live in, call the city or county government agency that issues building permits and ask what the requirements are.
Long answer:
If you live inside Marion County, to be legal, you have two choices: hire a licensed electrician, or obtain a homeowner electrical permit. The latter isn't easy: when I did that some years back, you had to have your plans approved by the Board of Electrical Examiners, and before you were allowed to go before the board you had to pass a 10-question quiz over the National Electrical Code. Minimum passing score is 7; even after careful study of the Code, I only managed 6 right, but they gave me a waiver anyway because all of my errors were on the side of safety (e.g. What's the minimum size conduit for so many wires of such and such size? Correct answer was 1 1/4 but I said 1 1/2). The process may have changed since then, though; call the City-County Building and check.
Outside Marion County, it depends a *lot* on where you are. In Madison County, for example, within the city limits of Anderson, you can do whatever you want as long as you get it inspected when you're done; outside the city limits, nobody cares: no license, no permit, no inspection, do what you want. Most of Hamilton County is "nobody cares" territory as well AFAIK (e.g. Noblesville lets anybody do anything anywhere without a permit or inspection), but I believe things are different within the Carmel city limits. Generally, the more rural you get, the less anyone cares. [BTW, this means that some rural properties are real nightmares. So keep that in mind if you ever move out in the country.]
Talk to your local building inspector. You probably have to pull a permit and get the work inspected after.
(I don't know anyone who has ever actually pulled a permit, or had the work inspected, incidentally.)
I live in Noblesville, but I'll probably call the building inspector's office to see what they say. Noblesville is not the country outpost it used to be, growing quite a bit these days.
Doug Miller wrote:
Thanks again for all your input. It's really helped me narrow down my choices. And for all those who asked, her sister is single...
Silvan wrote:
Is she into polygamy? She'd have to share me with SWMBO, but for the right tools, I'm sure we could work something out. Especially if she cleans house and/or cooks. :)
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