electrical: switching hard wired lights and adding outlets

I have a couple of electrical questions hopefully someone has experience with.

I live in a 1950's craftsman.

1) The breakfast nook has a hardwired pendant lamp that has an on/off switch on it, it's not controlled by a wall switch at all. We want to trade it out for a more attractive lamp that IS controlled by a wall switch. We'd be happy if it was attached to an existing switch or it would be fine if it had to have it's own. Either way....is this an especially difficult job? Could an ammature do it?


2) Our house has one outlet per room. We'd like to add at least one more to each bedroom and a couple more in the living room and office. Has anyone added outlets before? Is it terribly hard? Should I expect to pay a ton to have it done? And should I be looking to have something done with the fuse box in addition? Will the added outlets cause the fuses to blow more often or anything?


thanks for any info

Greetings onesmarmymama welcome to the forum.

Your two questions are quite closely related.

In either case, One has two choices to install switches or outlets. From the top, or from the bottom.

You have to either drill down into the wall space from the top, or from under, up into the space. Cut the hole for the box, run the wire and then connect it up.

I had thought to correct you, when you said "Fuse Box", but, hearing you say "one" outlet per room, you may have said that correctly. Do you have the threaded (screw in) type Fuses ? Anyway, the popular term for that is "Breaker Box".

So, lots of work there, crawling around in some tight places, a few hundred feet of wire probably, and a good possibility of replacing your Box with a newer "Breaker" type, or as least adding circuits to the existing box.

A fair sized job but difficult, I suppose, if you're not used to doing that kind of work.

Have a good Day !
S.W.

You are talking about a pretty big job. I have upgraded electrical systems in three houses and it is not simple. First, you will need to pull a permit, so that the system is inspected by a professional after the work is done , and so you don't have to lie on your disclosure form when you sell the house.

In a Craftsman style home, circuits can be added to rooms, if there is no access from attic or crawlspace/basement, by removing the baseboards and routing a groove in the plaster or wallboard, in which the electrical cable is run from outlet to outlet. Cable run this way must be protected from nail punctures with metal plates. Afterward, the baseboards are replaced, leaving the original appearance unchanged. Outlets may also be installed in the baseboard itself, so as to avoid having to repair the old plaster up to where an outlet would normally be placed on the wall.

The problem comes in that your old fusebox, if you still have the screw-in fuses, will probably be insufficient to handle additional circuits. Upgrading to a breaker panel is not just a matter of installing one and hooking up the wires. If you have the old fusebox, you probably also have the old 2-wire, cloth covered wiring. While you are doing all this, you really should upgrade it all. It will make your house more "sellable" when you decide it's time to move on.

My suggestion is that you call a few contractors, take bids for the job, and have it done right the first time. If you are set on DIY, then buy a good book on the electrical wiring that addresses upgrades and remodels and study up before attempting. Good luck.