Why You Shouldn’t DIY Your Own Electrical Work

Every year thousands of people are sent to the hospital due to electrical-related injuries. These range from electrical burns, to electric shock and even in the worst cases electrocution.

Many of these electrical-based injuries are due to people trying to DIY their own electrical work.

Trying to do your own home electrical work is not only dangerous to the person working but increases the risk of potential electrical issues and fires down the line.

110 volts, a typical outlet, will make your hair stand on edge and send a shock through your system, but 240 volts, which an oven, washer/dryer and larger appliances use, can leave you with serious injuries and burns.

If you’re not a mechanic you wouldn’t try to replace the motor in your car right? You wouldn’t give yourself a root canal or stitch a wound if you didn’t have the experience either! So why would you risk your safety, your family’s safety, your home and your belongings by trying to DIY your own electrical work?

Other than the inherent risks you pose doing electrical work yourself let’s talk about a few more reasons why you shouldn’t DIY your own electrical work.

Knowledge And Experience

It takes hundreds and hundreds of hours of education, training, apprenticeship, and more to become a residential electrician.

You not only learn about different materials and how to properly install them, you learn the safety of working with high voltage products as well.

Professional electricians also have the right tools for the job. When they come out and assess a potential project they take notes on the materials needed, the tools they will need and anything else to get the job done right the first time!

A few YouTube videos don’t compare to the work of a true electrical professional.

Hidden Dangers

You may think your repairs are completed and done correctly, but what you don’t know of is the hidden dangers that could be happening.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, just because a light turns on or an outlet works again, doesn’t necessarily mean you did it correctly.

Once your project is completed you don’t see what’s happening behind the outlet or the wall, and that’s where the potential problems lie.

Using the wrong component or wire can lead to malfunctions and sparks which could cause your wiring to burn and catch fire to the other materials around it.

You also risk the chance of electrical shock if something is miswired or comes loose.

Costly Future Repairs

Another problem with amateur DIY projects is the fact that you’re probably going to spend more money doing the project and then have to hire someone to redo the project once you realize it wasn’t done correctly.

Don’t waste time and money trying to “hack” something after watching a few videos.

Electrical fires are the 3rd leading cause of house fires every year, with more than 51,000 house fires. Faulty cable insulation and electrical wiring are the main contributors to these house fires.

Let the experts take care of the electric work so you don’t have to repair it even more in the future because of a mistake you made unknowingly.

You Shouldn’t DIY Your Electrical Work - Call SB Electrical Contractors Today!

There are a few home renovations that you CAN DIY and electrical is not one of them. You shouldn’t DIY your electrical work; it’s simply not worth risking your family, home and belongings to try and save a couple dollars.

If you aren’t sure if it’s time to upgrade or change your electrical system, read our latest article “How To Know When To Replace Your Home Wiring System” for helpful insight!

If you live in the Santa Clarita Valley area, let us here at SB Electrical Contractors help you upgrade your home's electrical system today!

Contact us to get an estimate.