I'm 13, and I know a lot about electrical wiring. I've been reading home improvement/wiring books since I was 9, and I've also been practicing hooking things up since then. There's a few electrical things around the house that I know are wrong and I would like to fix them myself. I know exactly what to do, what parts to buy, what tools to use, and which circuit breakers to turn off. My dad is going away on business for most of the week, and I would like to surprise him when he gets home on Friday.I also want to be an electrician when I grow up.
An ounce of precaution is FAR better than TON of cure! NEVER take chances with the belongings of others! Even IF you were to do an absolutely PERFECT job, you still would have lost their trust in you. FIRST ask his permission to do it UNDER an electrician's guidance. I know someone who thought they were following the instructions of an electricion, and when the work was checked, it was found to be HORRIBLY DANGEROUSLY ***WRONG***. If the switch had been flipped, the house would have burned to the ground! So, the answer to your question is NO . . . not without PROFESSIONAL guidance AND oversight!!! THANK YOU for asking, though! He *WILL* appreciate that you did! Next, you might ask *him* if he will give you a chance to show him how interested you are in becoming an electrician . . . and, explain how you would like to go about it. (: (Or, you might ask him if his insurance would cover unintentionally *botched* electrical work by an *unauthorized* person . . . . THINK ABOUT how that would sound to you if YOU were the owner of the house.)
NO. - You might not know as much as you sincerely believe. that you do. - That's very normal at 13. I applaud your study and effort, and your wish to help out, but there are a lot of details involved that you might not know and mistakes can be dangerous, hard to spot, and make serious trouble years later. That's why apprenticeship supervision programs are required for adult electricians who have gone to school on the subject.
I know that you are confident, but I recommend that you do not do anything with your home electricity. If you want to learn more about it, you could make up a DC board, and make a few circuits, with switches and lights in them. This would confirm that you do know what you are doing, then when your dad returns, ask him to watch while you demonstrate your skills to him. I am sure he will be pleased. Remember if you are ever working with electricity, you should ensure that the breakers are released, or the fuses are turned out so that you do not get yourself electrocuted. There is also a risk oof explosion and fire if wiring is done incorrectly, and you could really get hurt. SO Please don't try any of that without adult supervision.
As long as you are good at it and you are very careful in doing it, i say do it. but before that, tell an elder person to stay with you and help you at least because you are still growing up. and if anything went wrong you should stop immediately, and i'am saying this from the bottom of my heart there should be an elder person with you.
A few things: a) The first time you work on wiring, live or dead, you need to do it with hands-on supervision. No matter how well you might think you are doing or how much practice you have had, you are messing with stuff that can kill or burn. That is the absolute bottom line. b) This means either someone will be there as you do the work, or someone comes in and makes sure that the correct breaker(s) are off, and that your work area is safe - then comes back in when you are done and checks everything before you apply power. c) And, pretty much everyone starting out should have - and be familiar with - a good volt-ohm meter and a very good one-point tester. Tester first! The life you save may be your own. This has nothing at all to do with your age - at 13 you are certainly strong enough and probably intelligent enough to do and grasp the basics. But it has everything to do with 'habit and instinct' - that is safe habits and safe instincts around electricity and a full understanding of what is going on. Why is it, do you think, that electricians have a 2-4 year apprenticeship program before they are allowed the journeyman title? Find yourself an Elmer (The term Elmer--meaning someone who provides personal guidance and assistance) and acquire some confidence before launching out on your own.
