By Rex Cauldwell
Taunton Press, 1997
Soft cover, 8″ x 10″, 151 pages

Imagine having a best friend who is a third-generation master electrican with years of experience and inexhaustible patience–a pal you can call whenever you need clear, straightforward answers to electrical questions. If you have such a firiend, don’t bother with this book; if you don’t, let us introduce you to Rex Cauldwell.

Cauldwell has filled this book with the answers to just about every question you might ask in the course of doing basic residential electrical work. With the help of clear drawings and photographs, he gives you no-nonsense advice about both choosing and wiring receptacles and switches, indoor and outdoor lights, exhaust fans for the bathroom, and ceiling fans for any other room.

It doesn’t matter if you are working on a new house that is still under construction or on an old house with wiriing from the turn of the century. Cauldwell tells you–and shows you–what you want to know. He also provides information about wiring kitchen and utility-room appliances, a state-of-the-art home entertainment system (including a cable of satellite TV system and stereo), and even your home phone system.

And throughout all of this advice and instruction runs a constant and reassuring emphasis on safety–for you as you do the work, and for everyone who will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.