The safe, code-right way to work on your home's wiring, panel, outlets, and backup power — from a man who spent forty years doing it for a living.
I spent forty years as an electrician — new construction, remodels, service calls, and a long stretch as an engineer. I've opened a lot of walls, and I've found a lot of things behind them that made the hair on my arms stand up. Nearly every one was done by a homeowner who meant well and just never learned the one habit that would have kept them safe.
I'm not here to tell you to keep your hands off your own house. A careful person who kills the power, proves it's dead, and learns to do a thing properly can do a great deal of his own electrical work and do it well. What gets people hurt isn't the wiring — it's the not-knowing.
So I put down the way I actually do the work, plain, in the order I'd teach my own son: how to make a wire dead and prove it, how to wire a switch and an outlet so it's safe and it passes, what's really going on inside your panel, how to hook up a generator without hurting anyone, and exactly where the line is that you call a licensed electrician.
Kill the power, prove it's dead, then we'll get to work. — Hank Reeves
Eleven chapters · 150 pages · every code rule checked against the National Electrical Code.
No. It's educational — it teaches you to do the work safely and to code, and it's honest about the jobs that belong to a licensed electrician (service, meter, main panel). Always follow your local code, pull a permit where required, and hire a pro when the job calls for it.
A 150-page PDF, delivered instantly, that you can read on any device and keep forever.
Every code article was checked against the National Electrical Code, and the book notes where the 2020 and 2023 editions differ. Your town may be on a different edition or have local amendments — the book tells you to confirm the current rule where you live.
Reply within 30 days for a full refund. No hard feelings.
© 2026 Hank Reeves. This handbook is educational and is not a substitute for a licensed electrician, a permit, or your local code and inspector. Electricity can injure or kill; always shut off the power and verify a circuit is dead before working, and hire a licensed electrician for service-entrance, meter, and main-panel work. You use this information at your own judgment and risk.