Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Wiring, Updated 7th Edition: Current with 2017-2020 Electrical Codes (Volume 7)

(Update 2022). The latest version that I just purchased has actually improved significantly. Instead of sitting on their hands, Black & Decker has upped their game. Not only did they have the updated code added but this book also has a lot of new graphics and improved (simplified) explanations. I don’t rate a lot of things this highly, but I continue to use this book to add to my projects list. The only thing that I would ask is that a book for solar and battery backups be added and a book on HVAC. Basically I want more of these books because they are so well done. I love the Black and Decker books for home improvement. I have wired an entire house using the book. The writing is simple enough for a layman to understand and the pictures support the learning objectives. I have never even taken an electrical class. When my brother was taken in by an electrician who walked off the job with all his money and a 20% done house, he was in trouble. He just did not have the funds to recover. I started with a single room and a few outlets. Using the book I was able to complete both apartments in his house. I cannot rave enough about how much this book taught me. I am now going to completely redo my own house (because why not test out my skills on my brother's place first right?) After reviewing the latest edition, I have no doubts I will be able to pass on the first inspection try as I did with my brother's house.

Great book for a DYIer. It provides a basic explanation of the fundamentals of electricity and overview of entire residential electrical system. It also provides step-by-step instructions on how-to carry out most electrical wiring that a DYIer would encounter. It includes most modern devices (e.g., timers, dimmers, auto sensors, etc) and covers tools needed. It is easy to follow and includes a ton of color photos.

Bought a house that had ungrounded NM wire from the 1940s, so it was time to upgrade. This book did an excellent job of showing how to wire all of my runs for every room in the house, to a subpanel in a guest house, and to my heat pumps outside. The charts, diagrams, and example layouts were incredibly helpful. My code inspector was very impressed with the work. I only encountered a few minor issues: I noticed that the diagrams for 3-way switches in the book sometimes used 1 more conductor than the instructions that came with my 3-way switches. My code inspector was fine with me using the simpler method. The book mentions that AFCI circuits should be used in all livable rooms. That apparently also includes dedicated smoke detector circuits, which the book omits. The examples for "double receptacle small appliance circuits with GFCIs", circuit examples 12 and 13, show the two 12/2 circuits interleaving between receptacles. For your kitchen, you can also split the room in half and use the #1 circuit on one side and the #2 circuit on the other. Update 10/2025: Pulled this book off the shelf to help with running a new 60A circuit to the carport for my EV. Unfortunately, the 7th edition has nothing specifically on this. The chapter on running conduit was a nice refresher, but the chapter on wire and cable only included a brief blurb about the advantages of THHN wire over NM and topped out at 55A. I ended up running #6 THHN in 3/4 inch conduit (EMT outdoor, flexible metal indoor), to a 60A disconnect adjacent to my 11.5 kW EVSE that I hard wired (the lugs only accept up to #6). And because the EVSE was mounted in a wet location, the code enforcement officer requested that I use a GFCI circuit breaker.

This is a must have if you want to sit your own home projects! Great information. Clear instructions with great pictures of exactly what it looks like. I bought this book to get instructions on how to wire a three way switch to correct a problem with an entry light. Turning off the light at night left you navigating through the room in complete darkness. I now know exactly how to add a switch to the light at a more logical location. No more dark wanderings! Recommend this for every woman and man who has no problem with working with electrical circuits. Learning to do it right means less work and worries! Great job Black and Decker!

Fast shipping, Great book on wiring.

Great book to take you through a wide variety of electrical projects from simple repairs to full scale remodeling. Appropriate for the homeowner to understand what is really involved in all types of projects. Use it as a reference for small projects and a primer for meeting with your electrician. Includes discussion of new construction as well as finish installation.

Straight forward and easy read. Read through and was able to wire up my garage. Had to supplement a bit to make sure I was up to date with local regulations and the latest NEC handbook. But this book was a great resource to have. Passed the inspection without issue, the inspector was impressed with everything.

Highly recommend for home flippers and of course any homeowner. Nicely compiled with plenty of color illustrations. Starting out with recommended tools to help to keep you safe and then off to your project or issues. Nice section on troubleshooting too. It’s a keeper for sure.

I got this book for my boyfriend ahead of some rewiring he was about to do in the shower and he pointed out that the sockets in the book were not British ones . ( in my ignorance I had assumed they would be. I will check the details of things better in future)!

This book makes it easy. I’m about half way through it and understand everything I’ve read so far. The explanations are easy to understand and the illustrations couldn’t be better. It seems very thorough...... learn about tools, materials, methods and good practice. I probably don’t need the book on plumbing, but this book is so good that I think I’ll get it anyway. It’s the illustrations......... they really make it easy.

this book is great it has excellent descriptions of electrical work and the pictures are very well laid out, covering a wide variety of electrical layouts and ideas

This is for an American home not a UK home. This was not made clear in the description!

Out of date for this country