Replace a 2-prong wall outlet with a 3-prong wall outlet?

[MaximRecoil]

If you have an old 2-prong wall outlet, wired with 2-conductor wire, can you replace it with a 3-prong outlet simply by jumping a short wire in parallel from the regular ground terminal on the outlet (common/neutral/white) over to the 3rd prong ground terminal, rather than replacing the entire run of wire with 3-conductor wire or adding an additional full-length ground wire back to the breaker box?

[kjoel0123]

Its best to replace it, Read this article, it will help you out !
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Electrical-Wiring-Home-1734/replacing-outlets.htm

[shardian]

If you don't have a true earth ground, it serves no point to add a connection to the neutral wire for the ground pin. The entire point of an earth ground pin is that if there is a short in the system, the juice defaults to the ground wire. That is the path of least resistance, saving you from a more painful experience.

[MaximRecoil]

If you don't have a true earth ground, it serves no point to add a connection to the neutral wire for the ground pin. The entire point of an earth ground pin is that if there is a short in the system, the juice defaults to the ground wire. That is the path of least resistance, saving you from a more painful experience.

I found this online:

As an electrician, i wouldn't use the white (neutral )wire as a ground, as I believe it is not safe, however I would check box to see if it is grounded, and use it if it is.

So there is a possibility that the neutral wire is grounded? And if it is, could I then use it for the 3rd prong? If it is not grounded, how hard would it be to ground it? Probably easier than running new wires.

[Ken Layton]

If you have a two wire outlet then chances are that the outlet is mounted in a metal outlet box. Take a voltmeter (on AC volts) and measure the voltage from the black (hot) wire to the metal box. If you get 120 volts (approx, whatever your normal line voltage is) then the metal box is already grounded from metal-to-metal contact of the conduit. You can then install your new grounded outlet one of two ways:

1. Simply connect the black and white wires from the old (two wire) outlet to the respective terminals on the new outlet. Now mount the outlet in the box. The outlet is now grounded from metal-to-metal contact of both the mounting screws and the outlets "mounting ears" touching the metal box.

2. Go to Home Depot (or other hardware store) and in the electrical section are prepackaged 6" long green grounding wires with a self-tapping (thread cutting) screw on one end. Simply take the end with the screw and thread it into one of the empty unthreaded holes in the rear of the outlet box. Attach one end of the green wire under the screw and the other end to the ground screw on the new outlet. Connect the black and white wires to the respective terminals. You're now grounded.

If you plug a grounded outlet tester in the outlet it should show that it's now properly grounded.

Of course all of the above is meaningless if you did NOT measure 120 volts from hot wire to metal box. That means there's no metal to metal contact from that box to ground.

[BobA]

As Ken says if you do not have a true ground for your box you cannot turn it into a 3 wire with just a ground jumper. A proper ground must exist at your box for the jumper to work properly.

Quote:

There IS a way to change the 2 prong to 3 prong...but the ONLY safe and Code compliant way to do it is with new 12/2 with ground wiring from the panel to ALL locations that are to have 3 prong grounding style receptacle outlets....with no break anywhere in that ground path. To do it any other way is not only illegal...but also unsafe and it can cost you more in damages and injury then the cost to rewire these location every would.

[SavannahLion]

I've thought about whether I should put in my two cents considering you rarely care to comprehend anything I write. In the end, even if you won't listen, someone else will. Neutral is usually grounded but it is not something you ever want to treat as Ground.

You need to understand the dangers of what you're asking to do and take the recommendations of the other members to heart. Your life is at stake.

To highlight just one possible scenario.

You do what you're proposing and everything is hunky dory for the time being. Let's say, the Neutral line breaks and there's now a dangerous potential difference. In short, the Neutral line is now HOT. At the same time your hand is on a metal component that is supposed to be Grounded, yet you wanted to save a few $20's and you've got it wired to Neutral instead. The grounded component is now live since the potential to ground rose too high, you are now the shortest path of least Resistance from HOT to GROUND and your insides start to cook.  At that point you're now dependent on a fuse or circuit breaker somewhere working correctly to overcome your mistake of wiring Ground the Neutral. All of this happens in less time your brain registers theres even a problem with your hand.

[MaximRecoil]

I've thought about whether I should put in my two cents considering you rarely care to comprehend anything I write. In the end, even if you won't listen, someone else will. Neutral is usually grounded but it is not something you ever want to treat as Ground.

What do previous threads have to do with this one?

You need to understand the dangers of what you're asking to do and take the recommendations of the other members to heart. Your life is at stake.

To highlight just one possible scenario.

You do what you're proposing and everything is hunky dory for the time being. Let's say, the Neutral line breaks and there's now a dangerous potential difference. In short, the Neutral line is now HOT. At the same time your hand is on a metal component that is supposed to be Grounded, yet you wanted to save a few $20's and you've got it wired to Neutral instead. The grounded component is now live since the potential to ground rose too high, you are now the shortest path of least Resistance from HOT to GROUND and your insides start to cook.  At that point you're now dependent on a fuse or circuit breaker somewhere working correctly to overcome your mistake of wiring Ground the Neutral. All of this happens in less time your brain registers theres even a problem with your hand.

What is the risk of using a 3-2 prong adaptor without grounding the tab (or breaking the third prong off the plug)? I know this is a common practice. Also, why do most electrical devices still come equipped with two prong plugs?

[shardian]

Here is a neat little faq that talks in laymans terms and has pretty diagrams. Hopefully it helps you out.

http://www.rain.org/%257emkummel/stumpers/10jan03a.html

And to offer a simple explanation to why manufacturers still make polarized plugs?
A: Grounded pin plugs are not legally required
B: A grounded plug requires an extra length of expensive copper wire
C: Combine A and B, and you can see that a manufacturer can save a pretty chunk of change by leaving out that extra 10 foot length of wire over several million units.

[Malenko]

the best and safest way for YOU to do it, is to hire a certified electrician to rewire the outlets you want done.

[MaximRecoil]

Here is a neat little faq that talks in laymans terms and has pretty diagrams. Hopefully it helps you out.

http://www.rain.org/%257emkummel/stumpers/10jan03a.html

And to offer a simple explanation to why manufacturers still make polarized plugs?
A: Grounded pin plugs are not legally required
B: A grounded plug requires an extra length of expensive copper wire
C: Combine A and B, and you can see that a manufacturer can save a pretty chunk of change by leaving out that extra 10 foot length of wire over several million units.

Thanks for the link.

the best and safest way for YOU to do it, is to hire a certified electrician to rewire the outlets you want done.

Or learn to do it myself. It is not alchemy.

[Jdurg]

Yes, if you follow all instructions and you are aware of everything you're doing, electrical work isn't that difficult.  It's just that for safety's sake you absolutely can NOT take any shortcuts or try to do something that isn't explicitly stated as safe.  That's just taking a risk that you don't want to be taking.  While things may work out okay for you, someone else later down the line may not be so lucky.  (I'm finding out now that the previous owner of my house was a total idiot with regards to electrical work.  I'm in the process of slowly replacing every outlet in the house to ensure it's done properly.  This idiot decided to completely strip all of the wires down to the inlet of the box.  So the hot, ground and neutral wires are all bare copper inside the box.  The proper thing to do is only strip enough wire to make the connection inside the outlet.  I've already replaced four outlets that this idiot wired up wrong.)

[ChadTower]

Or learn to do it myself. It is not alchemy.

There is a reason you need hundreds upon hundreds of hours of training, then a couple thousand hours as an apprentice, to become a licensed journeyman electrician. 

[MaximRecoil]

Or learn to do it myself. It is not alchemy.

There is a reason you need hundreds upon hundreds of hours of training, then a couple thousand hours as an apprentice, to become a licensed journeyman electrician. 

The reason is that there is more to their job than just rewiring 2-prong outlets to 3-prong outlets. Plus they are accountable for other people that they do work for, rather than just themselves.

[ChadTower]

I'm betting on extra crispy.  I just hope it isn't someone innocent.

[Malenko]

I'm betting on extra crispy.  I just hope it isn't someone innocent.

I'm sure when the electricity zaps him, he'll just act all sarcastic towards it and tell it that "it shouldn't act that way"; it'll understand

[MaximRecoil]

I'm betting on extra crispy.  I just hope it isn't someone innocent.

Attaching 3 wires to the correct terminals is not difficult. Doing it correctly (replacing the 2-conductor wire with 3-conductor wire) is something that I already know how to do. However, what I was asking about in the OP should be the electrical equivalent of that.

With a 3-prong outlet hooked up correctly with 3-conductor wire, you should have continuity between the ground wire and the neutral wire (because they both go to ground, and in some breaker boxes, are hooked into the same bus bar).

So while the method I asked about in the OP is indeed the electrical equivalent of doing it correctly, it is not the physical equivalent. With the correct method, the ground and neutral wires don't gain continuity until much farther down the line, which adds a margin of safety because the neutral can break anywhere between the outlet and the breaker box without affecting the ground (as mentioned by SavannahLion). If wired like I asked about in the OP, any break in the neutral would take out the ground as well.

Now, just how big of a deal is this risk? Is it a big enough of a deal that you are all going to stop using electrical devices that only came with a 2-prong plug in the first place (most TV's for example)? Because if the neutral breaks on one of those, you're in the same boat.

[SavannahLion]

What is the risk of using a 3-2 prong adaptor without grounding the tab (or breaking the third prong off the plug)? I know this is a common practice. Also, why do most electrical devices still come equipped with two prong plugs?

These are two different situations. The first, breaking the ground or using a 3 to 2 prong adapter without grounding the tab leaves the Ground to float. Problems vary depending on the appliances. PC's for instance won't have a proper reference to ground and you risk corrupted data, RAM corruption, errant behavior, sudden power switching off/on, and graphic artifacts to name a few. Not to mention that every so often you touch the PC, you ground the PC and suddenly neutralize the potential. In other words, you get some pretty decent shocks.

Modern two prong electrical appliances are required by UL (law?) to be double insulated. Doing this isolates the outside from the inside. It's a necessity to avoid the scenario I described before. If a short ever occurs between the outside and inside, then you're right back to square one. Yes, the outer shell (if metal) is left to float. But the potential difference is far less likely to be as great compared to the PC in my previous example choice.

I measured my own house and there's definitely a difference with Neutral relative to Earth Ground.

[SavannahLion]

I've thought about whether I should put in my two cents considering you rarely care to comprehend anything I write. In the end, even if you won't listen, someone else will. Neutral is usually grounded but it is not something you ever want to treat as Ground.

What do previous threads have to do with this one?

That depends. Have you ever actually seriously read anything I wrote?

[MaximRecoil]

That depends. Have you ever actually seriously read anything I wrote?

I judge information on its own merits, without regard to who is posting it. I don't know where you got the idea that I wouldn't pay attention to a post simply because of its author. If I argue with someone, it is because I disagree with what they are saying at that particular time, not because I automatically think they are always wrong without reading what they posted.

In any event, I'm going to wire the new outlets correctly, with new 3-conductor wire from the hardware store, made for the task (hot to circuit breaker, neutral and ground to the common bus bar). I would use the method Ken Layton described, but while the old outlets are indeed mounted in metal boxes, the metal boxes are not grounded well (only got a ~15 volt reading from the hot wire to the metal box, while the hot to neutral reading was a normal ~120 volts).

[shardian]

Ok, I can't resist: 3 conductor wire physically has three  conductor wires - red, black, and white.
All you want is 2 conductor wire - white and black. The ground wire is not included in the conductor count. Figured I'd save you some money and a surprise trip back to Lowes.

Merry Christmas!!

[MaximRecoil]

Ok, I can't resist: 3 conductor wire physically has three  conductor wires - red, black, and white.
All you want is 2 conductor wire - white and black. The ground wire is not included in the conductor count. Figured I'd save you some money and a surprise trip back to Lowes.

Merry Christmas!!

Thanks.

I was just referring to it by what it actually is (3-conductor wire/cable). I know what the stuff looks like. It has a white insulated (neutral), black insulated (hot), and bare or green insulated wire (ground).

[shardian]

All I can tell you is if you walk into a store and ask for "3 conductor wire", you are not going to get what you want.

After the way you got with the term "broken", it is in your best interest to use the proper terminology.

[MaximRecoil]

All I can tell you is if you walk into a store and ask for "3 conductor wire", you are not going to get what you want.

After the way you got with the term "broken", it is in your best interest to use the proper terminology.

Yeah, but I don't plan on asking for it, I plan on getting it off the reel that is right on display at my local hardware store.

But anyway, it is good to know that the "correct terminology" in this case is a misnomer.

[SavannahLion]

But anyway, it is good to know that the "correct terminology" in this case is a misnomer.

Just because you don't understand the reasoning behind it, doesn't make the terminology a misnomer. Earth Ground is a conductor but is not considered a circuit conductor. The "2" in NM12-2, for example, refers specifically to the number of circuit conductors in a bundle. Ground is implied. I'm not certain, but I think it was done to evade confusion.

Yes, I know this is different from other professional electrical fields. That's life. Talk to a professional telephone installer if you want a slew of apparent misnomers.

[MaximRecoil]

Just because you don't understand the reasoning behind it, doesn't make the terminology a misnomer.

To refer to 3-conductor wire as "2- conductor" is a misnomer, regardless of the reasoning behind it.  Plenty of misnomers have reasoning behind them; and that doesn't change the fact that they are misnomers. Additionally, in this case, the reasoning is only due to an assumed application, when in fact, the wire can be used for anything. I could for example, use it as turn-on leads for 3 car audio amplifiers, in which case, not only does the wire contain three separate conductors, but they are also all being used as circuit conductors. 

[shardian]

You've already admitted you have no clue what you are talking about by starting this thread, so please don't debate the terminology and piss of people who actually take the time to try and help you.

Anyways, Earth Ground is NOT a conductor - it is a safety precaution only used or accessed in fault conditions. Thus, it is NOT a conductor.

[SavannahLion]

Sorry for the botched edit in my previous post. I made some changes. Took some away. Made some more. Decided on something else. Posted and discovered you posted and the forum didn't warn me. 

Just because you don't understand the reasoning behind it, doesn't make the terminology a misnomer.

To refer to 3-conductor wire as "2- conductor" is a misnomer, regardless of the reasoning behind it.  Plenty of misnomers have reasoning behind them; and that doesn't change the fact that they are misnomers. Additionally, in this case, the reasoning is only due to an assumed application, when in fact, the wire can be used for anything. I could for example, use it as turn-on leads for 3 car audio amplifiers, in which case, not only does the wire contain three separate conductors, but they are also all being used as circuit conductors. 

No, you cannot use household wiring in, where I assume a car amp would be installed, your car. However, I'm going to save myself a lot of typing as to the why... see below.

MR, this is exactly the kind of thing I'm referring to when I ask if you seriously read anything I write. I'm just going to wash my hands and end this discussion. Even when I try to sincerely help you, you just seem to want to prove someone wrong despite your open admittance that you don't even know what you're doing. Why the hell should anyone help you if all you're going to do is to try and prove someone wrong about something? Especially about a topic you know so little about?

[MaximRecoil]

You've already admitted you have no clue what you are talking about by starting this thread

In regard to what exactly?

so please don't debate the terminology and piss of people who actually take the time to try and help you.

Okay, so when I said that it was the correct terminology:

But anyway, it is good to know that the "correct terminology" in this case is a misnomer.

You interpreted that as "debating" the terminology? LOL. You do realize that terminology can be both correct and a misnomer simultaneously, right?

Anyways, Earth Ground is NOT a conductor - it is a safety precaution only used or accessed in fault conditions. Thus, it is NOT a conductor.

Maybe you should familiarize yourself with the definition of "conductor".

[MaximRecoil]

No, you cannot use household wiring in, where I assume a car amp would be installed, your car. However, I'm going to save myself a lot of typing as to the why... see below.

Of course you can. It has wire that conducts electricity and the amount of current it can handle far exceeds the current flowing through a turn-on lead. You could use a coat hanger if you wanted to.

MR, this is exactly the kind of thing I'm referring to when I ask if you seriously read anything I write. I'm just going to wash my hands and end this discussion. Even when I try to sincerely help you, you just seem to want to prove someone wrong despite your open admittance that you don't even know what you're doing. Why the hell should anyone help you if all you're going to do is to try and prove someone wrong about something? Especially about a topic you know so little about?

In case you didn't notice, you came into this thread looking for an argument. Read the first part of your first post. And even after I agreed on the correct way to do it (which I was never opposed to in the first place, given that I described it in my OP), and on the correct terminology for the wire (which is irrelevant in this context), you are still trying to argue about something. And the points you are trying to argue, such as the meaning of the word "misnomer", I am quite familiar with; rendering your statement:

Especially about a topic you know so little about?

Meaningless.

[shardian]

so please don't debate the terminology and piss of people who actually take the time to try and help you.

Okay, so when I said that it was the correct terminology:

But anyway, it is good to know that the "correct terminology" in this case is a misnomer.

You interpreted that as "debating" the terminology? LOL. You do realize that terminology can be both correct and a misnomer simultaneously, right?

That is called you being a "smart ass".

Since we are in the dictionary in your conversations all the time, please take the time to look up "smug".

Congrats, you are obviously an expert in the field of wiring. Good luck with your rewiring.


PS. The joystick is BROKEN.

[ChadTower]

You've already admitted you have no clue what you are talking about by starting this thread, so please don't debate the terminology and piss of people who actually take the time to try and help you.

Don't you guys learn?  You keep sitting on this thumbtack and acting surprised when it sticks you.

[Jdurg]

You've already admitted you have no clue what you are talking about by starting this thread, so please don't debate the terminology and piss of people who actually take the time to try and help you.

Don't you guys learn?  You keep sitting on this thumbtack and acting surprised when it sticks you.

But I keep thinking that the point will fall within ---my bottom----crack so it won't stick me.  That's why I'm surprised!   

(Had to bring some levity back here.    )

[Zakk]

I'm not sure where you live, but most places require you to get a permit for what you are attempting to do.  To get a permit you'll need to get it inspected.  You might not think it's alchemy but there's probably a thousand things you don't know about home electrical.  If you do it without a permit or at least an inspection you are risking your life and the lives of anyone who use the house now, and in the future.  I don't know if your conscience could handle it if you killed a family of 5, 10 years from now due to your wiring prowess, but I couldn't.  It's not a project to be taken lightly. 

[MaximRecoil]

I'm not sure where you live, but most places require you to get a permit for what you are attempting to do.  To get a permit you'll need to get it inspected.  You might not think it's alchemy but there's probably a thousand things you don't know about home electrical.  If you do it without a permit or at least an inspection you are risking your life and the lives of anyone who use the house now, and in the future.  I don't know if your conscience could handle it if you killed a family of 5, 10 years from now due to your wiring prowess, but I couldn't.  It's not a project to be taken lightly. 

Hot to the circuit breaker (20 amp), ground and neutral to the common bus bar. It isn't even remotely difficult.

This is one of the most ridiculous threads I've ever seen on these forums.

You can go to any hardware store and get a plug that converts a 2 prong wall outlet for use with a 3 prong cord.

There's a wire or flat metal pieces that sticks out of the plug.  This wire/piece is screwed to the outlet using the FACE MOUNTING PLATE SCREW.

Amazingly, that's a secure enough connection to ground for every hardware store in the country to sell this product.
 
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1285936&cp=2568454.2632219.2632235.2632237&parentPage=family

Here's a link to a nation-wide store that sells this infernal, dangerous product.

That is only acceptable if the metal box that the outlet is mounted to is grounded, which would in turn ground the metal body of the outlet so that when you screw down the tab of the adapter to the faceplate screw, it is grounded.

I already said previously that my outlet boxes are not well-grounded (~15 volt reading from hot to outlet box). So you can screw the tab to the face plate mounting screw, but without a good ground at the faceplace mounting screw, what good does it do you?

[Ed_McCarron]

Wow.

In a typical lighting panel, the neutral and ground are bonded.   Electrically, they should be the same.

Unless its a subpanel.  Then, you back out the bonding screw - you can't have neutral and ground bonded at more than one place in the system, only at the main panel.

The ground is not designed to carry current during normal operation.

Power flows in the hot, and returns via the neutral.  An imbalance in this flow is what trips a GFCI - something is leaking to ground.

OK, now that power 101 is out of the way.

Can you replace a 2 prong outlet with a 3 prong outlet?  Physically, yes.  Tie the neutral and ground together.  For the short term, it'll do what you expect - any voltage making it to chassis ground will short and trip the breaker.

Is it safe?

No.  Accidentally reverse the polarity somewhere, and you'll have a hot chassis.  Bad.

Is it legal?

No.  The NEC disallows it.  They're kinda fond of the life-safety stuff.

Would I do it?

No.

Should you do it?

No.

What would I do?

Buy a two prong outlet if you simply need to replace an old outlet - they do still sell them.  Otherwise, run the wire, install the box, and get a REAL electrician to terminate at the LP.  If you use 14ga wire, terminate on a 15A breaker - if you use 12 wire, terminate on a 20A breaker.  Don't use 16 wire - I have no clue why the home despot type places even sell it anymore.

I'm a control electrician in real life - but even I won't do residential wiring unless its a straight replacement.

YMMV.  I only work in control panels - which is a whole different world when it comes to code.

[MaximRecoil]

You don't have to break off the ground pin from your plugs - DUH! 

Who said anything about breaking the ground pin from my plugs?

Or deal with this 'illegal modifications that require permits' BS that only applies to a few states.

15VAC is nothing, btw. 

15 VAC means the metal body of the outlet is not well-grounded. That in turn means that I can't just use a 3-prong adaptor because the face-plate screw is not a good ground in my case. If it was a good ground, then it would measure ~120 VAC between the hot and the faceplate screw, rather than ~15 VAC.

What would I do?

Buy a two prong outlet if you simply need to replace an old outlet - they do still sell them.  Otherwise, run the wire, install the box, and get a REAL electrician to terminate at the LP.  If you use 14ga wire, terminate on a 15A breaker - if you use 12 wire, terminate on a 20A breaker.  Don't use 16 wire - I have no clue why the home despot type places even sell it anymore.

A real electrician is going to connect the black hot wire to the 20 amp breaker, and the white neutral and green or bare ground to the single common bus bar, right?

An electrician is not needed for something so simple.

BTW, I didn't start this thread because I needed to know the correct way of wiring a 3-prong outlet. I already know how to do that. You wire it exactly the same as the existing 2-prong outlet with respect to the hot and neutral wires, and then the ground wire terminates at the common bus bar in the breaker box, and on the ground screw on the outlet.

I started this thread because it would be less tedious (running new wire behind the walls, through the floors, along the basement ceiling, etc., = tedious—the actual electrical termination is the easy part) to jump a short wire from the ground screw on the outlet to the neutral screw on the outlet. The reason I considered and asked about this option is because it is the electrical equivalent of doing it the standard way.

Now, some people have pointed out reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea, due to the physical differences between the two wiring methods, and that's fine—I agree, and plan to do it the standard, approved, correct, whatever-you-want-to-call-it, way. I said as much in reply #19. 

[leapinlew]

You don't have to break off the ground pin from your plugs - DUH! 

Who said anything about breaking the ground pin from my plugs?

Or deal with this 'illegal modifications that require permits' BS that only applies to a few states.

15VAC is nothing, btw. 

15 VAC means the metal body of the outlet is not well-grounded. That in turn means that I can't just use a 3-prong adaptor because the face-plate screw is not a good ground in my case. If it was a good ground, then it would measure ~120 VAC between the hot and the faceplate screw, rather than ~15 VAC.

What would I do?

Buy a two prong outlet if you simply need to replace an old outlet - they do still sell them.  Otherwise, run the wire, install the box, and get a REAL electrician to terminate at the LP.  If you use 14ga wire, terminate on a 15A breaker - if you use 12 wire, terminate on a 20A breaker.  Don't use 16 wire - I have no clue why the home despot type places even sell it anymore.

A real electrician is going to connect the black hot wire to the 20 amp breaker, and the white neutral and green or bare ground to the single common bus bar, right?

An electrician is not needed for something so simple.

BTW, I didn't start this thread because I needed to know the correct way of wiring a 3-prong outlet. I already know how to do that. You wire it exactly the same as the existing 2-prong outlet with respect to the hot and neutral wires, and then the ground wire terminates at the common bus bar in the breaker box, and on the ground screw on the outlet.

I started this thread because it would be less tedious (running new wire behind the walls, through the floors, along the basement ceiling, etc., = tedious—the actual electrical termination is the easy part) to jump a short wire from the ground screw on the outlet to the neutral screw on the outlet. The reason I considered and asked about this option is because it is the electrical equivalent of doing it the standard way.

Now, some people have pointed out reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea, due to the physical differences between the two wiring methods, and that's fine—I agree, and plan to do it the standard, approved, correct, whatever-you-want-to-call-it, way. I said as much in reply #19. 

oh Maxim, you slay me. 

[ChadTower]

Ask a fireman how much tedium he thinks you should endure when working on your house wiring.

I have been calling around to electricians all damn week trying to get one out to run a new circuit in my basement.  Not one has freakin' called back.  That is always my major frustration with small jobs like this - it's not a $1000 job so the electricians aren't interested in it.

[whammoed]

Personally I would be more concerned about wiring that an electrician has done burning down my house than my own work.  I have seen some pretty dumb things electricians have done that I would never do.
No offense to any electricians here of course.  I'm sure the vast majority don't leave bare live wires exposed in a capped ceiling box, and tighten connections properly etc, etc.  There are however those who don't really know what they are doing, or don't really care in every profession.  When doing the work yourself you have more of a vested interest in making sure it is done right and safely.  Its a given that you must know what you are doing...if you don't, hire someone of course.