Mapping Electrical System

[OV1kenobi]

A thread on another forum got me thinking about this.

 I installed GFCI breakers on every circuit in my main service panel for all outlets near a water outlet or outdoor weather exposure.

Kitchen, bathrooms, outdoor electrical outlets.

To me, better than replacing each individual electrical outlet one at a time.

Here is what I also did:

I bought some graph paper and drew a complete floor plan of my home to scale.

Using the appropriate symbols, I mapped out my complete electrical system with the appropriate circuit breaker number in parentheses.

I then made a copy and taped it to the door of the main service panel.

In the future, I know where everything is, and it will be useful (I hope) to an electrician for any future repairs or rewiring.

Just thought I would pass this idea along.

 I hope someone finds this information/suggestion useful.

It sure helped me.

Edited July 11, 2018 by OV1kenobi

[tous]

I approach network cabling and electrical wiring, be it a house or an automobile, in the same way.

Find a termination, label it, trace it back to a switch or the other end of it, label that.

Make notes, draw it on a map.

Find another termination, trace it back ....

Repeat until you have it all documented.

You did just what I did, amigo.

Either we're both geniuses, or we made the job far harder than it had to be. 

[Cubdriver]

I've done the same thing with my re-wire job here.  The other thing I did was to get a paint marker and label the panel and breaker number on the floor of each box, and also on the yoke of each device in the box.  Take off the cover, and I know which breaker to kill to make that circuit cold.

 

Box layout and rough wiring locations were noted on the plans.  (I had the advantage of doing it myself from scratch, rather than trying to figure out what's hiding in the walls - I know from experience that doing THAT is a major headache!!)

 

-Pat