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View Full Version : What is the description, electrical system for a house built in 1951?


Olguita
Oct 14, 2011, 07:31 AM
I am a student. My assignment requires for me to explain the electrical wiring, electrical plugs, light bulbs, etcetera for a house built in 1951. Would you please elaborate?

tkrussell
Oct 14, 2011, 07:59 AM
I cannot imagine what is the correct description your looking for for wiring in a home built in 1951.

Why would a description for a home built in 1951 be different than one built in 2011?

We need you to elaborate about the question, the class your taking, etc.

ma0641
Oct 15, 2011, 07:52 AM
Not exactly sure why the course would ask that but, go to a Goodwill store. They always have a bunch of outdated books about home construction and repairs. Almost all of them have dated electrical designs, no GFI, fabric insulation, 2 prong ungrounded outlets etc. 100 AMP, sometimes even 60 AMP fused panels, were still common then, depending on where you lived.

Olguita
Oct 15, 2011, 08:24 AM
I'm not even sure if they were any different. I'm currently taking a course in interior design. My assignment is asking for a lighting plan and that the home is sixty years old.

Thanks for your concern!

ma0641
Oct 16, 2011, 06:06 PM
Now that we know it is lighting only, you can again look into older books for design ideas. We go through cycles where there are lights in ceilings and then no lights in ceilings and now, with raised ceilings we have can lights, CFL's, LED's etc. Gone are the days of 60's vintage where they had whole dropped ceilings of gridded squares with fluorescent tubes. Lighting depends on what you are doing. In some rooms, ambient is sufficient, diffused may work but if you are doing close up work, like the gunsmithing I sometimes do, you need direct task lighting. I'd go for some old books and magazines and then go to a model home in today's construction and see the changes.

stanfortyman
Oct 16, 2011, 06:36 PM
I'm not even sure if they were any different. I'm currently taking a course in interior design. My assignment is asking for a lighting plan and that the home is sixty years old.

I doubt you'll find one.

For a basic house: Pretty much one light in the kitchen, bath, hall, foyer, garage, basement, and a switched receptacle everywhere else.