Getting wired

So, this past weekend I finally got around to a couple of home maintenance jobs that I've been procrastinating on. In my second* foray into the amateur electrician realm, I replaced the doorbell button, which ceased to function several months ago. Considering that 99% of the people who ring my doorbell (well, those who try to, that is) are selling lawn-mowing services, new windows, school fund-raiser candy, or religion -- none of which I'm interested in -- I haven't felt much urgency to fix it. However, after the mail carrier apparently tried to deliver a piece of certified mail when I was actually at home, and ended up leaving a delivery notice when no one answered the doorbell, I decided I had best invest in a new button. Besides, the old one was ugly brown plastic that had been painted over with the same beige paint that's on the front door. The new one is a much nicer "bronze"-finished metal with a lighted button. So my doorbell now goes ding-dong again, and I didn't even have to shut off a circuit breaker to do it.

But the doorbell was just a warm-up for the main event: replacing the light fixture by the front door. The old one was a cheap-looking brass and glass fixture that was probably the original one installed when the house was built (meaning it's over 20 years old), and the socket tended to turn when you tried to screw a light bulb in. So I hunted down the circuit breaker it was on (turns out to be the same circuit as all the living room receptacles and the kitchen and dining room ceiling light fixtures and the garage lights), shut it down (low voltage doorbells are one thing, a live 120-volt circuit is something else entirely), got out the stepladder and an assortment of screwdrivers, pliers, and electrical tape, and replaced that crappy fixture with a brand new, rust-finish Arts & Crafts-style lantern-type fixture with "stained glass" inserts. Ever so much nicer, and the socket stayed put when I screwed in the light bulb. Even better, after I turned the circuit breaker back on, the light actually works!

Next up: Change out the light fixture by the garage door (same model as the one by the front door) for a matching lantern fixture. And now that the doorbell is working again, I'm reminded that it could do with a new chime unit as well. And I really hate the ceiling fixture in the kitchen...

Maybe I'd better lay in a supply of electrical tape. And map all the circuit breakers in the house.

*The first was replacing the light bar in my bathroom, shortly after I moved into my house two years ago. Another stunning improvement, if I do say so myself.