Remember the last time you did electrical work around the house? Maybe you installed a ceiling fan, put up a new security light, swapped in a dimmer switch for a toggle, or perhaps you tackled a more ambitious project like adding a new fixture. I can pretty well guarantee the first line in the instruction sheet said words like:
Oh, sure. That's easy for the engineer who designed your new toy to say: he's probably posted a blueprint on the inside of the door of his breaker box; a tiny map showing the location of every fixture, switch and outlet in the house, everything carefully labeled with the number of its circuit breaker. If you're like everyone else, though, the breaker box is probably labeled with cryptic little notes like "mr bth ot," "dck lts," or "sara's bdrm" - and the only Sara you know is the intern at work. If you're really unlucky, the breaker isn't labeled at all.
"Turn off the power to the circuit before starting."
