How To Swap Out Old Outlets & Light Switches

Want to give your home a quick facelift? Swap out those old, crusty outlets and light switches with shiny new ones. And while you're at it, throw in a dimmer switch - because who doesn't love a little mood lighting? Your house will thank you, and you'll feel like a DIY superstar.
What you'll need for this project:
- Non-Contact Voltage Tester
- Screwdriver (#1 Flathead #2 Philips or #1 Square)
- Wire Strippers
- Orange or Yellow Wire Nuts
- Electrical Tape

[@steviesaidso]

Your Klein strippers are awesome. I have quite a few for different jobs. The spring loaded action is a MUST! Self Opening definitely helped me with hand fatigue 😊

[@steviesaidso]

Really Informative!! With all the money Tommy will save replacing his switches & outlets he can call a Pro to replace that old a** panel!

[@surferdude642]

Not a great job, but should work ok. My opinion on making an improvement: Verify that those boxes are already grounded to the main panel, otherwise adding a ground wire doesn't do anything. Clean out the debris and scrape the paint off the threaded flanges. Remove the paper keepers from the screws and add metal spacers (washers, device mounting ears, etc.) to bring the device's flush with the Sheetrock for better grounding and a tighter secure mechanical fit. The contact area between the receptacle and the Sheetrock is barely there. The mid stripping of the wires on the receptacle is bad practice, especially in a single gang in my opinion. Cut the wires, re-strip, and use the second screw on each side, if the wires are long enough, otherwise just do what they did, or like you did. I don't blame you for that. Use a receptacle/GFCI tester to check for open ground after the power is restored. If the receptacle box is not grounded, use a GFCI receptacle and add the accompanying sticker "No equipment ground" to the face plate. I'm not sure, that switch you guys installed is not a 3--way, but a wifi dimmer switch with the dimmer feature disabled.