Before you
tackle any part of this project, turn off the power to the circuit at the main
electrical panel by switching off the breaker or removing the
fuse.
Before
touching any bare wires or terminals on a switch or outlet, use a voltage
tester on all the wires to make sure the power is off (Photo
1).
If you have
old, fabric-insulated wiring, call an electrician to recommend safe
connections. With wiring like this, there’s usually no ground wire and
it’s hard to tell the hot wire from the neutral, because both are coated
with black insulation.
