PLAN No. 1186. OWNERS
An owner of an electrical contracting business is usually a man who has worked himself up from a position as wireman or salesman. For success, however, it is not sufficient that the man be merely a good mechanic. Yearly, hundreds of men set up for themselves in the electrical contracting business and, while some succeed many fail, principally because they are not good business men. If a small contracting business is to prosper, the owner should have a good working knowledge not alone of electrical construction, but also of bookkeeping and selling. Pluck, industry, and honesty are prime essentials.
Not all owners earn large incomes. Some, in fact, earn little if any more than a journeyman wireman, who works for wages of from $60 to $125 per month. For a returned soldier who has had electrical-construction experience, and who possesses the requisite qualifications the field is promising. It requires some capital at the start, and the first years will practically always be lean ones. A man who is entering or who is serving in the electrical contracting field as a workman may look forward, if he has the proper capacity, to some day owning a business of his own. If he has this aspiration, he should become interested in bookkeeping, salesmanship, advertising, and in the technical aspects of the business, such as electrical machinery installation and wiring.
PLAN No. 1187. DEMAND FOR INSTALLATION OF WIRING
Wiring for electricity requires for its installation the services of many skilled men. In cities and towns where electric-company service is available, practically every house which is erected is wired. Out in the country, also, many farm buildings are now being wired. Furthermore, while it was common practice a few years ago to arrange for only one light or outlet in each room, the present tendency is to provide for several. All of this is creating a demand for more wire men.
PLAN No. 1188. SIGNAL WIRING
In wiring for electric doorbells, fire and burglar alarms, and other so-called signaling circuits dry cells are ordinarily used to provide the voltage. With this low pressure the fire risk is almost negligible. While the signal wiring in a large factory or institution may be complicated, in smaller buildings or residences it offers few difficult problems. To install signal wire economically and properly, however, requires some skill and experience.
PLAN No. 1189. LIGHT AND POWER WIRING
Installation of light and power wiring is more skilled work. On these circuits the electric pressure is always relatively high—110 volts or above—and there is the ever present danger to be guarded against of fire caused by short-circuiting. Not only may improperly installed wiring involve great fire hazard, but it may involve life hazard also. To minimize these dangers, codes of rules indicating the proper and safe methods of installing wiring and electrical equipment have been formulated. The National Board of Fire Underwriters has prepared and revises periodically such a compilation of rules, called the “National Electrical Code.” This, or some modification of it, is in force in practically all communities. These rules specify the conditions under which wiring of certain types may be used and indicate rigid requirements for the protection of circuits and the installation of electrical machinery.
Methods of wiring.—The several methods of wiring include the following: (a) open wiring; (b) knob and tube wiring; (c) rigid conduit wiring; (d) flexible conduit wiring; and (e) molding wiring.