New House Old Soul Ep. 5 - Electrical

Brent shares his views on electrical and how we can remember the past and build houses that feel old if we remember historical precedent. Come check it out.
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Here is a collection of books used in this talk in my Kit.Co library: kit.co/brenthu...
Here are more great books to check out on my Amazon associates page:
Design book for houses 1920- Architect Small House plan book: amzn.to/37XWaUI
500 Small houses of the 20's- Good designs for period revival homes: amzn.to/3DiH3kh
Samuel Chamberlain's drawings of Rural France: amzn.to/3utg15G
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Brent Hull
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[@Androgynary]

As an electrical apprentice (and lover of period/historic architecture), I love hearing you talk about the history of lighting!

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Thanks.

[@jeffpower6473]

All I see is the gorgeous wood work.

[@BrentHull]

Ha, its hard to avoid.

[@peggyhemenger8983]

I agree, lighting is so important, can really define a space and add inherent charm and beauty. You are so right too in avoiding fads, they can come and go so quickly.

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Thanks.

[@billk8780]

Point of clarification: Aluminum, per se, will handle current just fine. Electric transmission line cables are typically ACSR, i.e., aluminum conductor steel reinforced. The Achilles heel is that aluminum metal quickly forms a high-resistance oxide layer. It's this oxide layer which can cause heat in aluminum connections. That's why electricians use NOALOX or Ox-Gard, etc. That said, I would not want my house wired with aluminum wires.

[@BrentHull]

Nice, great information. Thanks for sharing.

[@rogerhodges7656]

You always impress. Each video is a treasure.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks so much.

[@hollywinsman9464]

Love the gasolier.

[@BrentHull]

Me too.. Thanks.

[@elsa_g]

Your insight of how much smaller outdoor lighting was historically is so useful! Thank you for sharing your knowlege. :)

[@BrentHull]

Thx for watching.

[@ronmack1767]

Enjoyed the video Brent and seeing the old homes. Thanks for the producing the videos. Take care and God bless.

[@BrentHull]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@lizzapaolia959]

Second to none, fantastic video. Your a craftsman that's second to none. Beautiful homes as well as educational. God bless 🙏

[@BrentHull]

Wow, thank you!

[@adamr1637]

Great overview and examples. This series is gold!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks so much!

[@anonz975]

This is one of my favorite episodes! So practical and easy to implement.

[@BrentHull]

Glad to hear it! Thx

[@jacobwysopal5127]

Thanks for covering options from historic to modern. Nice to see a variety of options! Keep up the awsome work.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks, will do!

[@moneymakingmikeg.9555]

Brent, videos are always enjoyable to watch Bud!!! Hoping all is well, Dirty Jersey out!!!

[@BrentHull]

Nice, thanks for following along.

[@florentinodelarosa1207]

Love these type of videos so informative!

[@BrentHull]

I'm so glad!

[@pointnemo369]

Boy Howdy you dusted off some memories.

[@BrentHull]

Ok good.

[@GaneshRamachandra135]

Beautiful videos, Brent. If I might make a seemingly critical observation: your shots should dwell more on the beauty of the houses you work on. These videos are quite short, really, and many times I find myself wishing the camera would linger longer on the interesting joinery, the stunning wall panels, the wonderful floors, the beautiful exteriors and, in this case, the lovely lighting. Your video man/woman would understand how to set up a long (time-wise) shot while maintaining the viewer's interest . You have a fascinating line of work and your enthusiasm comes across but I can't help thinking that the clips you use in your videos don't do justice to the architecture you recreate or restore. Keep up the good work, and best wishes.

[@BrentHull]

Noted. Thx.

[@saltyroe3179]

Knob & tube: by time my 1929 house was built, standards had evolved knob and tube. The tubes stayed the same, but the knobs changed. My house has all IDEAL electric firings. The knob has a cylinder with two channels on top . A disc shaped cap holds the wires in the channels. A nail is driven through the both . Rubber grommets prevent the porcelain from shattering when the nail is driven home. This allowed hot and neutral to run on the same knob! My house doesn't put both on a knob and in the open attic and under the floor (raised foundatio), hot and neutral run about 6 feet apart to prevent a person from shorting the circuit. By 1929 the high quality wire had evolved to having Rubber insulation covered by woven cloth . When new the insulation was exelent and the knobs and tubes would not be required. However it was known that the Rubber and cloth would not last 100 years, and that is why the knob s and tubes still existed. If I touch one of those wires the insulation disintegrates. The scary part is loom. Loom is cloth tubes impregnated with pitch. This is used as flexible conduit to reach fixtures. When installed the messy loom was flexible. Over the decades the loom becomes solid and one cannot reuse it. When replacing fixture boxes, or replacing wire going to the box one has to use modern plastic components, which is no fun. The wire itself is very high quality and will carry much higher current than the equivalent gauge Roamex. This is because the heat from the wires can radiat out while Romex captures the heat and induction of the close hot and neutral generates heat. As such, I do not replace the high quality knob and tube. It is analogous to the stupidity of replacing my 1929 double hung windows with vinyl. The electric code doesn't allow me to splice wire in the open like was done in 1929, so I may have to put in a plastic box to replace damaged splices. It isn't that the unboxed splices are unsafe, it is that they are illegal to make today. When I went to service a balcony sconce, I found IDEAL porcelain wire nuts! These were a new invention and they are in my curio case. In electrical after WW2 with plastic insulated wire, high quality electric was wire pulled through metal conduit. Cheaper production houses were built with non metallic shielded cable that was stapled in place (like in my 1957 house). The pulled through conduit is more expensive, but makes latter changes easier and less subjec to damage. A compromise is armored cable. Then there is the most fun: adding fixtures where you do not want to expose ugly wiring. I have built what amounts to raceways that are wood cabinetry. One has to be very careful with local code, as most inspectors don't understand craft built electrical.

[@BrentHull]

Well said. Thanks.

[@jennafarrell4755]

Thanks Brent, Exactly the help I needed to plan our new basement. How high would you hang a sconce on a 9 foot tall wall?

[@BrentHull]

Depends on function and if there is a couch or table underneath.

[@carrieheaps1325]

Thank you so much for your channel! What a find! Can you recommend a place online that I can order old style lights that are new?

[@BrentHull]

Rejuvenation lighting does that. You might also look at Traditional Building site, they have a list of period lighting suppliers.

[@michaelkennedy9458]

I live in a 1929 foursquare and it's a pretty modest house. I've tried to keep as many original fixtures as possible and when I have added fixtures, I've gotten a lot of them from Rejuvenation. Sadly, that company seems to be less into reproduction lighting than it once was and it seems to be trending toward the Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware-type pseudo-historic products.

[@BrentHull]

Shoot sorry to hear that .

[@georg706]

I would love to hear your opinion on cape dutch style homes

[@BrentHull]

I love them.

[@SpizzyP219]

I love learning how building methods were influenced by historical factors! So interesting. So what was the upshot of the AC/DC war. Was it fuses that allowed AC to to take hold (I'm not an electrician, so forgive me if I sound ignorant.) Also, I've seen electrical wiring in metal conduits. Where does that fit in?

[@error-xn7hn]

I don't know, but probably it was plastic covers for the wires that makes AC safe enough for houses.

[@BrentHull]

A lot of reasons both technical and practical. read some of the great books on this time in history. You'll learn so much.

[@nohtgonahappen7314]

So if you want to build a 1850s Greek revival 2 story plantation style farm house. What's would be the best why to go about that?

[@BrentHull]

I would start with historic precedent. Then look at current needs of the family and plan accordingly. It would be a fun project.

[@fyt54321]

I see that Thistle Hill is a Texas Historical site and that 1509 Pennsylvania is owned by "W I COOK FOUNDATION INC". Since Thistle Hill is surrounded by buildings of the Cook Childrens Hospital campus, what is its actual use, like high society fundraising soirees for the hospital? Is it ever open for tours? According to Tarrant County AD it is assessed at $1.6M, is 11,200 sq ft, and sits on 1.4 acres. In my city the large hospital campuses often swallow huge areas, and sometimes grand stately homes are preserved, but basically unused.

[@BrentHull]

In process. This restoration will take a couple of years, so the final use is being figured out.

[@janellebraun5438]

Brent, can you recommend a brand of the flat square LED lights that are mudded into the ceiling that you mentioned. My builder can't find ones that were used in this video. Thanks!

[@BrentHull]

I'll do a video soon. Thx.

[@johnmortenson1184]

@@BrentHull Thanks--love your work! Can you also talk more about historic lighting in kitchens--that seems to be the place most prone to can lights.

[@kevintreon5099]

Neat ideas, but what can you do with 7' ceilings?

[@BrentHull]

Its a challenge.

[@lookup9078]

🛎️🙏

[@BrentHull]

Thank you.

[@loriazevedo5994]

Love old lighting, never liked cans

[@BrentHull]

agreed

[@ComputerGuitarVideos]

Can lights are just cheap light and don't look nice. I wouldn't install them in a new house or renovation.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks.

[@ThePolypam]

Gasoliers are gorgeously decorative, if not very healthy. Imagine gas lighting and coal heating. Ouch.

[@BrentHull]

Yikes.

[@jla3772]

Brent, where do you find those historic light fixtures door/window hardware?

[@BrentHull]

Architectural salvage. Traditional Building web site.

[@ComputerGuitarVideos]

Antique stores might sell lights. If you're looking for Tiffany stile glass lights, you can buy them new.

[@jla3772]

Thanks!@@BrentHull

[@anonz975]

Excellent educational video however the elephant pic was upsetting for those of us that have empathy for animals. :(

[@BrentHull]

Ok. Noted.

[@njoogle]

Fun fact: Edison (advocating for DC) invented the electric chair which used AC, in order to demonstrate the dangers of AC electricity.

[@BrentHull]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@BO_Riddle]

Imagine hiring this guy for a job. Probably thousands of dollars 💵 💵

[@BrentHull]

Ha.

[@MyersMonroe]

The more one watches your videos the more one thinks …. much building today expresses ignorant and underdeveloped ideas !!

[@BrentHull]

So true. There is great opportunity before us.