How to Rewire a Plaster on Brick Surface

Locate the breaker panel and turn off the main breaker for the house.

Remove the screw that holds the receptacle’s cover plate onto the receptacle and then discard the old cover late.

Remove the two screws that hold the receptacle into the gang box placed into the molding, and then pull the receptacle straight out from the box.

Cut the wires off the receptacle with wire cutters and discard the old receptacle.

Look inside the gang box and locate the area where the cable exits the box. Usually, you will see a screw that clamps the cable to the box. Loosen the screw so you can pull the cable out of the box.

Go into the basement and locate the area where the electrical cable goes up through the ceiling of the basement. Pull the cable down to remove it from the receptacle. Remove the fasteners that hold the cable against the floor joists as you work your way to the breaker box.

Loosen the strain-relief bracket that holds the old cable to the breaker panel.

Locate the wires inside the breaker panel for the wire you are replacing. The black wire goes to the breaker, the white wire goes to the neutral buss bar, and the bare or green wire goes to the grounding buss bar. Loosen the terminal screws for each wire and then pull the wires out of the breaker panel.

Cut a new length of electrical cable to match the length of the old cable. This will ensure you have enough cable length.

Slide the cable into the strain relief bracket on the breaker panel approximately 24 inches. Cut 12 inches of the insulation off the cable to expose the wires. Cut 1 inch of the insulation off each of the wires coming from the cable.

Connect the black wire to the breaker, the white wire to the neutral buss bar, and the green or bare wire to the grounding buss bar.

Slide the other end of the cable up through the hole in the ceiling and into the box. Pull the wire through the gang box until you pull all of the excess cable through the gang box. Tighten the screw inside the gang box to secure the cable.

Fasten the cable to the joists in the basement with wire fasteners as you work your way from the breaker panel to the hole in the basement ceiling.

Cut the cable leaving approximately 12 inches of cable sticking out of the gang box. Strip the insulation off the cable to expose the wires. Strip 1 inch of insulation off each wire.

Secure the black wire to the “in” terminal on the new receptacle. Secure the white wire to the “neutral” terminal on the receptacle and then secure the green or bare wire to the grounding lug on the receptacle. National electrical code requires that all replacement receptacles utilize a ground.

Press the excess wires into the gang box and then secure the new receptacle to the gang box.

Place the cover over the receptacle and secure it with the screw supplied with the cover.