How to Replace a Doorbell | Ask This Old House
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2022
- In this video, This Old House master electrician Heath Eastman helps a homeowner solve an old problem: locating and replacing doorbell components and wiring.
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Master electrician Heath Eastman takes us on a house call to solve a homeowner’s doorbell problem. After moving in, the homeowner attempted to fix an old doorbell, only to have it crumble into pieces. Heath uses his expertise to track down the existing wiring and transformer first before running new wiring and installing a new doorbell, chime, and transformer.
Doorbell Replacements Can Be Complicated
On the surface, replacing a doorbell might seem like a simple proposition. However, locating all of the components (inside the wall and out) can be more complicated than that. Here are the components to find:
The transformer: This is a square block typically located near the electrical panel, in a closet near the front door, or in the basement mounted to a joist under the front door.
The chime: This is the box that makes noise when someone presses the doorbell. It’s usually located above the front door.
The doorbell: Mounted outside the front door.
Once you locate these items, the job may move forward quickly. If not, there’s more work to be done. This guide will explain the latter.
Difficulty: ⅖
Time: 3 hours
Cost: Under $150
Where to find it?
Heath installs a doorbell using the old doorbell wiring. The previous homeowners disabled the doorbell and buried the old chime location in the wall.
Heath uses a tone generator [amzn.to/3CgSN6M] to find the location of the old wiring. After confirming there is doorbell wiring behind the front hall walls, Heath uses a magnetic stud finder [amzn.to/3ymVkeG] to confirm the location of the studs. Knowing where the studs are tells Heath where the bay in the wall is, so he can run wire to the chime.
After deciding where the chime will go, Heath uses a box cutter [amzn.to/3y26PrG] to cut a square opening to feed the wire through the wall. Using electric fish tape [amzn.to/3RHUpfq], he can run the thermostat wire [amzn.to/3ebACHH] to the chime and the basement. To connect the power, Heath installs a new transformer [amzn.to/3SIpZeB] in the basement near the electrical panel.
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Materials:
Telephone wire [amzn.to/3ebACHH]
Electrical tape [amzn.to/3RFof4n]
Fish tape [amzn.to/3RHUpfq]
Doorbell transformer [amzn.to/3SIpZeB]
Doorbell chime [amzn.to/3CDeX4u]
Doorbell button [amzn.to/3VamQpm]
Tools:
Wire toner [amzn.to/3CgSN6M]
Stud finder [amzn.to/3ymVkeG]
Multi-bit screwdriver [amzn.to/3SG3cjC]
Tape measure [amzn.to/3f08Bms]
Utility knife [amzn.to/3y26PrG]
Electrical meter [amzn.to/3CDmtwt]
Torpedo level [amzn.to/3ynvNBU]
Drill [amzn.to/3dBZXdE]
Hammer [amzn.to/3SJGhUy]
Wire strippers [amzn.to/3V6Eavo]
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How to Replace a Doorbell | Ask This Old House
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The MAJOR issue I have with Heath is that he's always causing me to go out and buy those nifty, cool must-have (want) tools he uses !! Great job, Heath !!
Insane he did that with only one 1inch hole.
He just got real lucky.
If there's a hole, there's a goal
I had the exact same problem. My fix was getting a wireless battery doorbell lol.
I tried one of those as the wires heading outside were too short. Chime plugged into an outlet so Ok, but the button didn't work for long and battery still good. Threw it all in the trash. Put the work into soldering longer wires for the button so it was connected like this one is.
I’m a electrician, and I tell people that all of the time. I’ll spend two hours fixing their doorbell, but do you really want to pay me $150 to two hundred dollars to fix a old wired doorbell, when I can install a wireless one that sounds just as good in 30 minutes for less than half the price?
@@mikewalker1573wired doorbells don’t need to be charged and can enable use of the already installed doorbell chime
Working in old homes isn’t easy. Trust me, this took years of practice to make it look easy.
Lol you got lucky it dont always go that easy. I seem to always get difficult ones 🙄
@@Tpayne869 the first thing I noticed when he went down the basement staircase was the ceiling was not finished. An unfinished basement makes it a whole lot easier.
@@electricalron a plastered basement ceiling almost always doubles the labor time.
@@Tpayne869 😊😊
just show up, and in 10 minutes, you can have a working door bell. LOL
This guy made this look so easy. In actuality there will be many cross studs and the fish tape will never go that easy. But the rest of the video is correct.
And your helper will be a smelly old guy and not a pretty girl.
To be honest, I never would of thought there was so much work for a door bell. Very very interesting!
Well done, Heath! Keep it up!
Was not expecting a This Old House nostalgia flashback while researching my projects 😳
As an electrician I appreciated how he pushed the fish tape up to her then suddenly the tape was reversed direction and she was pulling the wire up from downstairs. The magic of the film cut/edit….
exactly lol these while they CAN be informative. it is almost AWLAYS a perfect world case scenario. still fun to watch
I've always cut in a single gang box behind the chime when snaking in an install. Makes it alittle easier.
Would it be a good idea to weather proof the wholes made to those exterior walls or would that not be necessary?
That angle drill is really helpful bot only for drilling holes but also unscrewing things
Nice clean job, thanks for sharing
right tools for the job!
He forgot to check the attic for the transformer. My house was built in the 40's as well and the doorbell transformer was in the attic.
Be honest Heath how long did it take to find that fish in that little hole in the drywall?
@@Kevin-mp5of Fantastic idea, I'll try that next time I need to do this.
Great video!
This is a great video!!!
Very Cool
Man this guy is ace!
Really? Hmm…. so exactly how & where did he hook up the transformer to the service? I guess we’re left to figure that one out ourselves 🤷♂️ The rest of the video was good, informative for sure. A novice might not be able to run wires into a service to get power to the transformer… 🫤
@@strshooter7399 Well to be fair I just said the guy was ace so maybe 6 months ago I also thought the same as you but liked the guy.
I hope you are able to find a video that helps with the transformer issue you have.
Nice 👍
Maybe a dumb observation but I did not see the connection of the transformer to power, only to the chime....
7.13 WOW ALRIGHT! ITS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SMILES
Heath is a beast!
When the old wire just snapped from pulling 6:25 (Welp time for plan b) 😂
3.25 LOOKING FOR DOPE BEHIND THE WALLS
WIRE SNAPPED - OH WELL SORRY LADY! CANT HELP YA
HERES YOUR BILL!- 500 DOLLARS
OR GET THAT BELL AND HOWELL CHINEESE DOORBELL
Love heath
@3:00
The look of "You're about to tear up my house huh?"
great video on wired chime troubleshooting. Not worth an effort nowadays , buy a wireless one
Not sure if I missed something but you didn’t explain how you connected the power to the transformer.
I agree I was a little confused
What are the code restrictions about where to place the transformer? I've seen repair videos where the RUclipsr replaced the chime. But, the transformer was behind the chime in a box. I thought that was illegal. Am I right or is this allowed?
Yes we electricians clean up btw 🙂
Same here in germany!
Enjoyed it. Only thing is I like the anchors that thread into the drywall. Lot more sturdy,
Great
I have exactly the same problem.
I'm convinced they just put a doorbell in to annoy people, because I can't see a chime anywhere!
I'm not so lucky. I always seem to find the horizontal fire blocks everywhere I try to work.
YEP
Does anyone know what to do if your old transformer only had 2 wires (black/white)? It sits in a plastic instead of metal box behind the doorbell chime. I do not see and bare/ground wire. Can I just tape off the green wire from the transformer? Any suggestions? Thanks
YES just tape off the ground wire
As a guy who has fished many wires over the years, you all cut out all the fun parts...and by fun parts I mean swearing
I assume he connected the 2 white wires together and tucked them in the wall. not sure why he didn't show that to complete the circuit
Hmmm, bell done! 😏
How did he navigate the triple switch box in that wall to get the power line from the transformer in the basement to the chime?
While the video doesn't show us, I'll wager he didn't use any of the power feeding the 3 gang box. He wired the transformer up in the basement, next to the panel, so I'm guessing he used the receptacle that is typically found adjacent to most panels or he made a new one. I would not have used the wiring out of that 3 gang box either. There is no place to hide a transformer in that entry way. If I were the one on this call I would have asked the home owner what was directly above us, either attic, or second floor. I would have at least took a quick look in the attic for that transformer.
Scott, by "navigate" if you meant how did he get past or around it with the fish tape, I'm curious as well. It may have gone beside or behind the box.
My house has 2x3 studs and has minimal clearance behind any box.
I installed a ring door bell unit few months ago its super easy 2 wires power and ground. Just screwing the security screws.
Just in time for those Halloweenies to ask for treats!
Have you ever thought about getting one of those things called Wall Bot to look through drywall?
Then you would see all the mice in the walls. 🐁🐀
TOH Video typically have solutions that everyone can follow with simple tools. They do show off fancy stuff once in a while, but typically its received with negative comments
i tried one, didn't work so well for me, returned it
Now do it all again with a bunch of insulation in the stud bay.
Why can't the transformer be placed right next to the chime as long as there is a power cable in the wall nearby? Why is it always in the attic or the basement with 50 feet of wire running to it?
Because it's high voltage.
@@fransiscon and what's the problem? There's high voltage all throughout the house. The transformer takes it down. I didn't ask why you need a transformer, I asked why it's in the attic and not close to the unit
@@realSamAndrew it needs to be connected to a junction box. Junction boxes can't be hidden behind drywall. It would have to be exposed. Most homeowners wouldn't want to see all that inside the house. Plus there's that code thing.
It's easier to mount the transformer to an existing exposed junction box and route the low voltage wires through the house.
Hope that answers your question.
Could they have reused the original wire?
6:53 If he wears insulating gloves (and they are dry), doesn't that protect him from any possible electric shocks?
wrapping the wires backwards on the transformer.
16v will read 18v on a multimeter as it needs a slighty higher voltage to compensate between voltage drops with the wiring and the doorbell itself
They never showed how he located that bay or plate in the basement to run the transformer wire, probably took off the baseboard to drill a small hole down.
I would guess he used one of the side walls of the house as a reference point, measured the distance from the wall to the bay in he living room then went into the basement and did the same and drilled up from that location.
What happens to the other end of the transformer? Wish they would show the whole video and not 90% of it...there's several videos that they do that on.
Are you asking? The transformer goes into the breaker box. They didn’t want to show this part because it’s high voltage and potentially unsafe for DIYers
@@tylerwatt12 Gay.
@@tylerwatt12 that is one way to do it. Or just add 120 plug and use nearby wall outlet.
How about doing one on wire less door bells 🔔
Wow she is really beautiful ❤
Why is the doorknob so high ?
Two year's without a door bell..
Jehovah witness: and i took that personally.
Who cares
lol
Who cares.
A couple people didn’t get the joke I see. 🙄
I ended up replacing a wired chime doorbell with a wireless one.
At my house they completely slacked off while doing additions. One door has nothing and isn’t above the basement. The other… only had a broken super cheap wireless button, and is also not above the basement (on a friggen’ slab in New England). We have a modern, wireless, camera doorbell on a battery. But someday, when we remodel the space, I will definitely add the wiring for a doorbell through the wall. Sometimes I feel like tearing out the drywall and just doing it, it annoys me so much. Previous owners were handy, but didn’t do little things like that all over the place. I’m not that handy, and couldn’t imagine not being even a little forward thinking. 🤦♂️
you only need the 1 18guage 2 conductor wire for a doorbell. You don't even need the chime box anywhere. My house was built in 2005 and had no wiring for a doorbell. Previous owners had a wireless Ring. I bought a wired Eufy 2k doorbell. When I replaced the front door, and since the trim was off anyway, I took that time to run the 2 wires for that doorbell. The transformer is on the other side of the house, in a furnace/water heater room in the garage, which is also where the breaker panel is. When someone rings my doorbell, or when i get alerts for movement, I get the notification and ring on my phone. Eufy also includes a plug-in style chime box that you can plug in to any outlet in your home once you pair it with the doorbell, and that rings also when someone rings your bell. Since you're on a slab.... you might have to go through the attic... or in the cold air return ducts.... good luck!
@@billsmith9249 Eufy is what we have. Just nothing to attach it to currently. And no transformer. Hopefully those will both be sorted out someday. Thanks for the ideas, sadly they also left the HVAC, mostly, out of the room (they used a wood stove in winter, then removed it before selling). And it’s two stories, with vaulted ceilings upstairs. The plan is actually to rip out the ceiling downstairs, to add some networking and other things upstairs cause it’s just roof and insulation.
How did he strip the jacket without cutting the wires inside?
Practice. It's not easy at first, especially with these small wires, but with a little bit of practice...
@@realpufflebro I did my first bit of wiring 2 weeks ago. Had to get a new water heater. Brother did wiring at the breaker box, it has 3 wires to box but only had 2 to old water heater that was 45+ yrs old. I did wiring at heater going with what brother said to do
Gently nick the jacket with your wire strippers and pull on it. It comes right out
Is it normal to just left the old wire source inside the house not knowing where it is or whether it still supply power?
yes, people are lazy
Uh yeah duh. Clearly you don’t work in construction/re-modeling
@@johnlebzelter4208 smartass
@@johnlebzelter4208 Yes that's why I'm over here watching this tutorial lmfao.
There's a good chance it's not even there any longer. The electrical panel is modern. The walls look like they've been rerocked over the years. The door /entrance is newer. I'm guessing that one of the contractors on countless remodels over the years (70+} ripped stuff out without replacing it.
They didn't turn off the electricity, right?
so why did he not go in the attic the wire when he pulled it was going up and the transformer might be in the attic also
One would think a professional like Heath would have a snake-style inspection camera so he could see what's actually in the wall (e.g. why the original wire wasn't coming out, etc.). Would also be educational for the viewers.
Have you ever tried using one? They aren't like in the movies lol they kind of suck to actually get a pic of what you want
@@stich1960 I have a depstech endoscope camera. 30 foot cable stiff enough to route where you want. Light on the end where the lens is. Waterproof. Connect your iPhone to it lie you connect to your router, probably any smartphone, Got it a while ago at amazon, 30 bucks works great. Don't use it much but when you need one, it is the only thing that will do you any good. I see they're going for 40 now, but also some added features.
Its almost impossible to fish wires in these conditions. Better off putting a hikvision or ring doorbell with only 12v & no chime. At my house they ran a cat5 cable so I got extremely lucky lol
....OK kewl.
Bro -- you literally saw the man do it. You might be a hack but not everyone is satisfied with hack work.
Almost, but not really.
I’ve seen pro electricians struggle a lot more than that to find fish tapes in walls, Keith might be some savant at fishing wires
the wonders of video editing.
Or he was lucky. I've been there, and I am _not_ a pro.
How do you think she repaid Heath for this job?
Lucky wire pulled from doorbell
The transformer in our new home was in the garage closet BEHIND the drain plumbing for our condenser unit. Had to cut out all that PCV to replace it. Terrible forethought. So it's not just old homes.......
Putting the chime right next to the door instead of an area around the middle of the house seems pointless to me.
In that case you might aswell just knock.
Just buy a ring chime.
The old transformer is in the attic. Should of followed the wire before breaking it :P
Still putting out voltage too now to a wire shorting in the wall.
* Should HAVE, not OF
No voltage at the button meant no voltage at the transformer. And that was was drywall, meaning there was addition/renovation work and likely terminated/cut long before. A 1940's home would have been all plaster/plasterboard.
@@Guillotines_For_Globalists and @xoxo2008oxox Still could of used the wire to pull a new one back up into the attic and then seen where the bell was installed before. The wire was lose in the attic but looked like it was tied to something before he broke it.
@@HooKedGxing Absolutely. Maybe the attic was a pain in the buttocks to get up to. It's possible the original doorbell was in the attic too. Sometimes they were very loud, large, and clunky. A real DING DONG, would make sense to be mounted centrally in the attic.
just buy a doorbell that plugs into outletwith wireless button at front door
Fk i wish it was that easy fishing those wires inside the walls😂
I am surprised he doesn’t have a stud finder. A magnet works as long as you know for sure it’s drywall screws being detected. A house that old could have had any number of nails pounded into the walls through the years.
He's lucky it wasn't a lath and plaster wall, or else he would be moving that metal finder until the sun goes down
I'm confused.😕Did I miss the part when the transformer was connected to the power box down stairs? That certainly would have been helpful to see. I don't have a clue as to how to do something like that. Also, when the doorbell button was being installed, there was a wire that was bent out of the way and not connected to anything. What wire was that? Why was it not connected to anything? Which wires were actually connected to the button and from where did they come? And, the wire that was connected to the transformer, was there only one single wire inside the white colored "jacket"? If not, which wire was connected to the chime and what was done with the remaining wire, if there were any? That goes for the wired that went to the doorbell as well. I know there was more than one wire in that white "jacket". It, again was bent out of the way and not used! I'm sorry. It appears I, like the home owner in this video, am completely unaware as to how to connect door bells, or anything else electrical for that matter. I need step by step explanation type instruction "This colored wire is for this and this colored wire is for that. We don't need to connect this one because..., so, what you do is just pull it up out the way and attached this wire." Once I'm shown once, I'll get it but, I that person who needs to be shown at least once and given explanation as to the why's and why not to fully understand.
a doorbell transformer would have a wiring diagram that illustrates how connect/wire the other two components
Connecting up the transformer in the electrical panel is pretty simple, though since you are dealing with mains voltage at that point it is not something you should really attempt unless you know what you are doing and are comfortable with it. Also be aware of any local rules and regulations that apply.
The cable used to connect the doorbell, chime and transformer output together just had extra wires that weren't required and thus tucked out of the way as spares, you only needed two of the four wires for each run. Technically what two coloured wires are used doesn't matter just that you use the same ones on both ends. The red and white wires were used probably because they tend to be the insulation colours chosen around the world as an indication for a power/switch wire. However never assume and always check before perfoming any electrical work.
@@darren424242 I really appreciate your comment @Darren Ngo! Thank you! When I watch video's like these, I assume they were made so that the novis, do it yourself homeowner can perform the work themselves. The videos concerning work performed using big crains or heavy plumbing, rewiring a whole house, I watch knowing that a professional will be needed to perform the job but at least I know what's intelled in the job and what to look for when contracting the job out. But, a doorbell reinstall, I thought for sure I could handle if I were shown all the steps with a detailed explanation. When I didn't see how the transformer was installed, it dawned on me that this too would be a project I might need to call, at the very least, an experienced Handy Man to do for me because I wouldn't have known, by watching this video, how to exactly complete the install on my own. So thanks again for sharing what you have here. You've taught me some valuable tid bits for sure!
@@coreysuffield Thank you for this information, @Corey Suffield.
I was wondering the same as far as the connection to the electric panel.
6.48 I CANT SEE THE DOORBELL ! OR THE HOUSE THE ONLY THING I SEE IS THAT SCARY PLAD ANIMAL
0:47 “and the whole thing fell off”. I can only imagine the crashing sounds and mess that had to be cleaned up when the doorbell fell off. 😂😂
What?
Should have just got a smart doorbell. All this old school doorbells are too complicated.
How long before she goes to replace that doorbell with a video doorbell I wonder...
She ordered the ring pro that night from amazon.
Of course it was the doorbell wire
Why not just get a smart door bell? Much easier installation. Dont even need electricity.
No camera doorbell?
He drew the lucky dog card on that one.
Just end it and get a wireless doorbell.
just buy a wireless kinetic door bell...
He drilled the hole too big outside lol
Oh no! Whatever should he do?!
Who cares, he got it working. The button can be replaced with a different one.
@@trentondohse1851 the owner can just repair the hole with wood putty. Quick and easy
It's a covered porch so not a big deal
Not my house but if it was I wouldn’t leave it covered or not. Looks bad
OR you could have gone wireless for about $25 in about 10 minutes
No insulation? Wouldn't want to pay to heat that house!
Shhh
After watching 100's of these videos I've concluded women take instruction much better then men and don't mind getting their hands dirty.
DUDE just buy a ring battery doorbell
FFS why wouldn’t you just install a wireless doorbell here? There’s no existing chime or transformer!
She looks kinda worried though i feel her tho in mind. She thinking he cut up the walls just to install door chime.
He got so lucky it’s not even funny. These shows are completely scripted so they knew it was gonna be good before they even started but that’s TV for you.
Shenanigans. An elekchicken saying there gonna clean up. Yeah right.
Wireless doorbell best way to go
He'll, us electricians will have no need for apprentices if we could get the home owners to help us.
Then we will charge the home owner for their labor..
If it were me… I’d have torn the entire wall down… 🔨🤬
That old doorbell could have been 120 volts. Not a great idea to be tugging on it if it could still be live.
@@criticalmoment3859 If that's the case they certainly didn't show the variety of testing on that wire to make sure it was dead. Also he said he wasn't sure if it was the same wire or not as he was pulling on it and broke it.
He couldn't find any connection to the power center.
I would of destroyed my house doing this job.
I'm just going to grab these wires that we don't know where they come from and zap myself with 120v. I'm sure he tested them off camera.
My 1900 house has a doorbell painted over by former owner. wires were much smaller going nowhere.installed a wireless on the door people enter
Doorbell's are low voltage. Most are 16 volts but can be as high as 24 volts and you're not going to be shocked by a small doorbell transformer.
@@benkeysor7576 A transfomer he could not find. other than guessing, the wire (small gauge likely) could have been 120v to the switches. js.
@@donc-m4900 Never seen anyone try to put 120 volts on small wire with poor insulation in a home.
Now paint that box same color as wall.....
No.
@@trentondohse1851 But daaaaad!
I'll paint her box with my load.