? about replacing a light fixture

[Gregg2]

This is not necessary. Turn on the light you are going to change, go flip the breaker, if the light is off you have killed the power to it. Or you can check it with a volt meter.

Silly advice.

I was assuming the light was broken, wouldn't come on. Figured a first-timer didn't have a meter. Perhaps bad assumptions on my part.

Better safe than sorry though. I had an experience where the method you advise was used, but there was still power to the box being worked on. Caused quite a shock. I can't remember exactly why we thought the power was disconnected. There were two lights in the room. After the shock, traced the conduit to a small box that had been added after the house had been built.

 

[Huntn]

It could be worse, my old house had the breaker box mounted outside (I had never see this before). Thats a nice thing to deal with in the middle of winter if you blow a breaker.

I did not see that until I moved to Texas into a house built about sixteen years ago. It's hard for me to believe, this was considered a sound electrical choice in the 1990s when the breaker could as easily go in the garage. Of course I have a hot water heater and furnace in my attic.