Electrical queries

[Perd Hapley]

Yeah, something wrong with that inspector.  I have no idea whether I need to pull any permits for what I'm doing, and hadn't thought about it until I was halfway done.  The kind of work I'm doing will never raise any eyebrows, anyway, so I'm not worried about it.  Of course, the skeletonized room faces the street, and the blinds came down with the window-molding, so let's hope no one gets nosy.

We have just purchased the house, and can't really move in until the bedroom is finished.  So, I will just finish the walls, and leave any upgrades to the service panel for later.  Having seen the inside of the fuse box, now, I'm not eager to do any work in there at all, so I will be putting the new lights and receptacles on the same old circuit.  However, the wiring behind the new walls will be new, grounded 12 guage, and the receptacles, switches and boxes will be new and securely mounted.  The wires before were the cloth-insulated knob and tube that cfabe talked about.  The house is about sixty years old, and the disclosure said copper wire, but some of the wire I've seen looks like aluminum.  

The cool part, however, that I really like is the second set of wires for the ceiling fan, with a sliding dimmer and sliding fan switch that regulates fan speed.  And the new, sturdier box to mount it all on.  Having access to the basement and attic is a very good thing.

[cfabe]

If you have aluminum wiring, make sure that any connections to the aluminum use the proper connector, if you connect aluminum right to a copper only device, you can get corrosion on the connection, which can make it heat up and start a fire.

[41 Redhawk]

Of course, he also had to redo a bunch of the drywall and ceiling work, too, so that he could gain access to that "inadequate" 12 guage wiring.

The "other" lesson learned:

Rough in
electrical / plumbing work
Inspect
Finish

Where I live there is a new house that sat unoccupied for a long time because the inspector would not pass it. The guy wired the house finished his drywall and called the inspector. Because the wiring could not be seen the imspector would not pass it and the guy was too stubborn to rip of the dry wall.

[ilbob]

Regarding electrical code, 12/2, 14/2, and so forth...

I have a friend who set out to turn his unfinished basement into a finished basement.  He did all of the work himself, drywalling, floooring, ceiling, plumbing, and of course the electrical work.  He looked up the electrical code and found that the wiring must be 14/2, so he went to the store to buy some of that.  He found that 12/2 (or was it 10/2?  I don't remember...) was only slightly more expensive, so he bought that instead.  The cost of the wiring was immaterial compared to the hours of labor he was going to put into the project, so he bought the heavier guage wiring.  Installation went as planned, and after a few months of working nights and weekends he had himself a beautifully finished basement.

Along came the buulding inspector, after the work was completed.  Building inspector said that code mandated 14/2, and since my friend used something different (12/2) his basement was in violation of code.  Friend had to remove all of the wiring he'd installed previously and replace it with inferior wiring.  Of course, he also had to redo a bunch of the drywall and ceiling work, too, so that he could gain access to that "inadequate" 12 guage wiring.

My friend was pissed.

As long as he had 20A breakers 12/2 is fine by code. I suspect there is something not being said here that is relevant.

[Firethorn]

As long as he had 20A breakers 12/2 is fine by code. I suspect there is something not being said here that is relevant.

Per my brother (electrician), 14 gauge is good up to 15 amps, 12 gauge for up to 20 amps.  Didn't bother to go into some of the heavier gauges for things like services (200amps), electric stoves and dryers.

You can put a 15 amp breaker on a circuit wired with 12/2 and experience no problems.  You'll just waste a little less energy as heat when you use it.

edit:  I'm getting a house and looking at rewiring it.  I'm looking at either getting my brother up to help put in a new breaker box or hire somebody to do it.

But to replace the wiring I'm thinking about avoiding tearing up the walls by simply coming up from the unfinished basement.  I'm mostly concerned with the outlets, the lighting not so much.

[Brad Johnson]

I tend to err on the side of caution when doing something like wiring. I also like to leave myself a little upgradeability, especially considering that electrical demands on most home wiring will only increase.

Besides, there's only a couple bucks difference between 15 amp and 20 amp breakers and sockets. Add in a few strategically positioned ARC-fault / GFCI breakers and you have a rock-solid system that should easily handle the electrical demands for the expected life of the home.

I also like to see common points of access for phone and data system cabling. Watching someone rough-in phone wiring by stapling it in, around, and under all the framing makes me cringe. I like grounded conduit drops from for every box, both for accessability and what little RF shielding it might add. It also makes it soooo much easier to add or change cabling if necessary. Then all the cables should be run to a common breakout or distribution panel. This way, future changes or additions can be made far more easily.

Did I mention that electricians and building contractors hate me because I'm so particular about these things?

Brad

[thumbody]

When working in electric panels the first step is to make sure you don't have your cell phone in your pocket and set on vibrate! Someone WILL call you just the second you touch the screw with the screwdriver.