romex

Status
Not open for further replies.

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
OK given the choice for same price and same quailty you can have your house wired in romex or emt. If you pick romex then your the same guy that picks a hamburger over a steak dinner.
I'll take a great burger over a mediocre steak.

But, if the same quality at the same price, sure, I'll take the EMT. Why not?

Sorry if it upsets anyone but its far too easy to get an accidental nail or screw in romex and that could create a hot spot. Yes same can and will happen to emt but far less likely to start a fire inside a pipe.
I like the easy rewiring of conduit, but that's rare in a house with careful planning.
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
But, if the same quality at the same price, sure, I'll take the EMT. Why not?

And that's what makes this a non-starter. There is no way you could pipe a house for less than the cost of romex. I defy even the Chicago guys to pipe and pull a house faster than romex.
 

iaov

Senior Member
Location
Rhinelander WI
I'm not sure if you are the greatest or not Peter but I have no doubt that most of the truely great electricians of the world are members of this forum!:D
 

220/221

Senior Member
Location
AZ
As good as I know you guys are I would prefer one I wired myself. Most good electricians are pretty sure that they are the best and the great ones never stop trying to be.




4 years ago I wired one of my houses and:

A) Turned on the jacuzzi tub only to have sparks shoot out of the GFCI recep. Apparently I didn't tighten a terminal enough.:roll:

B) Mixed up my audio system home run with a lighting circuit jumper.:roll:

C) Something else.....it's been a while.



2 years ago I wired my cabin and I:

A) Mixed up a switch leg with a power out. :roll:


3 years ago I wired my other house and.....it all worked :cool:


A house wired in conduit is a better system but there is no way I am going to do it. MAybe if it was a contemporary loft style with everthing exposed????
 

Jim W in Tampa

Senior Member
Location
Tampa Florida
It would be quite a trick to be able to pipe a house for the same price as I can rope one in Romex. My guess is that if you can do it, your the one eating hamburgers, if you can afford them.:D

No i am sure you could not do it for same price. My point is that emt is safer install over romex. Only reason to do a building in romex is time and money. If installed perfect and no damage ever in its lifetime and its never over fused then yes it will do just fine. Now who in here that has any amount of time in this trade will say no nails or screws ever hit there wires. I have seen mc get hit many times. Usually that shorts out the circuit and forces repair. Now if same nail / screw hits only 1 wire on romex it likely will not kick the breaker. It could easily leak into the wood frame forever and not get caught.
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Welcome Aboard, welcome to The MH Forum!

You might verify what your State of Louisiana electrical code says. ...
:)

This is an open Statement to MH and His Moderators.

Who knows where they are, did you PM them, send them a direct mail?
I didn't see any response up till your's about exact location, did you peek behind the curtain ?

Sorry, IMO it's a real dis-service here not for everyone to be required to at least state the State there in, or Be creative - like leave a clue! Others can fully understand and benifit from the vast and various information presented here, that can be specific to someone's location.

There's about 2 or 3 major, plus different additional Building Codes across this great land, that alone might add to a greater understanding. That alone could be a clue, if they knew where the OP was and would possibly reply!
 
Last edited:

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
No i am sure you could not do it for same price. My point is that emt is safer install over romex. Only reason to do a building in romex is time and money. If installed perfect and no damage ever in its lifetime and its never over fused then yes it will do just fine. Now who in here that has any amount of time in this trade will say no nails or screws ever hit there wires. I have seen mc get hit many times. Usually that shorts out the circuit and forces repair. Now if same nail / screw hits only 1 wire on romex it likely will not kick the breaker. It could easily leak into the wood frame forever and not get caught.
That is why I try to drill all of my holes where a carpenter is not going to go with a screw. Part of being a better electrician for me was to work as a carpenter for a while to understand why they do the crazy things they do. Once you learn basic carpentry the electrical job becomes so much easier and much less scary. Wires no longer get hit and life is good.
 

Jim W in Tampa

Senior Member
Location
Tampa Florida
That is why I try to drill all of my holes where a carpenter is not going to go with a screw. Part of being a better electrician for me was to work as a carpenter for a while to understand why they do the crazy things they do. Once you learn basic carpentry the electrical job becomes so much easier and much less scary. Wires no longer get hit and life is good.

Yes carpentry skills do help,along with all other trades. While this helps it is not ID10 T proof. Staying in the center of a 2x4 helps with most but not all. Carpenters have staple guns and they have no clue what they are hitting or going thru. They will put chair rail up and hit anything if that wire is in cavity between block wall and drywall. Had it hit mc in 4 spots on one office. Not caught untill everything painted and wallpapper up. Cost them plenty. Cabinet men are no better. If we survive the construction next comes the home owner. They have no clue at all as to whats behind that drywall and add shelfs, pictures ,drapes,etc.

Back in days when i did homes i would find where they sometimes got a nail or screw between black and bare ground, that trips breaker and gets fixed. Is it not fair to say half of them same nails did not do same to the white ? Yes but goes unnoticed because breaker will not trip.

Real reason for romex is simply price, Same is happening with MC in commercial work. A small 3bd 2 bth home could easily be roughed in with romex in 2 days with romex, try that in emt and time is doubled or trippled and also be hard to find guys that can even do it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top