Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
up until 2-3 years ago, i'd never worked with a plastic box or a wirenut on a joint in residential.
the company i apprenticed for used steel boxes and we soldered all connections. i did the same when i went out on my own.
up until recently many contractors here were still using steel boxes in resi; most have switched to plastic, but still solder their connections.
i went to the dark side of plastic and wirenuts after a few lashings on this forum for my midieval ways. it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, and i was able to still sleep at night, so i figured what the hell. its cheaper.
operating in the semi dark ages, i use 4sd boxes ...
everything fits without being placed with a hammer handle,
gfci's and dimmers fit quite nicely, thank you.
bathrooms and kitchens, i use steel boxes... plastic is ok everywhere
else, outside boxes get steel, so i have room for the gfci.
now, yes... they cost more.... and i 'splain to the customer, that they
are getting a $5 box in the wall, instead of a 35 cent box, and why
that is beneficial to them.
like for example, when you have the boxes in the kitchen behind granite,
and the homeowner didn't bother to freshen up the electrical when they
spent $60,000 on a solid cherry kitchen remodel, and the box is floating
in the wall, and its a single gang that was done in the 60's before gfi's,
and the device won't fit in the box, and you can't get to it cause that
pretty granite, and pretty cherry is installed....