I am remodeling my house and considering several options for desiring the basement. I plan to hire a licensed electrician to perform the work but feel I need to be better educated to make the right decision. I have been given three options for desiring the basement and don't know which is more cost effective. The entire basement is block walls with a poured top course and concrete foundation. The first option is to just fur out the walls, run the wire along the walls and then drywall over. Electrical cost is low but drywalling is expensive and all moulding needs to be reset. The second option is to try to fish the line through the voids in the block. We would then go back and repair damage as necessary. In this option, I don't understand how the electrician would exit the block wall at the top where the courses are poured. Can anyone suggest which option is most cost effective? Are there other options?
lf it were my basement:
i'd use 4s boxes 1 5/8" deep, and connect them with emt, as suggested here already. surface mount them, and
do a tidy job. use raised industrial covers with decora devices.
you are done.
if at some point in the future, you decide you really want finished walls, you can do this...
lay the studs flat. take off the raised covers, and replace them with single gang 1/2" raised plaster rings,
drywall the walls, put the devices back into the boxes, and you are done. if you need a full 3 1/2" for
insulation plumbing, whatever, put the studs normally, and use a 1 5/8" extension ring on the 4s boxes,
put a plaster ring on top of that, and drywall. replace the devices, you are done.
if you are gonna finish the walls, and you know this, then fir the walls out with 2x4's, and wire with standard
plastic boxes and romex.
anything else you do is going to suck, imho.
a decent electrician can do this in less than a day. so what we are talking about, is a days wages,
and the material... and a permit.