Blue and Orange.....
- Thread starter daleuger
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Massachusetts
The company has done a ton of Lowe's, I was involved with one. Three months for an empty box is not all that fast. :smile:
There is that factor but I've seen them take some longer in other areas. Perhaps it's the guys that put it in. :roll:
I've never been involved in one but I wouldn't mind running that much exposed pipe because I'm not cocky at all. The only thing that would burn me is doing that much time on a lift.
i don't know where you are located, but around here, you need to be good at running MC if you're doing one of these stores
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
If you've ever looked closely, you'll notice Lowes uses a busway type of system for all the low voltage power.
Home Depot just runs a big trough/wire way the length of the store and taps off of it.
Home Depot just runs a big trough/wire way the length of the store and taps off of it.
i don't know where you are located, but around here, you need to be good at running MC if you're doing one of these stores
Everything is exposed but now that you mention it the ones I've seen as well as all the exposed work I saw that they left HUGE OVERKILL coils of MC secured to the ceiling then the whips down to the lights. I've been wondering what that was about.
I've seen more Home Depots than Lowe's so I won't speak much for Lowe's. I did notice that but it's still ALL exposed work, and you consider the clientele they get.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
It's a pre-fab MC system. The whips are all cut to length with modular connectors on the end.
- Location
- Massachusetts
Well there just ain't that much to do. :smile:
The one I was involved with I was on the fire alarm crew, that was all pipe and the guys where flying.
The lighting is re-loc (MC Cable)
Where they need a bunch of circuits a feeder was run out which supplies a very short busway up in the trusses with a few circuit breaker enclosures on it. These will supply more re-loc whips out to power outlets.
The HVAC at this store consisted of 23 RTUs all with 100 amp feeders in 1.25" EMT plus five smoke exhaust fans. (BTW They set all 28 RTUs in less then 45 minutes with a helicopter)
Figure basically two electrical rooms with pre-made and wired panel boards, a generator, a fire pump and the EC runs a bunch of conduit for the security contractor.
We do large supermarkets in 3 to 4 months and they are complicated.
The one I was involved with I was on the fire alarm crew, that was all pipe and the guys where flying.
The lighting is re-loc (MC Cable)
Where they need a bunch of circuits a feeder was run out which supplies a very short busway up in the trusses with a few circuit breaker enclosures on it. These will supply more re-loc whips out to power outlets.
The HVAC at this store consisted of 23 RTUs all with 100 amp feeders in 1.25" EMT plus five smoke exhaust fans. (BTW They set all 28 RTUs in less then 45 minutes with a helicopter)
Figure basically two electrical rooms with pre-made and wired panel boards, a generator, a fire pump and the EC runs a bunch of conduit for the security contractor.
We do large supermarkets in 3 to 4 months and they are complicated.
cadpoint
Senior Member
- Location
- Durham, NC
I had the pleasure of working a local Costco, and got a free membership as everyone that signed up did. :roll:
The construction was a little bit longer than three months!
The power on both main and distrubition were brought in pre-fab, too.
I still note my work... because I chased the Brickie, As I noted concrete raceways capped in the floor today! They just abandoned the cash registers (unground) and went with new overhead of a 20' solid raceway to ceiling for there power and tele comm circuits. Ode to progress...
The construction was a little bit longer than three months!
The power on both main and distrubition were brought in pre-fab, too.
I still note my work... because I chased the Brickie
, As I noted concrete raceways capped in the floor today! They just abandoned the cash registers (unground) and went with new overhead of a 20' solid raceway to ceiling for there power and tele comm circuits. Ode to progress...
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
- Location
- Massachusetts
- Location
- Massachusetts
Just a guess that y'all used more pipe and less flex then we do up here.
We used to have companies in N and S Carlina and when their guys came up here they were looking for all the pipe.
quogueelectric
Senior Member
- Location
- new york
There are also tax advantages to using reloc systems there is depreciation like removeable furniture.Just a guess that y'all used more pipe and less flex then we do up here.
We used to have companies in N and S Carlina and when their guys came up here they were looking for all the pipe.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
Depot is using bussway in some areas too now. There are several types of manufactured wiring systems used in these stores, Like iwire said, Lithonia Reloc is one, Cooper, and Sentinal are also used. Pretty standard down here for all of the big box stores. The thing I hate about Lowes is, it's hard to track down which bus plug a rack is tied into, it may be several aisles over, and reloc is very hard to trace from the ground!
Cow
Senior Member
- Location
- Eastern Oregon
- Occupation
- Electrician
The HD we did over here was all pipe aside from the MC drops down the pvc sleeves to the cash registers/checkouts and the Reloc lighting. I think we started around June/July with parking lot underground and finished right as the store opened Dec. 1. That Reloc made for some fun troubleshooting right before the store opened simply because the factory landed wires on the wrong terminals inside the Reloc connectors. I think we had to troubleshoot about 4 runs or so.
cadpoint
Senior Member
- Location
- Durham, NC
Just a guess that y'all used more pipe and less flex then we do up here.
We used to have companies in N and S Carlina and when their guys came up here they were looking for all the pipe.
Yes your also correct with that thought!
Exactly, it was conduit runs out to some point, there was the quick connection applications on Lights being chained, and I often think about the "Hey" that'd be a picture of those verticals...
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
Yes your also correct with that thought!
Exactly, it was conduit runs out to some point, there was the quick connection applications on Lights being chained, and I often think about the "Hey" that'd be a picture of those verticals...
Depot pipes the racks, but Lowes is vertical reloc attached to a steel cable attached to the rack and bar joists.
Just a guess that y'all used more pipe and less flex then we do up here.
We used to have companies in N and S Carlina and when their guys came up here they were looking for all the pipe.
I've worked north and south but I still say give me a stick of pipe any day of the week. I hate flex and MC cable with a passion. If you're running through mill work or hooking up say an outside AC unit it's fine, but it looks like crap in an exposed ceiling.
- Location
- Massachusetts
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
It's really too bad you have such a closed mind about the issue, because both are reliable and efficient wiring methods.
Regard aesthetics, nobody besides electricians care what electrical systems look like, nor are they paying any attention to them. And if they are looking at them, chances are they're thinking it's ugly and needs to be hidden, even if it's what we would consider a work of art.
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