First new house

[LarryFine]

Silly me. I just use one of these and strip the wire before I stuff it in the box.

It's a whole lot easier to strip the sheath while standing up with these than getting down on my hands and knees and reaching into the back of a box with a knife.

Same here, and even more, I also gently twist the EGC's and cut one short, and strip and hook (except for GFCI's) my circuit conductors, and then put them in the box.

 

[Cow]

and strip and hook (except for GFCI's) my circuit conductors, and then put them in the box.

For me it never made sense to do it that way, if you strip it ahead of time, it just gets covered with mud and paint?

 

[Karl H]

Prepare yourself for a lot of physical labor. Houses aren't as physically "easy"
as they look. Don't break out the strut and conduit to build your service
either. :smile:

 

[ohm]

For me it never made sense to do it that way, if you strip it ahead of time, it just gets covered with mud and paint?

Our inspectors actually would like us to strip, pigtail and hook for the rough-in. Otherwise the final takes an awful long time removing covers & devices.

Also, if you do it it's easy to test out the circuits, if the power is on.

A little painters tape helps keep things clean.

 

[LarryFine]

Our inspectors actually would like us to strip, pigtail and hook for the rough-in. Otherwise the final takes an awful long time removing covers & devices.

Plus, the freshly-painted walls stay a lot cleaner.

 

[480sparky]

For me it never made sense to do it that way, if you strip it ahead of time, it just gets covered with mud and paint?

I agree. Strip the insulation at trim and hook up to nice, shiney copper.

 

[AV ELECTRIC]

Maybe you can locate a house that is in a complete rough in state with no drywall. That may be tough in this enviorment but call your local general or electrical contractors in your area they might give you a look see. It will give you an idea of what your up against. Most guys have had someone show them the ropes on there first house. Its not impossible to figure it out for yourself. Ive done many projects for the first time with no help from anyone. If you end up doing the house talk to the local inspector ime sure he he will give you some guidense on what he expects.

 

[iaov]

Silly me. I just use one of these and strip the wire before I stuff it in the box.

It's a whole lot easier to strip the sheath while standing up with these than getting down on my hands and knees and reaching into the back of a box with a knife.

I use the same tool for the same reason. I just notch the sheeth though and put the wire in the box. At trim out all I have to do is give a pull and off comes the painted, spackled sheeth!!:smile:

 

[Karl H]

I use the same tool for the same reason. I just notch the sheeth though and put the wire in the box. At trim out all I have to do is give a pull and off comes the painted, spackled sheeth!!:smile:

That's a real good idea.

 

[480sparky]

I use the same tool for the same reason. I just notch the sheeth though and put the wire in the box. At trim out all I have to do is give a pull and off comes the painted, spackled sheeth!!:smile:

I'd rather make up all my boxes during rough in. Makes it a whooooole lot easier when you know what all the wires are when you pull them in instead of guessing at trim.

 

[360Youth]

Today they seem to strip the sheath after it's in the box.

One of the few things that sets me off as an electrician. :smile:

 

[peter d]

Uh oh...not the "strip before or after putting the cable in the box" debate. Because it's kind of like "ground up vs. ground down" - both ways have merit and neither one is wrong.

FWIW, I prefer to enter the cable into the box first then strip it, especially with PVC multigang boxes with the flap-style clamps. I've found that pre-stripped romex always gets hung up on the clamp.

 

[ElectricianJeff]

I'd rather make up all my boxes during rough in. Makes it a whooooole lot easier when you know what all the wires are when you pull them in instead of guessing at trim.

Some real good advice given in this thread.

I only do a one or two new houses a year so I have to be real careful. I always write on the studs by my switches what the switches do. My last trip through is with the digital camera and I shoot every 2 gang or bigger boxes along with some general overall shots.

They have come in handy more than once when things get covered up.

 

[220/221]

I agree. Strip the insulation at trim and hook up to nice, shiney copper.

Are you saying to strip the sheathing at trim??

That seems extremely unproductive. How do you get all the cables into the box/out of the drywallers way?

I load my switch boxes up with a lot of cables and leave them long so I have plenty of wire to work with and for pigtails. No way I could jam them in the box. Paint and mud on the wires never concerned me.

And, there is a bigger mess to clean up after everything is painted/finished.

I have seen homeowners and handymen do this but never an electrician.



They need to make this tool with the cutters angled 90 degrees on the end so you could reach into a box and strip the sheathing.

 

[infinity]

I think that Manny has problems bigger than whether or not NM should be stripped before or after it goes in the box.

 

[ohm]

I've got one inspector who is so hung up on box fill that I write the # of conductors / #allowed... next to each box, just to save time. He stopped checking them.

 

[peter d]

They need to make this tool with the cutters angled 90 degrees on the end so you could reach into a box and strip the sheathing.

You mean like this?

You say you go to HD a lot for emergency trips...they stock them there.

 

[peter d]

I think that Manny has problems bigger than whether or not NM should be stripped before or after it goes in the box.

Yeah, you're probably right about that. This kind of job is better suited for a residential specialist, unless the owner doesn't mind moving in a few months late.

 

[wewirepgh]

No three ways in bedroom you might switch location of bed

No three ways in bedroom you might switch location of bed

Lutron makes nice remote dimmers for lights and fans you can leave beside the bed.

 

[growler]

I think that Manny has problems bigger than whether or not NM should be stripped before or after it goes in the box.

That's my thoughts exactly. If you have never done a house before it can be a learning experience. The codes are simple enough but trying to deal with the other trades and the homeowner can really be a whole different ball game.

If he isn't carefull they will hand him a set of prints that don't mean a darn thing and won't have half of what's needed on them. If nothing else he needs a residential guy to help lay the job out and then it should be easy enough at least they would know that everything needed is in before the rock goes up.

"So they are going to have heat pumps are they, well just what size heat strips are to be installed". "So the tub has a heat unit that no one said any thing about". " and the built in microwave that's not on the plans.

Does the average joe even know to prewire every bedroom and living room for ceiling fans, unless they are sure they don't want and will never need them. Does everyone plan for attic fans that may not be there now but will get installed. Plan for flood lights ( at least ask about them ).

What he really needs is a list of question to put to the owner to help determine the layout and panel schedule. I'll start and others can add to the list.

1. Hot tub ?
2. jet air tubs? with heater?
3 bath vents? Heat vent?
4. sconce fixures? Bathroom and ceiling mount. Heat lights? Floor heat?
5. closet lights?
6. Type of water heater? Instant takes lot of power.
7. Cooking. gas or electric. number and size of ovens. Do forget hood vent. Don't to forget the ignitor receptacle.
8. Cooling. number and size of A/C units.
10. Heat. Gas or electric? Size of heat strips?
11. Number of ceiling fans?
12. number of can lights ?
13. number of ceiling mount fixtures.
14. Any and all exterior lighting?
15. Under cabinate lighting. To include an accent lighting for kitchen. Were you going to forget the island receptacles?
16. microwave?
17. dishwasher
18. garbage disposal
19. trash compactor
20. instant water heater ( kitchen)?
21. warming tray or oven?
22. any type of cooler other than frig ( wine cooler popular)
23. chandeliers? Weight needed. There are some big suckers out there.
24. Phones and data lines.
25. Any prewired intercom systems.
26. security ( who deals with it?)
27. sump pumps?
28. sewage pumps?
29. wells ( not a problem in this area).
30. any other out buildings that will require power
31. RV receptacle needed ?
32. Don't forget the door bells.
33. location of furnaces ( the one in the attic need power).
34. Flat screen TV's and blower power for fire place if needed.
35. speaker wiring and home theater wiring if needed..
36. attic fans?
37. humdifier or dehumidifiers?
38. central vac system?
39. The laundry room normally takes care of it's self with the washer and dryer but they have these new ironing boards that have a circuit for the iron that is needed with the unit. If you see a built in board it's a good idea to ask just in case they want it.
40. Ask about exercise equipment that may need a dedicated circuit.
41. Don't forget the garage door openers.
42. don't forget the smoke detectors.
43. That little fish pond they are putting in out back has a circulation pump that gets power and so does the fountain.

44. other than the required outside receptacles check to see if there is other power requirement such as for holliday lights on a timer.
45 sprinker controls power?
46. Pool power?
47. Don't forget service receptacle near condenser unit or light and receptacle at air handler in attic. Seen that one missed a few times.

I'm sure I have missed quite a bit but the point is to know everything that's going to go in and then set down and draw a set of plans and figure out the number of circuits needed and that way almost nothing is missed.

Pull a couple of spare circuits to the attic for whatever they think of even after you have asked every question you can think of, sooner or later they will get used.

The most important thing is to make sure that every circuit had a home run. Sound simple but I have seen it missed more than once.

I wish I had never seen a house I hate working on those darn things. :grin: