Installing romex in a home

[jmsbrush]

I have 9 years of commercial experience. Now that I am an EC I have been doing Custom homes, because of capital reasons. When I'm doing residential I run my romex like it was conduit. Straight ,right angles 90's and ect. It looks very nice, but I think it is taking too much time!! Are the guys who are doing homes do you do you're work this way? 2) do you run you're wire's in diagonals?( I mean the fast and shortest route?). Because that would be the fastest!!

 

[frizbeedog]

I have 9 years of commercial experience. Now that I am an EC I have been doing Custom homes, because of capital reasons. When I'm doing residential I run my romex like it was conduit. Straight ,right angles 90's and ect. It looks very nice, but I think it is taking too much time!! Are the guys who are doing homes do you do you're work this way? 2) do you run you're wire's in diagonals?( I mean the fast and shortest route?). Because that would be the fastest!!

Save wire, save time.

After the rock is up, who's gonna see those nice angles you made?

I treat concealed wiring differently than wiring which will be visible for eternity.

Support it, secure it, cover it and move on.

 

[mdshunk]

You'll get lots of strong opinions on both sides, but for me it's pretty simple. I can sum it up: "Beauty where it counts, speed and economy where it doesn't". I run diagonal and cross-country on a regular basis. No need for level, plumb, and right angles on concealed work. Exposed work is a horse of another color, and you're well-advised to run it much like you would pipe in that case.

 

[mike johnson]

Don't Change.

Don't Change.

The quality of your work represents you. Your doing just fine. Your speed will pick up as you do more homes. Do not change your method. Neatness and Right angles are where you want to be. Don't be a slop. Most inspectors will nit pick when they enter a home full of nappy spider webs and start looking very hard for mistakes. Appearance means everything regardless of the sheetrock covering it. Plumbers and hvac would love it as well if you beat them to the home.

 

[iwire]

As is often the case I agree entirely with Marc's post.

 

[iwire]

Right angles are where you want to be. Don't be a slop. Most inspectors will nit pick when they enter a home full of nappy spider webs and start looking very hard for mistakes. Appearance means everything regardless of the sheetrock covering it. .

Thats just plain old bull IMO, you will not find me running right angles in concealed work.

From an electrical standpoint it makes no sense to make the circuits longer for no real reason other then being anal.

You will use more copper and have more voltage drop. If inspectors can not separate appearance from safety they need to change jobs.

In the end you end up raising the cost of the job with no added value to the customer.

 

[mdshunk]

The quality of your work represents you.

Spoken like a true artist. Most artists make their real money after they're dead. I'd like to make mine now doing electrical work and not artwork.

 

[jmsbrush]

Im going to start running in diagonals. I'm sure i can make that look good too. I want to make more money and save time. Not running things straight will go against the grain but I will just have to do it.

 

[mdshunk]

Im going to start running in diagonals. I'm sure i can make that look good too. I want to make more money and save time. Not running things straight will go against the grain but I will just have to do it.

I think you can make diagonals look good too. I make my diagonals more like you might a huge offset in pipe. Go straight out of the box for a foot or so to get a staple in, then run diagonal on a 30 or 45 degree angle to the next place, then run straight for a little bit. Just like one huge pipe offset. For lighting, I go though the top plate right above the switch, then drill holes through the joists directly from that top plate hole to the light's box on whatever angle that might be.

Having said all that, hopefully the tin knockers and plumbers have already been in. If you get called in out of order, you can screw another guy doing it that way. They shouldn't call you in out of order anyhow. No excuse for that, in my book.

 

[iwire]

then drill holes through the joists directly from that top plate hole to the light's box on whatever angle that might be.

I think you would like working here in the land of 'strapping'.

No holes need to be drilled in the joists.

 

[active1]

Are the hole locaions just eyballed (not measured)?

 

[mdshunk]

I think you would like working here in the land of 'strapping'.

No holes need to be drilled in the joists.

There's a few guys here that do it that way too. That sorta aggravates me, because I have to use a ceiling box other than my normal one. I like to use Union ceiling boxes, that have the nailing bracket on top. Too high to nail on the side of strapping, but they work okay to nail on the joist, then you need to gauge how low to let them hang.

 

[mdshunk]

Are the hole locaions just eyballed (not measured)?

Yeah. If you're measuring for your bored holes for romex, you're as good as worthless in my book. I will snap a chalk line for home run holes through a basement. That makes pulling easier for the long run and will likely remain exposed.

 

[ultramegabob]

Yeah. If you're measuring for your bored holes for romex, you're as good as worthless in my book. I will snap a chalk line for home run holes through a basement. That makes pulling easier for the long run and will likely remain exposed.

back in the day when I worked for a company that wired new homes, I used to rest the hole hawg on top of my pocketknife that was in my pocket, and that was my official hole height through walls. I had a mark on my hammer handle for box height with the head of the hammer resting on the floor, if I was using those brown fiber boxes with the flat bottoms on them, I would cut a piece of 2x4 to sit on the bottom wall plate and just set the box on top of it for a gauge so no marks were even needed to be made.

 

[jmsbrush]

Based on experience guys. Not a price, 6000 sq house 75 can lights. 2 stoves
73 switches,70 outlets 15 amp ,33 lighting outlets 10 paddle fans, everything is justup to code compliant, nothing too special. How many labor hours? I came up with 227. One man.

 

[mdshunk]

Based on experience guys. Not a price, 6000 sq house 75 can lights. 2 stoves
73 switches,70 outlets 15 amp ,33 lighting outlets 10 paddle fans, everything is justup to code compliant, nothing too special. How many labor hours? I came up with 227. One man.

Nothing special? A 6K square foot home is pretty special by itself. I get exactly 215 hours just by the openings and guessing 40 circuits. Much more depending on what's going on for the outside of the building and more for a 400 amp service. The 215 hours I cam up with is just with terminating the home runs in the panel, and excludes any time building whatever service the place will have.

 

[jmsbrush]

Nothing special? A 6K square foot home is pretty special by itself. I get exactly 215 hours just by the openings and guessing 40 circuits. Much more depending on what's going on for the outside of the building and more for a 400 amp service. The 215 hours I cam up with is just with terminating the home runs in the panel, and excludes any time building whatever service the place will have.

I used 2 different programs to bid the job. One came out at 200 hours and the other came out at 250. So I just took an average of that, I think our hours are pretty close. The job will keep me busy for awhile and Im happy to get it. I have an exact material count down to the staple I should do preety well, I just need to pick up my speed. Thank you for all who commented

 

[360Youth]

I do custom homes also and have for some time now. Shortest distanced between two points is a straight line. I think you can be a "straight-on" romex puller and still be neat. I don't like twists or coils of any sort. You will find that safe and secure and as little material usage as possible will benefit you gretaly as you grow. And you will also find that you will sleep just fine at night. :grin:

 

[jmsbrush]

I do custom homes also and have for some time now. Shortest distanced between two points is a straight line. I think you can be a "straight-on" romex puller and still be neat. I don't like twists or coils of any sort. You will find that safe and secure and as little material usage as possible will benefit you gretaly as you grow. And you will also find that you will sleep just fine at night. :grin:

I will try this on my next house coming up :smile:

 

[ceb58]

Thats just plain old bull IMO, you will not find me running right angles in concealed work.

From an electrical standpoint it makes no sense to make the circuits longer for no real reason other then being anal.

You will use more copper and have more voltage drop. If inspectors can not separate appearance from safety they need to change jobs.

In the end you end up raising the cost of the job with no added value to the customer.

Once again Bob has made a true statement. The inspectors have grown accustom to seeing the wires ran the shortest distance and for them its no big deal. Try going back to the HO or GC and say " I had to charge more for the extra 1000' of wire I used because I made every thing pretty" Too bad you cant see it because of the Sheetrock. I dont know what you pay for 14-2 but for me it would work out to around 0.20 per ft. That's $2.00 for every 10ft. Add all the runs up and that's money out of your pocket. At 40 runs that's a half tank of gas