Modular home wiring

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JASE

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I am an electrical contractor in Westchester County, NY and I just received a set of plans for a modular home.
It is a 4-family home, with parking garage below.
I have never wired for a modular home before, and I'm in the dark as to how to give the builder a price.
I know I have to price the service--fine, but what am I looking at as far as connecting the units to the new panels in the garage--are there a bunch of homeruns hanging from the 1st floor that need to be brought back to the panels?
Other suggestions and things to keep in mind when pricing this one?
Thanks guys!
 
Good luck, everyone I have ever done was different, sometimes you get REALLY porked, sometimes they are a piece of cake, I've done some with the panels already made up with those TYCO splice kits... its all hit or miss... sometimes you end up with stuff not working... go figure.
 
The only modular I've ever working on went like this:

-Install service. The main panel was allready made up and ready to go. It just had to be mounted to the foundation wall, install meter socket and underground conduit, and terminate cable into panel.

-Connect the modular sections together. Simply a matter of snapping the right connectors together.

-Basement lights (keyless and nail on boxes. The feed was allready installed.

-Wire boiler (or furnace) and A/C condensors.

-Install a few light fixtures. (Take off the blank canopy and wire)

-The particular one I worked on had a stick built garage added on so that had to be wired from scratch.

Everything else was done - devices installed with plates, smokes, etc.
 
peter d said:
The only modular I've ever working on went like this:

-Install service. The main panel was allready made up and ready to go. It just had to be mounted to the foundation wall, install meter socket and underground conduit, and terminate cable into panel.

-Connect the modular sections together. Simply a matter of snapping the right connectors together.

-Basement lights (keyless and nail on boxes. The feed was allready installed.

-Wire boiler (or furnace) and A/C condensors.

-Install a few light fixtures. (Take off the blank canopy and wire)

-The particular one I worked on had a stick built garage added on so that had to be wired from scratch.

Everything else was done - devices installed with plates, smokes, etc.
Click to expand...
Maybe I could ask the builder to get me a wiring diagram, or some sort of field wiring requirement guideline from the manufacturer?
 
peter d said:
The only modular I've ever working on went like this:

-Install service. The main panel was allready made up and ready to go. It just had to be mounted to the foundation wall, install meter socket and underground conduit, and terminate cable into panel.

-Connect the modular sections together. Simply a matter of snapping the right connectors together.

-Basement lights (keyless and nail on boxes. The feed was allready installed.

-Wire boiler (or furnace) and A/C condensors.

-Install a few light fixtures. (Take off the blank canopy and wire)

-The particular one I worked on had a stick built garage added on so that had to be wired from scratch.

Everything else was done - devices installed with plates, smokes, etc.
Click to expand...

This is what to expect around here, too. :smile:
 
modular homes always have something wrong with them. i would check the plans and give a price for all the stuff you need to wire then make sure to tell the contractor that any problems you need to fix will be t&m. thats how ill do it
 
Each modular home is different. Some have the panel installed, others leave it for the electrician to install. Some have loose NM cables in the attic, which must be spliced in junction boxes. One common problem is that the wiring is often poorly or incorrectly installed. I did one where all of the conductors on all of the devices had 6 inches of bare copper showing. Multiple faults in every circuit. Make sure your contract stipulates how defective existing wiring will be handled.
 
It's been years since I've done one but there were some things I remember that seemed to pop up frequently.
-Generally the panels were wired, but only for the sections provided. Adding on for basements, garages, A/C units, furnaces etc were not taken into account and the panels were often the smallest they could get away with (ie no spares), therefore a sub was often needed.
-On more than one occaision the crane crew assembling the sections didn't realy care where the ends of the NM stuck out so we would have to go on a goose chase to find where all of our wires were buried. Close coordination w/ the GC (provided he is on site when it's assembled) ususally solves this prob.
-The companies we worked with generally had there own guys if there was a problem with the installed wiring (part of their guarantee). Like most other things in this world some of the guys were good and some were slugs.
-There's usually different crews working on each section of these places and when you go to connect up the ends you often notice that circuit designations on the ends of the wire don't match up from one side to another. Sometimes it's because one of the guys has handwriting that you can't read other times it's because someone made a mistake and/or has different shorthand than everyone else.
-These come with fixtures premounted but often the HO wants them swapped out (doubt that will be your case w/ a 4 family home, but it will add time if they want it done)

I've seen some good wiring in these places and some that looked like trained baboons took care of it. Asking for a wiring diagram first is a good step at least you can hit the ground running. Generally these aren't hard but can be frustrating as it feels like you're sweeping up someone else work. If I remember correctly (and I may not) a 3000-4000 SF took 2 men 5-7 days from start to finish.
 
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