Prefab wiring system

[mcelweec@gmail.com]

I'm exploring options for wiring a large apartment building.
What are the pro's & cons of a pre fab system.
I'm looking at "rough in ready" ,"pentair" & AFC. Anybody have experience with any of these?

 

[petersonra]

I would be willing to bet you could do a lot of prefab at your shop for less than buying the pieces. If many of the units are the same you could do one unit, and then figure out what you did and duplicate it over and over in your shop and deliver the prefabbed stuff and install it on site.

 

[mcelweec@gmail.com]

I don't have the facility to do the prefabbing myself, the pricing Im getting looks fairly reasonable. Each room comes on its own pallet & the manufacturers send reps to the site to make sure install is going smoothly and make adjustments for similar units if we're running into problems. All the systems look good, that's why I'm asking if anyone has any experience with them and what the pros & cons of each system are.

 

[Coppersmith]

I would be willing to bet you could do a lot of prefab at your shop for less than buying the pieces. If many of the units are the same you could do one unit, and then figure out what you did and duplicate it over and over in your shop and deliver the prefabbed stuff and install it on site.

I thought the same thing.

I don't have the facility to do the prefabbing myself, the pricing Im getting looks fairly reasonable. Each room comes on its own pallet & the manufacturers send reps to the site to make sure install is going smoothly and make adjustments for similar units if we're running into problems. All the systems look good, that's why I'm asking if anyone has any experience with them and what the pros & cons of each system are.

You don't need much of a facility. Any open space with a couple of apprentices huddled around a folding table will do. (Multiplied by how fast you want the prefab pieces made.)

 

[brantmacga]

I would be willing to bet you could do a lot of prefab at your shop for less than buying the pieces....

Much less; we’ve been doing it for a few months now.

To OP; all I can really say is to run the numbers of what they’re telling you the labor savings will be versus the system cost and see if it makes sense. Unless something goes very wrong, you will see significant labor savings.

I haven’t bought any of the factory pre-fab systems as we just looked at what they were doing and replicated it in the shop. I did have two manufacturers offer a significant discount on my first order to entice us to switch from doing our own; I say that because if you’re thinking about going the pre-fab route, you may be able to negotiate some discounts with the reps if you are serious about it.

We do a lot of EMT system pre-fab, and no one is offering that right now.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[brantmacga]

You don't need much of a facility. Any open space with a couple of apprentices huddled around a folding table will do. (Multiplied by how fast you want the prefab pieces made.)

We have a 4’x8’ table about 48” high for MC and whip assemblies, and for the EMT and PVC we have a 12’ long stainless counter with a saw at the end that feeds into another counter about 10’ long, and then a parts bin at the end with connectors and couplings, and shelving under the counter for boxes, brackets, plaster rings etc....
We have large plastic trash bins at the end of the tables for waste.
And then we have floor space for pallets and boxes to load up and shrink wrap, and also for the EMT assemblies. Most of the MC stuff and recessed lighting we’re putting in large produce bins that can be handled with a forklift. We’re using maybe 500 sq/ft of shop space for this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk