Speed tips for Residential

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Securing during installation

Securing during installation

Simply add this to the last line of any contract.

Owner and/or General contractor to be responsible for securing property to prevent theft of installed electrical material and/or equipment during installation. Owner and/or General Contractor shall be responsible for the cost of material and labor to replace any and all electrical material and/or equipment if a theft of electrical material and/or equipment occurs during this time. All payments for replacment shall be paid in full before replacement installation begins.
 
I have not rread all the replies so if I repeat some info...sorry. For me each rough might be just a little different so as to break up the monotony. You have to have formula or you end up skipping around and wasting a LOT of time, but I get bored and frustrated doing the same way over and over. Many times I have gone in and pulled all of my 3-wire (3-ways, fans, sw. recept. etc.) just so I wasn't going from one roll to the next. Or wiring all my swtches and overhead so I am on the rythym of being on a ladder instead of being on a ladder one second and on my hands and knees the next doing receptacles. Most of the time I do one circuit, one floor at a time. Frame of mind can accomplish a lot. My biggest advice is to find a rythym and go with it, and find help you can trust to do the work without checking every 10 minutes or fielding questions every five.
 
cka said:
I make sure I bid them high enough taking into consideration of the changes customer makes and some other unforeseeable situations.
Jason.
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Why do bid high for coustomer changes, We include a blank change order in our contract and use if when a coustomer changes something, we receave full payment up front along with the coustomers signiture on the change order and of course additional administration fees, 1 or 2 of theese and our coustomers will usually leve us to do our work per specs.
 
Here's some of the tricks I use:

1. I use 1000ft spools of NM, and pull only one size at a time. I pull all my 12/2, then 14/2 then 14/3.

2. Instead of using a tape measure to mark every box, take a scrap piece of lumber (remember, you're on a construction site... the place will be littered with them) and cut it to the length you want for receptacles. Place it on the floor next to the stud and set the box on it. Hammer the nails in and move on. Repeat for countertop recepts and switches.

3. Mark every homerun with a Sharpie as to what it is. Some HRs dont' need marking, such as the 6/3 for the range, or the 10/3 for the dryer. But two 10/2s for the water heater and AC will need to be marked.

4. I always say rough-in means do as much as you can before the insulation starts. But you can always overlap Itchy and Scratchy a day or two. While they're starting on the second floor, you can be finished the first and go to the basement the next day.

5. Take digital photos of each wall before it's covered up. The place will look very different with finished drywall, and you won't remember where everything is, so pix can help. Place a 4-foot level somewhere in each photo so you have a 'scale' if you need it.

6. The GC can make or break you. GCs come in two flavors.... cell phone users and good ones. The cell phone users can only get something done if it involves making a phone call and screaming at someone. The good ones are the ones you want.

7. Someone mentioned using a weight to throw wires over the ceiling joists. I use a pair of vise grips. Much faster than a ladder.

8. Don't be too overly concerned about a little scrap copper. I would rather toss 3 or 4 feet extra pulling a home run than re-pull it because it's 2 inches short. And it's not worth my time to pull the slack back in half the cases.

9. When you get into switch boxes, use your strippers to mark your switched wires. For instance, let's say you have a two-gang box with 5 romexs coming in. The ones without any marking are all power (1 in, 2 out). The first switch will have one slight crimp in it, the second switch will have two. If you need more, you can start using Roman numerals (IV=4, V=5, etc.). After all, you've got a tool out to cut the wire anyway....use it to mark the wire. Do the same for marking line/loads on GFIs.

10. When drilling your holes, always drill at least two over the switches, One hole tends to get filled up real fast, especially with 3- and 4-gang boxes.

11. Always think ahead. You don't really need to think about what you're doing right now because you've already planned it out. Keep thinking of your next move. Think of a chess game....
 
Responses to 480:

1. I usually skip the 1000' spools because the wire isn't any cheaper per foot.

2. I use the hammer itself, standing on the plate, since it's already in my hand.

3. I do that, right at the end of the NM, and save that piece for the breaker wires.

4. Agreed, including making up EGC's, neutrals, and hots and pigtails.

5. I haven't done that, but I've never forgotten where a covered box was, if I roughed.

6. I generally only work for a GC if they allow me to communincate with the homeowner.

7. Since I'm 6'3", I usually have no trouble pointing the wire up and over the rafters.

8. Other than home-runs, since I make up boxes as I go, there is no waste or short cables.

9. I mark the boxes with a Sharpie: LI, LO, SW, etc., and arrows toward the next box.

10. Agreed. Generally, one hole per 1- or 2-gang, another hole per gang after that.

11. Nah, I'd rather think of playing a Backgammon game (the only game I play for $).


If you read my earlier post, #3, that method is no slower, and is often faster, than the sloppier and wasteful methods I've seen other guys, even more experienced, use. Plus, I've never had a short or other failure upon powering up, except where I had 'help' on the job.
 
Back atcha:

1. I use 1000 foot spools so I never has to haul any wire into the house. It's all spooled up in the truck. Just open the back doors....

2. The scrap lumber is what I use for all the log homes I do (I do more log homes than any other). I need to keep the outlets on the non-log wall the same height as the log walls, so my hammer won't work. But yes, on a typical tract/spec home, use da hamma!

3. Absotivley posilutely!

4. Agreed.

5. My memory's not what it used to be. Then again, my memory's not what it used to be. With a digital camera, I can erase bad shots and reuse the memory card. Plus, when I'm done, I give the HO a CD of all the images I have taken. Great PR!

6. My log home GCs generally stay out of my way. I work directly for the HO.

7. I'd be 6-3 too, but wearing high heels on the job kinda makes life difficult. Not to mention the whistles and cat-calls. Besides, I routinely have vaulted ceilings that reach 10-12 feet, and most of the homes I do have some ceilings well over 20 feet.

8. I'm speaking only about homeruns (especially the long ones), not the daisy chains inside a room.

9. When I cut a cable near the box, I already have a tool in my hand that can mark it in less than a second.

10. "Two great minds with but a single thought."

11. Of the two, I prefer chess, but I've played backgammon more because worthy chess opponents are hard to find.

What would really be nice is a book of stuff like this!
 
I work alone too, and lately all of my work has been new consrtuction.

My plan (and you've gotta have a plan):

(1) Mark up a copy of the floor plan showing all of the circuits and wire sizes and all of the switch and recpt. locations and hang the plan in a central location.
This is when I design all of my circuits and make sure that I'm code compliant.
Drawing it in pencil allows me to make changes to the plan as they come up.

(2) Install all of the boxes.
Using the plan, I count the conductors in each box to make sure they're large enough before I nail them up.

(3) Drill all of the holes thru the studs and joists, adding a few extra at certain spots.

(4) Pull the wire. I use 1000 ft spools which are placed on a home made rack that I built. Pulling from a spool makes it much easier for one person.
The wire dosen't have any kinks or twists and usually you can leave the spool in one location and pull the wire wherever it's needed.
I install the wire into the boxes as I go, but I don't make them up at this point.
As I complete a circuit, I will highlight the run on the wiring plan.
I identify all of the homeruns at the breaker panel.
When all of the runs are highlighted, I'm finished pulling cable.

This keeps me from missing anything.
Right now, I'm wiring 3 houses, and having this plan takes the guess work out of it when I go to finish the work.


(5) Staple the wire and install any needed nail plates.. I install very few staples when I'm pulling cable and usually staple after all of the runs are in.

(6) Make up the grounds in the boxes and call for rough-in inspection.

hope this helps
steve
 
A few years ago I read an article in one of the electrical magazines about some guys who could rough a 1200 sq. ft house in 4 hrs. Granted they're not custom & strictly minimum code. Their trick was to not go around the house several times. Start in the bedrooms, box, drill, pull wire, cut in boxes, throw the loop to the next bedroom, same thing. When it came time to pull home runs, both electricians pulled. I tried this, & it does save some time. Last week, I was inspecting for a partial rough & the electricians were just getting started. I noticed one was marking out with a tape measure, another throwing out boxes, etc. In the end, there were 5 trips around the house to wire it. Not very efficient, IMO. Good luck
 
hillbilly said:
I use 1000 ft spools which are placed on a home made rack that I built. Pulling from a spool makes it much easier for one person.
The wire dosen't have any kinks or twists and usually you can leave the spool in one location and pull the wire wherever it's needed.
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Exactly the same reason I use them. I have home-made racks as well, and set everything up in the van. Pull in through a window or door opening, and I can rope all day without having to 'reload.' I've wired 8,000 ft? homes and never had a spool leave the truck.
Another plus to the spools is there is less waste. You end up with only one scrap per 1000 feet as opposed to four if you are using 250' coils.
I do, however, use 250' coils for homeruns. Drop a roll at each location, hook the ends (which are marked!) to the rafter, then walk across the attic and collect them as you go. Head towards the panel and pull enough to make it there.

LawnGuyLandSparky said:
but how can it be faster to constantly switch tools....
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I agree, especially when it comes to drilling. I box everything first (including rec. cans) so I know where everything goes. Then I drill (just the drill and a ladder). Then I pull (just strippers and a ladder). Then I staple (just a hammer, a small pouch and a T75). Then I make up (pouch with strippers, linesmans and wirenuts).
 
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Mark out the house, nail up boxes and cans, pull wire. Sometimes I pull all my hrs first, sometimes I just go circuit by circuit. I prefer to pull hrs at same time. Group them together as best you can. If I'm not pulling 3-5 hrs at a time I can't stand it. Sometimes I will pull all my switch legs first and then power loops. As far as up and down vs around the walls, it varies. I would rather go around the walls, but you can spend too much time drill, especially corners and windows. Going underneath is good if you are good at estimating wire and dropping each run uner the floor. Then you go back and push them all up at once. Keep crews to a minimum unless you have a good system. You will have better man/hr rate with the fewest people. I can wire a house with less man hours by myself than with a crew of 4. Too many people = too many questions. The biggest key there is coordination and crew leader. Not one of my strongest suits. 2 of my better houses was a single story 1700 sqft custom home I roughed in about 17 man hrs. I started Thurs afternnon and wrapped up Sat morning. A few years later I did a 3 story 6500 sqft home in about a 8-10 days. I think that was mostly adreneline. I had been out of wiring houses for a while and was glad to get a call back from a GC on a job with a previous company. If you are doing track homes, get your system and get going. If you are doing custom homes, there is still going to be a system, but for me, a lot of times, I knock out the circuits and floors where there are no questions so you can concentrate on the hold-ups and change orders later.
 
hillbilly said:
I work alone too, and lately all of my work has been new consrtuction.

My plan (and you've gotta have a plan):

(1) Mark up a copy of the floor plan showing all of the circuits and wire sizes and all of the switch and recpt. locations and hang the plan in a central location.
This is when I design all of my circuits and make sure that I'm code compliant.
Drawing it in pencil allows me to make changes to the plan as they come up.

I also take a can of marking paint and paint a small line on the sub floor at the box locations (switch & rec) because the sheetrock hangers are really good at playing hude the box! I always come back after sheetrock and b4 flooring just to double check
Chris
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