The Devil's Wire

[shiben]

Ahhhh got it. In the part of the Chicago suburbs I am from, you have to put any wiring in a home in EMT, and thats really the only place I ever dealt with wiring, other than at a theater with raceways. Now im really confused, because I cant figure out why you would want an extension made out of romex in the first place... I like my SOOW.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Now im really confused, because I cant figure out why you would want an extension made out of romex in the first place... I like my SOOW.

Again, YOU DON'T, and the people who made it in the first place need to have their sanity questioned.


An entire house EMT? That's gotta be a pain.

 

[Anvilx]

Now im really confused, because I cant figure out why you would want an extension made out of romex in the first place... I like my SOOW.

Money? I don't know. What is the price of romex vs SOOW?

 

[mstaylor]

EMT or MC wiring? I would EMT to be cumbersome in home construction.

 

[erosing]

It's not money, per foot SOOW is close enough to NM that it wouldn't be cost effective. As of yesterday my local Home Depot had SOOW (10 ga.) for $1.22 and NM was $1.72.

I think the SOOW (12 ga.) was about $0.10 cheaper than the SOOW (12 ga.).

 

[shiben]

EMT or MC wiring? I would EMT to be cumbersome in home construction.

I believe its all EMT, as pretty much all homes and all new constructions have solid, metallic conduits for everything except tail outs to lighting fixtures, where flexible metal conduit is used. The codes in my hometown are fairly strict tho, all new houses need to have fire suppression systems of some type and central alarm systems installed, though its probably a city code and not an IL thing. Here in Michigan NM is pretty common, but it leads to some seriously sketchy stuff going on near the breaker box, at least in my old house.

 

[tjrobb]

In 2012 the Resi code is going to mandate residential sprinklers for ALL new home construction. I imagine that's going to make things interesting...

 

[shiben]

In 2012 the Resi code is going to mandate residential sprinklers for ALL new home construction. I imagine that's going to make things interesting...

And expensive. Funny thing is, a sprinkler system going off is incredibly damaging to a home, I have heard it can cause more damage than the fire itself if a small fire trips it, however, im a theater geek, not a house builder.

 

[fredthe]

And expensive. Funny thing is, a sprinkler system going off is incredibly damaging to a home, I have heard it can cause more damage than the fire itself if a small fire trips it, however, im a theater geek, not a house builder.

Sprinkler systems were a requirement in my county in MD 15 years ago. Residential systems usually have individual heat-activated heads, so a false trip is pretty unlikely, and it's only going to set off one head. A fire big enough to set it off is already going to cause a fair bit of damage.

Also, most insurance companies offer a discount for sprinkler systems... I doubt they'd do that if sprinklers lead to increased costs.

-Fred

 

[tjrobb]

It takes ~90 seconds to trip a standard resi sprinkler, on average. Any fire that can burn that long (IMO) is not "small." The other damage issue is water, but consider <10 gallons a minute (per head) for sprinklers versus around 250 gallons a minute from the FD. And the response time...

One must also remember that resi sprinklers are designed to allow evacuation, whereas (most) comm/ind systems are designed for suppression or control of the fire. This allows a reduction in the "strength" of resi systems.

I must state here that I am a big fan of resi sprinklers, so there is a bias. However, wherever possible I am using data that is fairly easy to verify.

EDIT: The big falsity about sprinklers (alluded to above) is that one sprinkler trips the rest of them. There are very few systems (deluge type) that are installed today that can do that. About the only one most theatre geeks will see is the water curtain for the proscenium arch (if you don't have a fire curtain). They are designed and operate in a different manner than a standard system and are only used for very special conditions. And as far as false trips go, unless the head freezes the odds of spontaneous failure are around 1 in 16 million heads.

 

[shiben]

Well then, I revise my opinion of the things. Although I have burned things longer than 90 sec. in my house, although I suppose it probably wasnt big enough to melt a sprinkler head. Also, what is the danger of hitting them with a ladder or something? At least in my house, I hit the ceiling all the time trying to get 2x4 lumber into the basement...

 

[Les]

Well then, I revise my opinion of the things. Although I have burned things longer than 90 sec. in my house, although I suppose it probably wasnt big enough to melt a sprinkler head. Also, what is the danger of hitting them with a ladder or something? At least in my house, I hit the ceiling all the time trying to get 2x4 lumber into the basement...

The danger would be an uncontrolled jet of water going from the ceiling to the floor :/.

But, I'll bet most residential installations use those recessed kind with the pop-off caps.

EMT in a home? That's not the code down here in Texas. It sounds awfully painstaking and expensive. The only real benefit I can see it having is providing protection against nails that homeowners put through the walls for hanging pictures and stuff. I'm sure it's much safer than straight romex in many ways, but it sounds like overkill for a home (unless maybe build a steel frame house).

 

[Anvilx]

EMT in a home? That's not the code down here in Texas. It sounds awfully painstaking and expensive. The only real benefit I can see it having is providing protection against nails that homeowners put through the walls for hanging pictures and stuff. I'm sure it's much safer than straight romex in many ways, but it sounds like overkill for a home (unless maybe build a steel frame house).

There is a cheaper solution then EMT. (They are affixed to the stud at the same level as the wire.)