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Perhaps I need a new thread for this question--this particular electrician has no aesthetic sense--he made a messy cut in my drywall when he installed an electric panel in my condo.
The house has beautiful plaster walls. What is the best way to cut into them (if it becomes necessary?)? (If an arc breaker trips?) I want to do that myself.
Yeah, start a new thread. Plaster is a whole different subject. I'm kinda curious myself, as I've just used drywall mud to fix stuff, even though I've read the old books on how to plaster.
It isn't required by law--the township told me what I absolutely needed by law. The electrician feels it is needed for safety. Do you agree?
As I previously stated- NEC is a board that makes "minimal standards". And as you stated, your AHJ isn't requiring the AFCI's.
What your electrician is doing is a fair and reasonable safety precaution based on the "unknown condition" of existing wiring. Understanding the technology that the AFCI's operate with would probably help you understand his concerns.
The downside (Or should I say the financial side) of this is, it's going to add about $250-$350 to the bill- or his assurance that the house won't be set ablaze by an electrical problem.
Perhaps I need a new thread for this question--this particular electrician has no aesthetic sense--he made a messy cut in my drywall when he installed an electric panel in my condo.
i don't know that he literally needs to cut the wall open.
is the wall accessible from the top or bottom? in that case, new wire could be pulled in to the box without making any holes.
Other than looking for multiwire circuits (which square D AFCI's will not work with), i suspect most of what will be required for them to operate is loosen a few box clamps; that is unless you do have some true wiring problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
As I previously stated- NEC is a board that makes "minimal standards".
The NEC code-making panels are very experienced, very knowledgeable people in the industry. The standards they set are well above the tolerances of what the materials can handle; some would even say "overkill". You'll notice that some "minimums" in the code book can be lowered even further with an engineer's approval.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
The downside (Or should I say the financial side) of this is, it's going to add about $250-$350 to the bill
I was referring to the difference between regular breakers and AFCIs. I'm a true believer in getting as much profit as the market will bear. Or the least amount to support one's self?
It is often possible to completely re-wire a house with little or no removal of plaster. I have done it
Plastering is complicated. There professionals in the field are mostly dead. It takes a lot of work to learn to to it. More to to do it right.
100% correct on it all. After being an Electrician for far too long (30 years now) I can only think of a few times I have NOT been able to add or rewire outlets and switches without disturbing the walls. 99.99% have been just like SouthGeorga described and either fished in from above or below without any cutting of the walls. Yes it may take a bit longer, but not after figuring in the plaster repair time and cost. This is an area that a lot of Electricians just are not very good at frankly. Rewiring an old house is an entirely different animal than rough wiring a ne construction and the only way to get good at it, is by doing a lot of old homes. I was lucky in that the first Electrical Contractor I worked for did a LOT of historic homes and we had to learn FAST about not disturbing the walls, ceilings, and floors when updating it for customers. 1 mistake was a reaming out and teaching lesson, the 2nd of the same thing meant getting fired. My 1st mistake was mis-measuring for a hole from the basement into a wall cavity to fish in a wire for an outlet. Told the boss the measurements and he drilled from the basement right up through a 150 year old hand cut and fitted floor... a foot away from the wall. I got reamed but not too bad because he admitted that he should have doubled checked the measurements given from a 1st year apprentice on his first historic rewire job.
There is a construction crew up in Gaylord, MI that still does most of their commercial jobs with real honest-to-God plaster for the walls. Right down to the two layer method ("green" coat, then finish coat), and it is definitely a dying art form.
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