Basement Ceiling Painting?

[mass_burner]

the code is cubic inches of wire and devices in a box. don't know off hand the 2 gang handy box cubic inch rating but for what you need is a box that has 22 cubic inch rating or higher. i don't have my code book handy it's out in my truck.

The 2 gang box I'm using is 3.3 cu in.

 

[fbelec]

i haven't heard of a 2 gang handy box. so what does your box measure? if it;'s 2 gang it is 4 inches by 4 inches by how deep? 3.3 doesn't make sense because if that were true you would only be able to fit one 14 ga wire not a cable with white, black and ground. 33 maybe. if you are using the box i think you are 3/4 emt is good. but use thhn wire make it easy on yourself don't try to pull 3 romex's thru that pipe. in a 1/2 inch pipe you should be able to pull 9 wires thru that pipe. thhn wire.

 

[fbelec]

try this for sizing.
(broken link removed to http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/dam/public/crousehinds/commercial-products/catalog-pdfs/cp-catalog-outlet-box-section.pdf)

 

[fbelec]

remember each switch or plug counts as two what ever size wires that you are using. meaning 2 switches with 14 ga wire the switches would take up 8 cubic inch out of that box size. but do remember that what ever cover you are using regular cover or plaster ring will add cubic inch to the box.

 

[mass_burner]

i haven't heard of a 2 gang handy box. so what does your box measure? if it;'s 2 gang it is 4 inches by 4 inches by how deep? 3.3 doesn't make sense because if that were true you would only be able to fit one 14 ga wire not a cable with white, black and ground. 33 maybe. if you are using the box i think you are 3/4 emt is good. but use thhn wire make it easy on yourself don't try to pull 3 romex's thru that pipe. in a 1/2 inch pipe you should be able to pull 9 wires thru that pipe. thhn wire.

Yes, the box is 4x4, about 3" deep. Its funny, I was at ace hdw and some of the boxes were labeled 3.3 and others the same size were 33. The one I used was marked 33. I ended up using a 3/4 pipe, 3 12/2 nm fit thru fine. It was a bit of a struggle to get everything pushed back in, but it worked.

I think that was the hard part, now I only have the outlets and A/V receptacles to go. Oh, and reroute the feed from the panel.

 

[fbelec]

nice having a 33 cube box. you have 24.75 used plus the cover so you will have plenty of room for dimmers
( 12 ga is 2.25 cube per wire)

 

[mass_burner]

I bought the wrong junction box, so I need to get the right one. Basically, I'm fixing an open splice at one point and branching from the power to the lights to the outlets in another.

I noticed the electrician from a past job used an ivory colored box for such purposes, but I've never seen them at big box stores. Should I just use the basic blue boxes?

 

[mass_burner]

Any ideas on metal support poles an steel i-beam in ceiling? I was thinking of lightly sanding and painting with stainless steel paint.

 

[velvetfoot]

I wonder if flat black wouldn't go better than the ceiling and not be as conspicuous, but then again, I've been told I'm colorblind.

 

[mass_burner]

I wonder if flat black wouldn't go better than the ceiling and not be as conspicuous, but then again, I've been told I'm colorblind.

I thought that first, maybe the i-beam, but the vertical pole, idk. Maybe paint then to match the walls.

 

[fbelec]

I bought the wrong junction box, so I need to get the right one. Basically, I'm fixing an open splice at one point and branching from the power to the lights to the outlets in another.

I noticed the electrician from a past job used an ivory colored box for such purposes, but I've never seen them at big box stores. Should I just use the basic blue boxes?

the color of the box is just a color. but if you are using emt you can't use plastic boxes of any kind. if you are going to sleeve those romex's in a pipe it has to be pvc pipe if using a plastic box.

 

[mass_burner]

What is the rule for using PVC/EMT tubing in the ceilings, only if it's hidden?

 

[fbelec]

you can use either one but the plastic device boxes don't have knock outs for pipe. if you use metal in a plastic junction box you will have to find a way to ground the pipe. probably with a grounding bushing. just way easier to use the romex to plastic boxes. i had a customer keep the open ceiling with romex and sprayed the ceiling black. it stuck out less with romex than pipe.

 

[mass_burner]

So I'm working my way through it slowly. Boy, working with 12/2 is tough on the hands. It doesn't help that I'm a bit fussy about having it look neat and tidy. I have the double dimmer switches wired and installed, all my runs in place and have taken out most of the old wiring on this circuit. Just need to wire the 2 remaining cans and then install the 3 outlets on the other wall. Oh, and fix the open splice coming from the panel, I'm moving it back toward the corner to make the wiring neater along the perimeter rather than out in the middle.

 

[fbelec]

sounds like you have a handle on it. i would have run 14ga for the lights much easier to work with. if you think 12 is hard try working with 10ga in a device box

 

[mass_burner]

sounds like you have a handle on it. i would have run 14ga for the lights much easier to work with. if you think 12 is hard try working with 10ga in a device box

I tan 12 cause I'm on a 20 A circuit, plus the feed from the panel is 12, and it would have been a pita to resource it. I read not to mix 14 and 12.

 

[mass_burner]

So, why don't they make delete plates for blue plastic boxes? If you use a blue box to make a splice, aren't you supposed to cover the box?

 

[fbelec]

there is a blank plate for device boxes 1 and 2 gang

 

[mass_burner]

there is a blank plate for device boxes 1 and 2 gang

Yea, I figured out that they didn't need to make blue covers since a standard wall delete plate will fit.

New question, I am also rewiring an existing circuit, 15A, that only services lights, no outlets, that was wired in 1958.
Can I use 14/2 for this circuit?

Also, all this older wiring has no ground wires. What do I with the ground from the new wiring.

 

[mass_burner]

I wonder if flat black wouldn't go better than the ceiling and not be as conspicuous, but then again, I've been told I'm colorblind.

Does the flat black or darker color go for the walls too? I tested some lighter colors and wasn't a fan.

 

[fbelec]

Yea, I figured out that they didn't need to make blue covers since a standard wall delete plate will fit.

New question, I am also rewiring an existing circuit, 15A, that only services lights, no outlets, that was wired in 1958.
Can I use 14/2 for this circuit?

Also, all this older wiring has no ground wires. What do I with the ground from the new wiring.

i answered this question a while ago but some how it got lost. sorry for the delay. you can't add on to the old wiring with no ground. no lights, switches or outlets. you will have to run a new circuit.

 

[mass_burner]

i answered this question a while ago but some how it got lost. sorry for the delay. you can't add on to the old wiring with no ground. no lights, switches or outlets. you will have to run a new circuit.

What a coincidence, I was leaving HD last night and there was a guy putting about 6 rolls of wire in his truck. Turns out he's an electrician. I asked him this question.

He said as an electrician, he couldn't do it. But then said if it was his home, he'd do it as long there was no new outlets/lights added.

 

[mass_burner]

Basement insulating...I've segregated a corner of my basement for office/lounge area. Installed drolet 1800i. I'm thinking, could I build insulated movable walls to make the space smaller, thus containing more heat? That would allow me to only need to insulate 1 external wall for about 30 linear ft', rather than 1800 sq ft perimeter.