Exposed BX = Poor Work
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Posts: 301
Received 0 Votes
on
0 Posts
Exposed BX = Poor Work
OT, but for all you pro's - what's the story with BX/MC/AC on exposed interior runs. All the pro's I've worked with - they pull pipe and run wire. Any notion of exposed clad wire (just short of circuit runs back to a main panel) is considered hack work by the professional electricians in my area.
What brought this up today, was my locksmith. Inside their control panel, instead of the typical 18/2-plug in transformer, they switched it to hardwire from a quad box that was close by. Instead of pipeing to their panel, they just ran BX to it...
I suppose they don't know how to use a pipe bender. I'm going to have our spark come by one day to run pipe and correct the exposed BX...
In your neck of the woods, is exposed metal clad wire considered hack work
What brought this up today, was my locksmith. Inside their control panel, instead of the typical 18/2-plug in transformer, they switched it to hardwire from a quad box that was close by. Instead of pipeing to their panel, they just ran BX to it...
I suppose they don't know how to use a pipe bender. I'm going to have our spark come by one day to run pipe and correct the exposed BX...
In your neck of the woods, is exposed metal clad wire considered hack work
Last edited by pingable; 03-26-14 at 09:26 PM.
#2
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: KS
Posts: 1,893
Received 0 Votes
on
0 Posts
Exposed BX/AC/MC/FMC on exterior walls IS hack because it's not legal. It's only for dry locations. In damp/wet locations you can only use LFMC and LFNMC (the gray whip between the AC unit and the cutoff) or EMT with compression fittings (as long as it is oriented to drain)..
There's nothing wrong with running armored cable exposed on INTERIOR walls (aside from its ugliness).
There's nothing wrong with running armored cable exposed on INTERIOR walls (aside from its ugliness).
#4
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: KS
Posts: 1,893
Received 0 Votes
on
0 Posts
My guess is those who call it hack work and insist on bending pipe are IBEW. Union workers are pro anything that makes the job take longer and hence makes them more money. The requirements for all wiring to be in conduit in Chicago and many of its suburbs were largely driven by the unions to create more work.
#5
They both have their places.
EMT can be a little excessive in some locations and MC cable can be a little hacky looking in others. It's mostly a personal preference issue.
EMT can be a little excessive in some locations and MC cable can be a little hacky looking in others. It's mostly a personal preference issue.
#6
Union workers are pro anything that makes the job take longer and hence makes them more money.
I'm going to have our spark come by one day to run pipe and correct the exposed BX...
#7
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Posts: 301
Received 0 Votes
on
0 Posts
Sounds like a waste of money to me.
Any interior space that has been done by a pro, it's always been pipe.
Even if it's running through a unfinished storage space or closet.
So yes, seeing that BX is eyesore...even though it's in the telcom closet.
#8
I think yer right on the regional thing Pingable. When I worked at HD in VA...our electric room had plenty of BX. Same with controls for the rollup door and such. Now...the main to subpanels in the electrical room was all conduit....but any changes or add-ons were BX. Wasn't just hanging or sloppy though.
#10
In your neck of the woods, is exposed metal clad wire considered hack work
#11
There is nothing wrong with using bx. The only downside is that if you severe a wire or something, you cannot just pull a new one in.
I don't like looking at it personally though. I just finished a mechanical room at the site I'm on and used liquid tight flex to drop off the ceiling pearlings to the pumps, boiler, etc.
Sometimes bx is actually the preferable way to go. Can you imagine how dumb it would look if some hanging lights had pipe ran down to them instead of a bx neatly ran down the chain/aircraft cable etc.?
I don't like looking at it personally though. I just finished a mechanical room at the site I'm on and used liquid tight flex to drop off the ceiling pearlings to the pumps, boiler, etc.
Sometimes bx is actually the preferable way to go. Can you imagine how dumb it would look if some hanging lights had pipe ran down to them instead of a bx neatly ran down the chain/aircraft cable etc.?
#12
Exposed BX/AC/MC/FMC on exterior walls IS hack because it's not legal.
We use pipe on a lot of out jobs even when it is concealed in a wall (most cases to the switch box) or above a suspended ceiling. This gives us the flexibility to make changes, or add later down the road. I can think of many buildings where the previous contractor just ran cable everywhere and it mad it almost imposable to add a simple receptacle in a wall. Don't get me wrong, we use plenty of cable, it is just always hidden from view.
I can see how things are going. It seems that build outs are wham, bam, and get the job done as fast as you can because the tenant is only going to be around for 2-3 years. Worst I have seen lately was where all the home runs were cable.


Union workers are pro anything that makes the job take longer and hence makes them more money.
