I Wired My Entire 3 Bedroom House and Failed Inspection. Here’s What I Learned 

When the inspector mentions draft, they're talking about in the wall. The idea is to minimize cavities that fire can spread in, especially when hidden in a wall. Sealing those holes also helps minimize the amount of air a fire can get from adjacent cavities.

To clarify the issue about firestopping holes in a basement with an open stairway: It's not about the access a fire has to spread. There will always be access somewhere. It's about buying time in the event of a fire. If you have a fire start in a part of the basement that away from the stairway, it would normally take a little while for the fire to spread to the stairway and make its way upstairs. If the fire can get upstairs through a hole in the floor you created to run romex, the stairway is now irrelevant, the fire is upstairs before even the stairs themselves get hit. Firestopping holes is all about containing the fire to the area it started for as long as possible, to ensure inhabitants the opportunity to get out safely - firestopping is NOT about protecting the house or the wiring. To repeat, FIRESTOPPING IS NOT ABOUT PROTECTING THE HOUSE. Leaving holes open allows a fire free reign to expand anywhere it wants very quickly. Your job as an electrician (or a homeowner doing his own work as an electrician) is to prevent that, to protect the inhabitants of the house, be it your family, your tenants, or future homeowners who buy the house from you. You can't help what anyone else does. The inspector can't control that either, he/she can't justify earlier owners/contractors' mistakes or code violations, they can only address what they see YOU'VE worked on, and only cares about what YOU do - or don't do, as the case may be.

I finished my basement. Failing inspection is not the end of the world. It’s informative and the good inspectors walk you through what you need to do to pass. They are really big on fire prevention. I had the same thing. It’s between the walls. Good work!

Congratulations on your sweat equity paying-off and thanks for showing the issues we need to be aware of when doing the wiring.

You didn't have a nice inspector, he was just doing his job as they are suppose to tell you the faults that need correction. But good for you, you gave it a shot, took care of errors and got the job done. Now take pride in a home build by your own hands as that makes this truly your home.

I would like a separate 20A circuit (2 in total) for the countertops because of all the stuff we tend to have, like toasters, toaster ovens, air fryers, etc. I have 2 - 20A circuit in my 14 year old kitchen (plus a separate one for the fridge) and have tripped one because of heating appliance loads. Keeping the fridge on its own dedicated breaker is a good thing because you won't be tripping it from some heating appliance load.

I recommend you replace those small 1.5" deep Utility boxes with 1.5" deep 4x4 boxes w/side mount brackets and a 1/2" device ring, this will give you the room needed for dimmer switches in the future...even if you are legal by code, having more than one RX in those boxes is never good.

The fire stops in the wall prevent the fire spreading in a hidden manner to upper floors, if the fire is in your hallway, the fire stops in the walls are a moot point, your whole house would be on fire. They're there to contain the fire to the room affected by the fire so you don't have a whole house fire. The conduits of electricity ie wires run through the walls, fires are frequently caused by faulty wiring. Hope this helps. You do great work man, nothing but good vibes and hardworking! You're bright like a star and intellect! Wishing nothing but the best for you, keep shining! 🎉

Something that I didn’t see was a ground screw in your metal boxes. Even if the inspector didn’t flag it, (it is required) I’d highly recommend bonding your ground wires to the metal boxes as a precaution. Even though most devices will effectively bond the ground to the box, in the event someone removes the device to service it, that bonding will provide additional protection if the lugs on the device accidentally contact the side of the box while pulling it out or if there’s another issue - e.g. broken wire insulation.

My home was built 20 years ago, I’m in the Chicago area, we do everything in conduit. Some of your boxes are tight, others made comments that you should use the larger boxes. In my home all boxes are 4x4 (called 1900 boxes) metal boxes. I was successful in adding switches to all of the bedrooms and other rooms for adding things that I knew I wanted later. For example I added 3 ceiling fans, one in each bedroom. I added switches in these boxes that weren’t used, but the plaster ring was for two spaces, when I added something I didn’t need to fix the drywall to do it. In all I added 10 switches and I used them all. After the home was built, I had some help doing these upgrades with one of my new workers (he was a licensed electrician in his last job) where I worked. I paid him for his time and he saved me $3000 from what the builder wanted. We got rid of the closet pull down strings, etc. Ran a 50 amp panel to the garage. In all we spent 12 hours doing these upgrades. in the next few months I upgraded and added some 3 way switches that made life easier, like separating the garage lights, adding a extra attic light, adding garage lights and garage circuits, adding 2 extra outlets for Christmas outdoor lights, deck outlets including a grill outlet for a rotisserie. When I finished my basement I used 10 circuits for 19 outlets and 28 switches. I put the outlets 8’ apart on the walls and switches to control everything. Even the furnace/workshop has 6 switches and 8 outlets. I rarely used the small boxes (called handy boxes, or single gang boxes) you have in place. Thanks and good luck.

Nice to see him sharing his experience and very grateful he isn’t recording an instructional on wiring. Question for electricians/inspectors: is there any way to know if a “homeowner” is just flipping a property so the inspector can be stricter? Certain RU-vid channels glamorize house flipping which makes me concerned about the quality of work behind the walls for the next buyer. Any tips for how home buyers can tell? I suppose a lax inspection like this is better than nothing.

It's pretty cool to see to see you fixing up a place in Detroit i lived in Ecorse for a while and loved the city . I went to school for electrical and it can be tricky for someone who has never done it . Its pretty impressive that you have done all that you have !

While a dedicated circuit for the fridge is not required by the national code, it is by some local codes. In any event it is certainly considered best practice. (50 year journeyman)

You're absolutely killing it, this channel is super under-rated for homeowners

It’s good to have two countertop circuits because it’s easy to exceed the capacity of one. All you need is something like a coffee maker and an air fryer on at the same time. I would have given the frig, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave (if built in) and at least two countertop separate breakers. The countertop, disposal and washer circuits would be on whatever GFI is required by your local code.

Technically your 13 cu in shallow boxes are only supposed to have a max of two 14/2 cables coming into them, but if you keep your pigtails as short as possible (which is ignoring a different code) and go with as small of wire nuts as you can and don't use the push-in type back-wired outlets then you should be fine. I've never seen cable run through turned 2x4s like that; looks like you had to keep those holes pretty small to minimize the structural impact - good thing it's just a closet. I think you did a pretty good job overall. Oh, and the foam around the wires is to force a fire to get oxygen from elsewhere, usually causing it to surface to where you can see it (and alarms can detect it) rather than letting it spread to other parts of the house while hidden in the walls.

Please create a blueprint of how you wired things. You can also take pictures and videos of how you ran everything. This will help in the future, when you need to change something.

I have a balloon framed house. We had a small fire in the downstairs wall it got into the attic within a minute or two from when it started hollow wall cavities are just the perfect environment for a fire to spread fast. Usually stairways are drywall and have many other obstacles for a fire as well as being larger and not creating a chimney effect which further feeds the fire.

Run the 20 amp you will not regret it!

Thanks for sharing - I always learn more when people share their mistakes and how they fixed them than if everything is perfect all the time. You must have a great feeling of accomplishment!

I'm not sure if it's standard in NA but in europe, smoke detectors have battery backup (or are battery only - not ideally and not in new installs). In the event of mains failure (or batteries running out) they will chirp every so often, so you know something needs addressing. If this is the case for you I'd say it's better to give them their own circuit, as it minimizes points of failure, and allows you to service other circuits without affecting them and vice versa. It also allows you to use lower amperage breakers (which is safer) and even save some money with thinner gauge wire - obviously leave some margin above the rated wattage/current, which should be quite low as-is. Ultimately though whatever works as long as you're prioritising safety.

To add to the comments about sealing holes, as mentioned it has to specifically be fire caulk or rockwool insulation, or similar fire rated material. The idea is stopping the draft that can spread fire where you can't see it. Sure, fire can spread through an open staircase, but you can visibly see the fire there. As far as your two small appliance circuits in the kitchen, that is just the minimum required, I always put the refrigerator on it's own dedicated circuit as well as a circuit for a hood microwave, if you have one and dishwasher. Also, just a side note, I have seen many times the refrigerator receptacle placed lower than countertop receptacles, but there really is no practical reason to do so. In fact, I learned many years ago from doing remodel work that it makes more sense to put it the same height because if you or anyone else were to remodel down the road and relocate the refrigerator (happens more often than you might think), you don't have to fix any boxes that are too low. You should also look into some Arlington boxes for your outside receptacles. They have different options depending on what kind of siding you use. The boxes go on before the siding and give you an in-use ratedbox/cover that is low profile.

Here in new york state it is ok to have a single outlet on a deciated circult, as long as your outlet is rated for the breaker you are using. So a 20 amp decicated circuilt must use 12awg wire and on a 20amp outlet. The way to get around not using a 20amp outlet on a 20amp circult, is to add more then one outlet. This technicially symbolizing you have devices plugged in the other outlets sharing the load. This was taken out of the national electric code.

Your videos are great and it inspires me a lot to work on my house. I hope you keep being honest and genuine as you are. Super fan here!

Stumbled across your videos researching for a basement reno. Thanks for making them, very informative, and really appreciated.👍

The spray foam is to keep air out of the enclosed cavities, not the occupied spaces, so that fire is not burning in a cavity where the water from sprinklers or fire fighters’ water cannot penetrate to put it out. It is not for draft between floors. For horizontal cavities, a fire can spread across the building surprisingly quickly within that cavity when there is venting at the end away from the ignition source. In a vertical cavity, fire can quickly move between floors if the top of the cavity is vented. It is amazing how much just that little bit of foam does to help contain the spread of a fire in a house. Many people are under the misconception that the foam blocks the fire itself. It does not. It blocks the air from feeding a fire. A fire at one end of a cavity consumes the oxygen in the cavity and then cannot burn anything in that cavity without oxygen. If the foam is in the flame, it is already too late for the foam to do anything. In fact, foams are themselves flammable. Any foam also should be sealed; no foam should be left uncovered. In a modern wall cavity, the fire stop foam or insulating foam is covered by drywall or other fire resistant membrane. The only way flames can get to it is from within the wall or floor cavity. A fire in a room must penetrate that membrane to attack the foam. So, the wall and ceiling membranes along with the cavities properly sealed from air infiltration provide a thick barrier to attempt to minimize the spread of a fire from room-to-room and floor-to-floor. Also, it was not his idea that you need two 20A circuits in a kitchen. That is code. You could have pulled another feed. His suggestion to just tap the fridge outlet was just a suggestion to save you some wire. You should have pulled a second feed, and made sure to replan how the outlets connect to that second feed. 210.52(B)(1) says “all wall and floor receptacle outlets” in a dining room. He could have been a heavy and said that now _all_ the outlets in both rooms needed to be 20A circuits, based on your peninsula being in both rooms. He let you slide on that, for sure!

I got to give it to you! You're learning and sometimes saving! Some things are better left to the experts!

Super. Check the code for how many outlets on your new island. I have to put three or four on the bigger islands now, usually with Arc Fault breakers and GFCI outlets, because the GFCI protection usually dies before Arc fault does, and this could save money by only requiring you to buy a GFCI outlet, not another Arc Fault breaker down the road. Also, make sure that you install at least one 20 ampere rated outlet on its own 20 amp circuit. The washer is a good place to install that type of GFCI receptacle, (One with a "T" for the neutral terminal.) I usually also put one by each door, partly for lawn mowing and such, but mostly to allow the future contractors to be able to plug in a heavy duty 20 amp machine cord or extension cord and not trip the breaker. Most homeowners dont even know about these 120 volt, 20 amp plugs, (Oops, forgot the NEMA number.) and even apprentice electricians that I know have never seen this plug, but it is usually installed on things like floor buffers and prevents you from plugging it in to a 15 amp outlet thereby saving the outlet, and maybe a trip tp the breaker box. 💙 T.E.N.

For a diyer, I think you did an excellent job. Seems like you did a lot of research before. Of course you saved a hell of a lot of money doing it yourself and you can't beat the satisfaction of feeling and saying that you did it all by yourself.

I have heard other people having 2 lines to a kitchen, with every odd-numbered receptacle on the first line and even-numbered receptacles on the second line. This way 2 appliances plugged into neighboring outlets would be on separate lines and if they're both in use, they would not pop a single breaker. I did not explain this well, but having appliances split evenly between 2 breakers is what they're going for.

I learned from my time doing fire remediation, the small holes where electrical and plumbing runs through are excellent corridors for fire to spread. What happens is, when fire has breached the drywall, the draft from the open room through the holes essentially turns the holes into blowtorches. It can be the difference between a 90 minute full loss, and a 15 minute one. It can easily save lives.

Your inspector was too kind! The 13 cu in box can only have one 14-2 and a device in it, your fridge should be a dedicated circuit and I'd split those countertop circuits evenly. Way too many outlets on the second circuit. The idea about the fire stopping between floors is that fire should not spread because of the wire you installed. If the fire is in the area of your wire going through the floors it would spread faster without the firestop. Overal you did good for a do-it-yourselfer, but I'd recommend always using a professional, so that when you use your kitchen counter receptacles the lights in your fridge doesn't flicker. Thats why it needs a separate circuit.

That’s some clean work. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Subscribed.

Man one day I want to get a house built with exactly the layout I want. There's so many things I've picked up from videos like this that I've gone "man that's a great idea" but implementing them is either a massive pain or basically impossible once drywall is in. Number 1, I want a utility room where everything comes in to, and have Cat6 throughout my house, a manifold for hot and cold water so different rooms can be shut off from the one location. That sort of thing.

having a good inspector makes a world of difference. If they are having a bad day it can make everything a huge pain.

When I rewired I spit the lighting and receptacles. All receptacles where on 20a circuits lighting on15a. Guess it's from my industrial days. Hate to lose the lights if an appliance trips a breaker

Can't wait to see the final inspection report after trimout. That's where reality will set in!

I like extra countertop circuits, I can run the microwave, toaster and coffee maker all at the same time. I also just use 12 gauge wire minimum for the option of bumping up to 20 amps, it’s also more convenient to just buy a large roll of one type of cable instead of having multiple different rolls for different sizes.

You need a recptacle on the end of the peninsula up towards the top to meet code for the finish. Put in on the counter top circuit behind the GFI so its protected.

Seeing this video after 4 months... I rewired 2 floors of a house (basement / 1st floor), and just went with 20 amp (12 AWG) circuits everywhere. It didn't cost that much more, and it's nice to have the capacity/versatility

Sounds like you did a great job over all.

I don't see any AFCI breakers in the panel. Also, you need to state that it is not just any spray foam. It has to be fire block foam or caulk.

When I remodelled my 90 year old house back in 2010, all the kitchen receptacles had to be split. I could tie two uppers together and two lowers together, but not on the same circuit. This is in Canada though. I paid the electrician to move the main panel from the kitchen to the basement, then rewired the entire house myself. I had to open up every wall in the house to replace the sawdust insulation, sweet jeebus... what a mess (lath and plaster). The house was a mix of romex and knob and tube wiring before I started.

I'm surprised at the lack of outside emergency disconnect & arc fault breakers.

When the fire starts in the wall, the stairway acts as a chimney, and it FEEDS the fire, it allows it to PULL the air to the lowest point of the fire, and blast it UP any cavity it is in, and when you have a small penetration, you increase pressure, which also increases temperature, which helps the fire spread much quicker. You can go watch some videos, without the firestop it can be as little as a minute to move to another floor, vs 15-30-60 minutes.

Seems like you are interested in learning and overall did good job. Lucky guy though. I can say you absolutely would not have passed in the several areas I have worked. Won't bemoan the firestop. Some inspectors worry it more than others. The few things I saw that would have failed here-- were no service loops at boxes. Maybe your area doesn't require them but always good idea. If you or dry wallers you hire accidently cut a wire while cutting box openings you are going to have issue. Yes those metal boxes are over filled and not bonded. They make a plastic narrow face box that has a curved side storage giving you volume of a 2 gang box. Better to change out. You were correct most places require dedicated for frig. 2 alternating small appliance circuits have been required for decades . lastly the exterior front receptacle you added, if I am not misunderstanding you tied it into the lighting circuit. If so not allowed. Those exterior receptacles have to be on 20 amp dedicated gfci protected circuit. In my area requires it be on a gfci breaker in box. Have been a couple places allowed gfci receptacles to be installed instead but most don't . gfci receptacles do.not fare well outside usually. Hope you keep at it. If you are doing this long term. Fine homebuilding published a set summarized code books for different trades. They are pretty helpful.

Yeah, keep questioning the inspector, that always works well…if it’s required then you just do it. Ask a fire fighter about drafts and a hidden fire in a wall and they can tell you personal experience on why it’s needed. 2 circuits required in kitchen…not sure why you didn’t purchase a code book to help you understand all the requirements before starting a project. “Black & Decker codes for homeowners” if what I used, easy to read and understand and didn’t have any issues with my inspections.

Nice work! In my kitchen I have each of my 6 countertop GFCI duplex receptacles on dedicated 20A breakers. Dishwasher, gas stove, microwave, fridge, and lights also all on their own dedicated 20A breakers. All of that is coming from a sub panel that I installed in the kitchen and fed with #3 copper and a 100A breaker at the main panel. 250’ spool of romex completely used up. Previous wiring job was a total abortion so I ripped it all out when we reno’d the kitchen. $1,200 (roughly) on all the electrical materials, labor was me so no charge there. Outside of an actual fault, I highly doubt I will ever trip a kitchen breaker, and that thought is extremely satisfying to me.

nicely done for a do it yourselfer. thank you for the walk through

Electrical code for kitchens is to the point that they might as well just require a sub panel in every kitchen to accommodate all the extra circuits it's going to take.

Good job! Electrical is surprisingly doable.

You are so lucky to live in an area where you are allowed to do this. I don't mind having to meet code and having the work inspected but I do not appreciate limiting the getting of a permit or doing the work to state licensed electricians.

I will very soon wire an old house, thanks for the information.

Subscribed brother. From Norwich UK here 😊

Great video. I wish I had your courage. That is the full time job! Keep up the good work. If I had done that where I live all the copper wire would be gone in a day!

You did a nice job for a dyi situation. Skipping all the small stuff if definitely would incorporate the two appliance circuits around your kitchen counter top outlets.

Interesting set up in your town, typically fire blocking and electrical rough-in are two different inspections.

Awesome video! Thanks!

Kitchens are pretty exacting about circuits now. All 20 amp, GFCI, AFCI breakers and dedicated circuits for Dishwasher, Micro Wave, Garbage Disposal,, couple receptacle circuits, fridge circuit. and lights on another circuit. You can see why and it's partly nuisance factor if an appliance trips off a breaker, you don't want to loose all the other things too. I wired up 2 homes, outbuildings, my onw house and shed and to me it is certainly a money saver to DIY, plus a learning experience. Done three distribution panels, one was 400 amp with a massive 200 amp disconnect. And the outside meter bases.

In our area, you must use listed fire caulk for all holes between floors. Expanding foam is not acceptable. Also, we always run 20 amp circuits for all receptacles, and usually for lighting circuits. The cost difference is minimal and you have fewer nuisance trips. We wire lighting circuits such that no two adjacent rooms are on the same circuit.

Just subscribed. I love the openness and sharing your lessons learned. As someone who has never (and probably never will) wired a house, but have lived through delays due to code inspection failures, aren't these codes documented where it takes the guesswork out? For example, a dedicated circuit for your refrigerator. Aren't all those requirements spelled out in the actual code? I'm not saying it's in easily digestible language or perhaps even easy to find. Also, I understand inspectors may focus on different things, but I'm just trying to understand if you can take out the guesswork and build your home 100% to code and be guaranteed to pass as long as the inspector is competent.

Nice content bro, love it

I sure like that double door!

I still agree with your putting the refrigerator on its own circuit. Sometimes, if they even share a neutral, some lights may dim when the refrigerator starts!

In both my apartments i installed 2 20a counter top home runs. Run a microwave and coffee maker may be alright but add a 3rd appliance and it can go right out. Also i dedicated a line just for the dishwasher and another for the fridg.

Firestopping holes got me too. The inspector described the point being to slow down a fire if possible. I used fire retardant caulk instead of foam.

The idea behind sealing those holes is compartmentalization. The hope is that if a fire begins in that stud bay that it will snuff itself out due to lack of fresh oxygen before it spreads to the next floor or attic or stud bay.

As a retired electrical inspector its not what I wanted but what the NEC requires, the biggest issues I saw day in and day out with what I called weekend electricians is they could make a light or receptacle work but didn't know Code. Always told them it was my job to enforce the Code not to teach it but I did anyway and "most" were very appreciative, I worked 24 years as a licensed electrician and IBEW journeyman electrician before a back injury forced me to become an electrical inspector for the last 31 years that didn't pay that much with no benefits.

Nothing about that job is legal where I live. Glad you got it passed though!

Always 2 circuits for kitchen 20a receptacles. Also, typically you load a 15A circuit to 80%, which means each outlet/light accounts for 1A, so you can put 12 devices on each 15A circuit. That inspector let you off easy tying the fridge into the second kitchen circuit. Typically each "Motor", including fridge compressors are supposed to be on their own circuit. Def let you off easy with not having that 20A on the dining area.

Electrician here. Was this your inspectors first day on the job? Overall you didn't do a terrible job, I'd say better than most non electricians would, but there is a glaringly obvious issue. I looked up to see what code Michigan uses, which is 2017. That is same as many are using right now myself included (2020 hasn't been adopted in the 3 states I work in). Arc fault protection is required, and in new construction or rewires like this it is always at the breaker. I didn't see a single arc fault breaker in that panel. I hate arc faults personally-but code does mandate them and your inspector is not great at his job for missing that. They've been required in some capacity since 2002 and every 3 years it expanded more and more. I'm really surprised there is no expansion fitting/slip coupling on your service. Neither the utility nor the inspector caught that. Guess Detroit is very lax..... I've seen what sunken undergrounds do, and there is a reason why our codes state what they state. Really need better inspectors everywhere. Code always mandates a minimum of 2 countertop branch circuits regardless of how big your house or kitchen is. I like the fridge being by itself, but it isn't a necessity unless it is drawing the majority of the circuit. More circuits are better in the kitchen-no one has ever complained about having too many circuits, but many of my customers have complained about tripping breakers when their coffee pot was running, toaster prepping a bagel, then someone came in and turned on the counter top microwave. Each 20 amp circuit is only good for 2,400 watts. A lot of these appliances can draw 1500 watts. One on each circuit works great, but the moment you add a 3rd item in the mix it can get problematic. Dining room being 20 amp is a no brainer. Short version-dining rooms are a communal food gathering area-picture crock pots being plugged in. Front and back outdoor receptacle-intent is to make sure if someone needs power outside they don't run an extension cord through a threshold-which is a pinch point where the wire can be damaged. The box fill on the closet box was exceeded-the inspector didn't catch it but it is technically a violation. With those narrow walls I try to avoid any electric in them and sleeve them in EMT conduit for extra protection. Anyone screwing hangers or shelves in can easily miss a stud and hit those wires. There are lots of nuances and things a professional would have done differently. One is it isn't usually a great idea to put room by room on its own breaker. Picture your spare bedroom. If it becomes a his/her office or another scenario where the room is heavily utilized, then everything is on one circuit. The way many of us would have done it is run a circuit along the front wall, one down the middle, one down the back. That helps diversify loads applied to each circuit without the average homeowner even realize they are doing it. The bigger the house the more circuits ran. All in all I fix handyman hanks electric all over the tristate area that is far worse than what I seen in this video. I'd give this a solid 6/10

Good on ya for following through. -3 watts per square foot -calarado Jims for the flat Studs

The stairway is the living space which has its own compliance standards, the between-floor firestops must be in response to oxygen feeding an electrical overload in that hidden unnoticed space creating a burn. Without the fresh air supply an electrical overload can probably complete melting itself into an open circuit without creating as much risk of ignition. Its statistically significant probably and you are happy your house is not going to burst into flames quite as much now.

Boy, you're just getting started with this.....😆

You will have lots of problems with your kitchen receptacles… circuit fittings the fridge should be solely for fridge because you don’t want to trip the breaker… also as electricians we usually put a minimum of 3 circuits in the kitchen plus the fridge and 50 amp circuit if needed. Also your panel needs to be balanced. Another point about inspection is the minimum for electrical as electricians we usually go above the and beyond so we don’t have to come back unless you want to add more… also inspector should of known that the reason we put foam on wires going from floor to floor is primarily for electrical fires… that means the foam is to stop fire in the electrical passing directly above or below… it will not give you a lot of time but it will give you a couple of minutes… once again is to stop electrical fire from going floor to floor… is understood that fire will still go from floor to floor but you are only getting the electrical inspection. I also noticed how you pass your rough in inspection we usually have a final inspection to make sure everything works properly and we balanced the panel and we test the grounding and we check for wires over heating so I wish you luck because you will need it

Not sure about your location but you might need to install Arc fault breakers and/or combo AFCI/GFCI

Would be curious to see inside the panel.

This is great to see. You did your research as best you could, its not a hack job I see all too often. I've seen "professional" sparkys fail and panicking all the time on jobsites Im on. Good for you, you should feel accomplished.

In my area: dedicated 15 or 20 amp to the fridge, 2 GFCI kitchen plugs altenating the plugs. A 15 amp breaker can handle 8 plugs in a room, 20 amp can handle 12 plugs using the 80% rule.

I always put the smoke detector circuit in on the master bedroom circuit always run two circuits in the kitchen stove or sink been Centerpoint depending on layout but I always do a kitchen right in the kitchen left I always run a dedicated circuit for microwave and refrigerator

Just changed the main panel in my house and one of the requirements to pass was labeling the separate circuits on the panel face

breakers are there to protect the wire only. Find out the max current for the size of wire you are using.. Then break up your rooms as desired while keeping distance to a minimum.. The longer the wire the more resitance and that can limit the current on that circuit. As long as the breaker is rated for the wire size then even if your devices draws more current than the break is rated, then it will flip. Just make sure the wire will carry more than the breaker. Better to flip a breaker than to burn up a wire. So, always pick a breaker size that will flip below the amount of current the wire is rated for. You can scientifically have as many recepticles as you want. Its not the recepticles that draws power, it is only the devices that are plugged into the recepticles. So you have to prejudge how much current is expected on each circuit, then pic a wire size that is rate to carry that amount of current for that distance, then pick a breaker size to protect the wire... So if the current draw goes over, it wont burn the wires. But no inspector is going to know how the house is wired or how many feet each circuit is, unless you ahve a labeled diagram of everything

Good work!

Kinda random, and I'm in Tennessee so code might be different, but i think you need another jack stud supporting that header/beam that was in frame for the last few moments of the video. I just replaced a header in my house and we had on stud that went to the top plate and two jack studs on either side. Might be ok, I'm no pro, just a DIY guy too, but that's what an a buddy of mine that used to frame houses told me. Might be worth a look into though before drywall goes up just in case. Thanks for the video! It was encouraging as I'm wiring my house presently.

The fire blocking even with open walls is in case someone in the future finishes the space. Especially if done without a permit.

Ironically, as you’re talking about fire stops, I see an open hole approximately 4“ x 12 between one floor and the next over your shoulder. 😊

Where and how did you ground your electric service? As for the fire breaks inside walls, I think they are designed to slow down a fire that is internal of the walls and thus harder to see and detect in the early stages of a fire. Fire breaks inside of walls will reduce the "chimney effect" of hot free flowing air that would otherwise serve to spread a fire much more rapidly to the upper floors. The more you can slow the spread of a fire, the more time you give the occupants to exit the building.

Did you do your own framing work too? I saw your roofing video and you did amazing work all by yourself. Your strong and talented

Great video. Good to see what you learned. Saw some A/C pipes for your mini splits. Do you have any videos on the Mini Splits?

Good job doing this yourself. I only hope you have no problems when you start to trim out. If you’re new and never done it before might end up biting you in the butt. Thought it was code to have exterior receptacle on all 4 sides of the house. Edit: also didn’t see a breaker for the washer, dryer or stove. If you’re going to have a gas stove it would be ok to jump off a countertop circuit for it but if not you will need to run a 6-3 wire for range. Also didn’t see any arc fault breakers. Just a little advice but make sure to not tie neutral wires that are from different circuits together. (Will cause breaker to trip) In addition, try not to have more than 10 receptacles on any circuits. Good luck bud

Back in the day they used 15A split circuits in the kitchen. You had 15amps available for each appliance. Since these can not be GFI protected they changed to 20 Amp circuits usually 2 receptacles on one circuit leaving only 10 Amps per appliance. I have overload issues in my place because of this. You need to know what you are running for appliances and location to have adequate power available.

MOST licensed electricians get flagged for "EXCEPTIONS" in a rough inspection! You didn't "fail" anything! You just had to make some corrections. You did well!

Just because you don’t understand the reason doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense or doesn’t have practical applications. I’ve worked on fire suppression systems as an engineer and although I’m not a code inspector or even an expert on fires….what I do know is that when it comes to fires, its all about buying time. Time gives you options.

I have 4 20A circuits in my kitchen. The original circuit that previously powered stayed and kept one wall because it would be a right pain to change because those outlets are on an exterior wall (also aluminum wire because 1969 thought that was a great idea). I added a circuit for the refrigerator that also gets the built-in microwave. I split a wall of receptacles off the original circuit to a new circuit. Finally some of the outlets on the far wall share a circuit with the receptacles on the back side of that wall in my living room (yes I know this isn't proper but I didn't do it and I'm not fixing it until I have a good reason). If I was able to do it completely from scratch I'd definitely run a dedicated circuit for appliances that won't move and are a nice predictable load then I'd probably alternate outlets on at least two circuits per wall. Overkill, yeah probably, but it would be a one time expense and would keep the wife from raging when the toaster oven plus stand mixer combo trips out the circuit, again.

Where I live it’s law that any bedroom that has an outlet must have a AFCI. Fridges, dishwashers, washing machines, & microwaves must have their own breaker. Kitchen outlets must be 20 Amp.

Not to pick on you - this was a great first project - but the closet walls with studs turned on flat which have NM cable running down the edge violates 300.4(D), which requires protection of cables which do not sit at least 1.25" beyond the back side of the drywall. This is of course to protect your cables from the errant drywall screw or nail which is usually about 1.5" long. The solution is metal guard strips, or I probably would have run an EMT sleeve down this edge (not necessarily using the EMT as a raceway here) so that these screws or nails glance off the conduit rather than drive into the NM cable and eventually short it out (or energize the screws or nails.)

way late now but I'd highly recommend viewing the national electric code online. They hide it but there is a free viewer version. Because homes are notdesigned by engineers typically residential requirements are very perscriptive. Receptacles every xx ft number of circuits in kitchen ect

From a 32 year career firefighter, I have to say that its a little disconcerting that the electrical inspector does not understand the principle behind blocking up holes were wiring goes from one floor to another. You referenced the open stairwell and the ease of travel for fire. This is true, and also why there is requirements for smoke alarms. But....in a sealed up wall cavity, should an electrical fire occur, a smoldering fire has nowhere to go but through these un sealed opening and travel to another level. This can happen undetected, until the fire eventually breaks out of the wall cavity and then begins to rage. Once a fire is in the open, it doubles every minute, consuming all combustible material in its path. This includes carpeting, furniture, wood trim, and sleeping occupants. I hope this sheds a little light on the WHY this is part of the Electrical Code. Best of luck on this and future projects. Good work.

If your'e curious about the front outdoor outlet requirement, here's the basic situation: Somebody will inevitably feel compelled to plug in some electrical appliance to be used in the front yard for some purpose or another. If no outdoor outlet (which must be GFI) is provided, said user will naturally run an extension cord indoors and plug it into a non-GFI outlet, therefore, creating a shock hazard.

Do you have surge protection on your panel?