How to rewire an old house series. Remove old 2 wire cable and install Romex with ground. Replace a cable between 1st and 2nd floor shown in this video.
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Very smart of you to try and lessen the diameter of the romex cable by pulling the white wire so it's easier to try to pull through the obstacle...Genius!
I love this because I do as much of my own work as humanly possible. I replumbed my 50s house myself I spent $600 I've remodeled my bathrooms for about 3k each and that was replacing the subfloor and sistering joists in each bathroom. I have a crawl space
You are off to a good start you WILL continue to learn more. I wish I had a few just as knowledgeable and willing as you. So happy to see you doing so well.
Thanks for the kind words, Richard. Most of the next phase of the project requires work in the attic. I hope to find the time in the Spring when it's not freezing cold or blazing hot up there to move forward again. My cable pulling/running experience has been in commercial buildings. The residential work is new to me. So far it is going better than expected.
You are welcome, Darren. I'll likely add some more as I replace the wiring. The rest of the work I have must be accessed from the attic. It's mid summer, so I'm not going in the attic until the Fall when it's cooler.
Thanks for cheering me on, Gil. I was so happy when I found that cable was not fastened and I could use the existing hole for my new cable. I'm sure I'll have some more "puzzles" to figure out as I work my way through the rest of the circuit. I do like solving problems, so it's kind of fun.
Great video, I know first hand just how hard it is to pull wires in a wall, I replace a few runs of aluminum with 14/2 Romex and it was no easy task. You did a excellent job 👍👍
@@Know-How-Now I don't know how they did it in the 50's and 60's but today the code requirement is a staple 6 inches from the box and one every 4 feet there after. Also strip the jacket 6 to 8 inches so that you (and the next person many years later) will have plenty of wire to work with, without having to wire nut extensions. And make sure to leave about a 1/2 inch of the jacket inside the box, inspectors do not like to see clamps on unjacketed conductors.
@@davidmarquardt2445 How would you address the staple requirements when pulling wire through existing work? Is the only way to be code compliant in that circumstance to open up holes along the way to sure proper stable distances?
@@ProAtTyping i just read the answer below Code does not require staples for replacement cable. Farmer Dave 7 months ago Code does not require romex to be fastened when it is fished inside of a finished wall.
It may be a while for more videos on this topic. A lot of the next step requires work from the attic which is too cold for me in the Winter. I may have a need to drop a chain on an interior wall soon. If I need to do that I will post a video in a month or two. Thanks for watching the videos.
I had no idea of how it would turn out. I knew the drywall was mounted on the furring strips that were fastened to the cinder block and there was no insulation between the two. I thought there was a good chance that the cable was not fastened, but was not sure. I wanted to use the hole that was already drilled. I likely could have just pulled the cable out and then pushed my fish tape through. Since this was the first try at an outside wall in this house, I took a conservative approach and pulled the string along with the old cable.
I'd try pulling the conductors out of the casing, then try to pull the casing through the staples. If the cable makes a turn or if there are a lot of staples this method won't work. Sometimes you have to cut holes in the drywall or drill a new hole in the plate for the new cable.
Not worth much after the white conductor was removed. Plus it does not meet code requirements of the present day, so it could not be used. Scrapyards pay for scrap metal, so that is a good destination for that wire.
I make jewelry with the old wires. Buyers love the idea of my work being recycled. On another note, thank you for your video's! They are very easy to understand.
@@bonnierainville2116 Jewelry is interesting,but can be made from any copper wire.Those old cloth covered wires rarely pop up on ebay and are multiple types the price of modern wires.Old stuff should be preserved in a museum.
Ive been a sparky for just over 3 years. I think you need to cirse at the wires more often....... It always seems to help for us 😆 Cool trick to pull the white out. Simple and smart
There's a plan in the future to replace the Pushmatic. Those panels seem to have a reputation. I've lived here over 20 years and if I remember correctly I had to replace one breaker. I've got a bag of breakers from a panel that my friend replaced so I could procrastinate for a long time. lol.
It doesn't always work out, I was fortunate to get a new cable pulled through. I have some more work to do on the 2nd floor before I paint. I hope to not have to make many holes in the drywall.
Are your wire nuts effective for solid core cables? We are only allowed to use them on multistrand cables. I am beginning to like WAGO terminals. I am an old school electrician.
It's on the list. The priority is to get ground wires to all of the outlets. I've got a bag full of extra breakers from a push-matic that was replaced. Do you have a favorite brand? There aren't a lot of choices.
@@Know-How-Now - I don’t have a favorite brand of panel, just a list of ones I dislike. Good for you that you have some spare breakers so that you don’t have to hunt down a source. One thing with those push-matic panels is that they can be physically smaller than other brands.
Your American Romax look very much like the British and South African Twin and earth. Where may you use Romex? What standard sizes do you get in the USA.
I don’t understand how you run the wire from one old work box to another with new romex, like how do you fasten the wire? How do you know get it from the one box to the other with all those obstacles inside the wall?
Code does not require the new cable to be fastened to the studs. This is a 1952 house, with brick facing over block. There are vertical furring strips on the block to which rock lath was attached and then plaster over the rock lath. There is a gap between the rock lath the rock lath.... no insulation, plenty of room for a new cable.
You might try pulling the conductors out of the sheathing to free up a little room at the staple. Then you might be able to get the sheathing out from under the staple. I there are a lot of staples or a 90 degree bend, I doubt it will work.
Couldnt u had ran a new wire from the second floor outlets to the panel instead of it piggy backing off the 1st floor outlets. I got tht problem at my house. The whole 2nd floor is piggy backing off the living room outlets. I blow a breaker once a weekish
My problem was not too many outlets/fixtures on one circuit, but no ground wire. So I just needed to pull a new cable to replace the one that didn't have 3 conductors. It sounds like you need to add a new circuit.
Wire gauge is based on distance and the amperage of your equipment. In a 15Amp receptacle, you can run 14 AWG wire and it’s code unless you’re running more than 130 feet, you don’t need 12-2. Although it is “safer” because you never know what someone is going to plug into it. I personally run 20AMP receptacles with 12-2 because of the appliances and equipment I use.
During the past 20 years, the pushmatic has been trouble free. They do have a reputation for being a cheap panel and not so much fun to replace a breaker. It's holding up better than the breaker in the square d panel at a friends 10 year old house. that I replaced. lol. Seriously, it will be replaced at some point, though there isn't a rush. I've got a bag full of spare breakers.
Maybe you didn't watch the whole video? In my case, no staples (1952 house... not sure what the code was then) and as shown in the video it was a bit of a battle.
Okay, so most of the video is good stuff, but I dont know it's best practice to do what is demonstrated at 6:52. I wouldn't even feel safe putting this video on the internet because if someone starts a fire because they didn't know what they were doing or the reasoning behind it, you might be liable. It would be much safer to use some other method of attaching the pull string to the new wire.
Hi David, critical criticism is always welcome at Know How Now. I am unclear why attaching a pull string to a cable is going to start a fire. This is a common practice. I and many electricians pull cable this way. What safe way to you recommend to pull a cable?
If I saw a licensed contractor doing this at my house, I would have words with the company. In an industry obsessed with safety, this looks like a fire hazard.
Again, criticism is welcome. You have changed the subject and not answered the honest question I have asked, so I will politely ask again. How is pulling a cable with this method a fire hazard?
If there aren't many staples/turns, you might be able to pull the conductors out of the jacket, they remove the jacket. Unless you are working with cable in conduit, replacing cable is not easy. I used the method above to get a piece of cable out of the way so I could pull a new piece: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vOGOKP4ChtM.html
@@Know-How-Now Thanks! Just not sure how I'm going to pull a new cable if the current one is under staples. Seems like the only way is to cut away drywall
Sometimes the old cable does get stuck. I was lucky that mine was not stapled and that it only briefly got stuck. It also did not have any bends, if it had a 90 degree bend you won't be able to pull it through.
Just sell that house and buy one with grounded electrical outlets. I tried doing some of this on our old house and gave up after tearing up a lot of walls that then had to be repaired.never again
No thanks, I'll keep the house. It's brick, hardwood floors through out, cherry kitchen, excellent construction. If I get really drunk I won't mix my house up with another in the neighborhood that looks exactly like mine and wake up in the wrong house. lol.
I like your determination, BUT WRONG WIRE SIZE! Always use 12/2 w ground for outlets ...or bigger depending on the load. 14/2 is for small amp loads less than 15 amps. Also no one ever removes the old wires , much easier to cut off ends and shove back in the wall. next well i just cant tell you everything you did wrong... most importantly if any thing you plug into that outlet over 15 amps is a fire hazard, if you use a 15 amp breaker it will probably kick before heating to the point of fire. CALL A ELECTRICIAN , definetly DONT do demos of how to do electric work when you dont know what your doing... what about all the people who have watched this ... they all now have potential fire hazards!
Ummmm... it's a 15 amp breaker. Umm..... I needed to use the hole in the top plate for the new cable. Ummm.... 14 gauge wire was installed for 68 years, no fire yet (and it meets code for a 15 amp breaker). Tell me where in the code book it says you must use 12 gauge wire on a 15 amp circuit. I bet you can't. Please tell us all of the code violations by citing the code book. So far you have come up with nothing other than bluster.
@@Know-How-Now Secondly no way in hell that wire was installed for 68 years ... it would be knob and tube if it was more than around 45 years. Stop lying....
