I'm trying to keep everything to code, but it's not going to be perfect.

Left Soffit mostly done framing. Holds two 4" cans for posters/pictures on the wall:

<img src="http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1889/dsc00097aa3.jpg">

It will hide the power cables from the AV closet to the panel in the garage, the power and HDMI to the plasma and speaker and subwoofer cabling.

Better view:

<img src="http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/1594/dsc00103modkj1.jpg">

The holes in the drywall will be covered by the soffit. I'm obviously not finished stapling/routing cable, but I've been told 10pm is the end of Hammer Time...:/

Here's the view from the inside of the AV closet:

<img src="http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/7598/dsc00101ba0.jpg">

On the front wall, I've managed to settle on the plasma location and ran power for the future PowerBridge:

<img src="http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9309/dsc00098modrp4.jpg">

The center speaker will be directly below on a stand. Based on the fun cabling paths so far on that wall, I have a feeling I'll be making extensive use of these:

<img src="http://www.galesburgelectric.com/store/files/images/large/d_11259.gif">

From a milestone standpoint, I've cleaned up the AV closet space substantially and run some of the wiring already:

<img src="http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/5071/dsc00099uw3.jpg">

I've got a dedicated 20A outlet in the AV closet:

<img src="http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/3113/dsc00100xz8.jpg">

It's upside-down for now because I've been too lazy to fix it :P

AV closet + new 4" lights:

<img src="http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6919/dsc00105ty4.jpg">

Reward:

<img src="http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/1879/dsc00104ln6.jpg">

It's fun, but can be painful work. For example, I've found out index fingers don't make adequate substitutes for nails, no matter how hard you hammer on them.

All electrical has to be hard conduit, and metal boxes. Makes for more work when running electrical.

twisted romex
high and low voltage using same holes
more than one high voltage using same hole
not going through studs
not stapled
when stapled not done correct

i know you are working on this still, and props for doing it yourself, but please find someone who knows what they are doing and who can help you coorect some issues you have.

Maybe not for you, but for when you sell the house, and the next guy wants to come in and make changes. What you have done will all have to be totally re worked.

It would be a shame to have something happen and have a fire. Inspections and code are there to protect you, not hassle you.

I did my basement by the book with my brother a licensed electrican. Things he made me do to be complient seemed stupid untill he explain why it's done that way.

get help. Please.

I'll be untwisting the romex when I finish it, it's all just roughed for now.
Staples aren't finished or all in, don't judge by what you see in the pics.

99% of the black wire you see here is pre-existing. I fixed what could be fixed (junction boxes for example).

The pathing for the new stuff I'll try to be as compliant as possible. I'll have to review the holes for sure.

I don't know if you plan to have any inspections done, but just be aware that when you open up a wall to do any new renovations and end up exposing pre-existing work that was not originally done to code, that old work is not grandfathered in, and you are still obligated to correct it.

That's one of the drawbacks of doing a re-remodel after some hack did the original job.

Same thing happened to me. When I was remodeling part of my house, we ended up exposing some shoddy electrical work done by the previous home owner. He tried to hide it and the local code inspectors never saw it when they did the pre-closing inspection. When we later exposed the work during my remodel and the inspectors came back, I was then obligated to fix it.

1. I can't find anything about 'one romex per hole'. Everything I find says 2 is ok.

2. Not sure how to solve the high and low voltage using same hole dilemma. Would two old-work boxes separated by some distance be ok? What would the distance need to be?

Running conduit takes the electricians longer than Romex and flex would, so it keeps more guys employed longer.

finished wall would be for ease of running the cable and any future...

But, one thing you can do is check your local county's website. Usually they post local building codes and you might be able to find the info there.

Good luck

and tear out sections of wall to install the conduit.

But on new construction, it's obviously a little easier... and even then, it takes a lot more work than just running romex or BX.

You may want to check your local building code though. As far as the high voltage and low voltage, there are different requirements depending on what the low voltage cables are for. Typically, anything for networking or system control would be considered class 2 wiring. In that case, they are typically not allowed to be combined with high voltage wiring but there are a few exceptions described in the NEC. I believe the minimum separation if there is no barrier in between them is 6 inches. I'm not sure if speaker wiring and CATV wiring is considered class I or class II but common practice is to not combine those with high voltage cables either because of the potential for EMI.

In reality, its all about keeping electricians busy.

a challenge as well.

<i>"For other applications, conductors of Class 2 and Class 3 circuits shall be separated by at least 50 mm (2in.) from conductors of any electric light, power, Class 1 non-power-limited fire alarm or medium power network-powered broadband communications circuits..."</i>

Of course, the cable TV/Internet from Comcast done before I bought the house runs through the same joist holes as the 2-3 14-2 romex that was there also lol...sigh.

When trying to comply with code, make sure you use whatever version your local building code has adopted. Here they have just adopted the 2005 so 2008 does not apply yet. If there are any changes that somehow relax the requirements or provide exceptions in 2008 code that were not offered present in the 2005 code you might get screwed.

inspector anyway.

I want to do it right, but I'm not going to rewire the whole house either.

If the existing is not compliant, once you uncover the non-compliant items, you are responsible for bringing up to current code. Good luck with the build. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. I'm not an electrician but I do have my PE license in electrical engineering and I do mostly commercial electrical design so I might be able to help with some stuff.

ripped out the romex to the closet and installed an LV Old Work box to neaten the speaker and SW cabling:

<img src="http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2438/dsc00106modke9.jpg">

I can fish from the garage through the big support joists as you can see in the pic, but I still don't know how to get into the closet from that point. Suggestions are welcome.

Here's the old work for reference:

<img src="http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1889/dsc00097aa3.jpg">

Incidentally, anyone know if SW cabling (RG6) is ok to run alongside regular speaker wire from a code standpoint? I've seen them terminated in the same single gang boxes on keystone inserts plenty, but I'm wondering since they're line level...

Also, is it ok to run Cat5/5E/6 for IR wiring purposes alongside the other LV wiring?

Yup.. just leave the ground plug on top and you'll be super modern. You'll need a nail-guard on the stud where the romex goes through the hole you drilled. Also, it's better to use the white plastic romex clips with the two small nails to secure the wire... in my opinion, vs the coated staples. I've never been a fan of pounding bare metal up against a plastic romex sleeve which you are supposed to do... I noticed you've left them so that the romex is loose inside the staple..... And uh... is that a staple going into the drywall "holding" the romex just before it goes into the plastic box ?.....just put one between the plastic box and the hole you drilled (my local code wants the romex securely held within eight inches of entering the box)... and make sure it's hammered snugly against the romex...



LOL.. uh, so maybe the electrical could use some tweaking but.... good job on everything else...!


Seriously.... keep going...and get some Asahi Super Dry..



.

is too close to the edge of the stud. The staples were only there to hold the wire in place and out of my way, but they caused quite a stir...however, there aren't any in drywall.

That'll teach me to post in-progress pics.

that.

also stop wasting time tacking up the wires until you know its the way its going to stay otherwise youll be doing double, triple work

box (here in Mass), sounds like 8" in Cali. Get the metal staples with the plastic 'band' on them (easily available at Home Depot).

Progress look s very good, keep it up!

At least thats how the builders did it in my 4-year old place: All sockets that are controlled by light switches are upside down.

leave it that way after I re-ran the romex.