Monday, May 01, 2006

quick update

I'm not dead. But I have been sick since thursday. I'm getting sick and tired of it. ha ha.

The basement has one room left to be finished, it's going to be done this evening some time. We decided to do that extra room that would be after the laundry room looking into the family room if you go by the tour I posted. Not that we have the money for that, but it's the thought that counts right? =)

My wife and kids are out of town this week and took the camera, so it'll be a bit before I get the finished framed pictures up. I'm doing a bit of research on wiring at the moment. If anyone has any words of wisdom on that or the ventilation system, I'd love to hear it.

3 comments:

Bob said...

You can never have too many outlets. The more circuits those outlets can be on, the better. And light is good. I like can lights, but always get stuck with fluorescents, which really suck. Can lights can be on a dimmer. I like dimmers.

And of course, bathrooms get their own dedicated 20A circuit, since that is code.

I always spend the extra bucks for the commercial grade backwire type outlets. Not the spring loaded wire grippy things the cheap 39 cent jobs use, the ones where the wire goes in and the screw tightens a clamp onto the wire. They are spendy, a bit over a buck a pop, but to me, they are worth it. I buy them in the contractor packs at Home Depot. I can wire them in a fraction of the time and they are much better quality.

I also always run 12 gauge wire rather than 14 gauge. It's a bit harder to work with and a bit more money, but hey, it only costs a few dollars more to go first class. Plus it's always nice to have 20A circuits rather than 15A, just in case.

I'm picky about wiring. (Electricans hate me) I replaced the main service panel in our last house and the inspector didn't believe me that I did it all myself. That sure made me feel good!

Ventilation is something I don't mess with (usually). I have a good HVAC guy that I have do all that for me. Expensive? Yes. But it's done right. I just don't know enough about residential HVAC to not screw it up.

Have fun with your project.

DadGuy said...

Thanks for the tips! Much appreciated.

I was planning on 12 ga wire, I hear it's the way to go. I'd rather have 20 amp circuts, you know, for when I get a pinball machine down there in addition to the 2 arcade machines. heh. I'm so self-centered. ;)

I am hoping my friend won't mind advising me on the ventilation stuff. I think I know what I want to do I jsut have to ask him if it's the way to go, and possibly how to go about it.

Bob said...

My dad's house was wired by the low bidder. He got a heck of a deal, but it turned out to be all 14ga wire. The lights dim when the refrigerator comes on. They later needed a 20A circuit and had to pay big bucks to have it installed. It turned out to be pretty close to the breaker panel and reasonably accessible or would have cost a small fortune.