Ben's eyes lit up when you called him the "world's finest son-in-law." You can tell he really appreciates all of your work on this project. Keep up the good work!
@Stonesand Yes, and he's also lucky to have you and your skills as well. It's nice to see complementary skills between you two and the pride of both of y'all putting in sweat equity into this project. Cheers!
11:31 VELCRO WIN!!! Yes, this is the way to bundle network cabling if you don't want to damage it and also makes it super easy to unbundle when doing work such as adds and tracing.
I am an electrical engineer in Germany. Before I could start my studies at the university, I had to do an internship for six months. Without this internship, I wouldn't know anything about the field of electrical installation. It is a mistake to think that the electrical engineer is an electrician plus knowledge of the theory behind it. By the way: wonderful to see how proud the father-in-law is of his son-in-law!
This is why Germany is awesome! All my buddies in chem E asked each other if we had any real idea how to make stuff. It was a universal no. FyI, love me some Weha and Wera tools.
I'm a big believer that an electrical engineer should be REQUIRED to go out into the field at regular intervals and preform manual labor with electricians. Doing so would help them understand that putting it on paper doesn't mean it can be done in the field. It would also help the guys in the field understand why the engineers do what they do and the reasons behind it all. I started in the field as an apprentice, worked my way through school, became a master electrician and then moved into the IT Industry where I have been ever since. Being able to speak the language and knowing how to perform the work that the electricians do for us gives me an advantage many others in my current field don't have. Looking at your work I can see that it was well thought out and executed with pride, care and dedication. Great job and thanks for sharing with us the fruits of your labor.
As a retired Design build builder of 40 years I appreciate this video . I also recommend that all engineers of all trades get the on the job experience and do the hands on work. It would make everyone’s life HAPPIER
As in machining industry . As well I was very fortunate to be R&D machinist . Engineers need to work as machinist so they understand you can draw it but sometimes it's harder to machine .
As an engineer I've seen it both ways. Engineers who dont understand how things are built and tradesmen who don't understand why their jury-rigged solution isn't acceptable. Honestly, I've seen way more of the latter and they're typically more resistant to being told they're wrong. The engineers I know will usually come around if they can be shown a reason why they're not thinking right about a given topic.
Working on construction, my arch nemesis is the proverbial office-bound engineer that has no practical construction experience. Engineering (and architecture - the pretty stuff) makes or breaks the build and there's nothing worse than starting into a job with an unconstructable design that ends up bleeding the owner's and contractor's funds while the job grinds to a stop. Meaningful amounts practical, hands-on experience (read: more than just as few months of being an on-site intern) helps prevent that and I wish no engineering board would consider giving the title "PE" without it.
I’m an electrical engineer and I’ve done some electric work with one of the electricians at my church, just as a side gig. I knew nothing🤣 now I know a little
The creative process to design and then implement something hazardous and useful was so much fun I really do miss that it's over. Putting in the insulation was far less enjoyable. :-)
A great tip for any significantly sized (500'+) shop is to run two (or more) separate lighting circuits so you can have lights on while you work on lights.
Did exactly this is my shop. Was great to throw up temporary lights on one side, add it as a new circuit, and then use those while doing all the wiring and finishing work on the other side in decent light. Once the finished side had its light circuit on, that when I started the work on the other side since I could turn its power off.
Bought a box of modern cable staples (loose) the other day and they were utter trash, and no, it was not the monkey swinging the hammer. How would I ever had made a living if they had always been such junk? Very cool tool that is!
I have to chuckle a little when people say they’ve designed their household electric for the future. My parents built their house in 1953 and my dad being a construction worker planned the house with all the latest techniques for the future, their kitchen had an outlet on either side of the kitchen sink and an extra outlet on the ell. Lol Back then they had a toaster and maybe a coffee percolator, but you never really know what the future will bring. One other thing is that you’re a young man and the older you get the more you’ll need that brighter light you’ve already installed. Nice job on all the work that you’ve done and I’m glad that you found a way to enjoy that work, when you do stuff for yourself it should be fun and not stressful, no matter how many calls you got asking about your progress. Lol Thanks for sharing and enjoy your new space on you move in!
As a mechanical engineer, I can relate to Ben's approach. It seems over done at first glance, but the beauty is in the fact that you can scale it up for really, really complex things, or scale it back. It's a way of thinking about how to solve problems, rather than just having to train extensively at one skill to become a specialist
Great video... Great tour... we love working with homeowners who have thought through what they want in their space, especially on the low voltage networking side. Some give us blank stares when we ask if they want multiple circuits in hop-scotch patterns around the room so that if you numbered the outlets sequentially around the room, that outlets 1, 3, 5 and 7 are on one circuit and that 2,4,6 & 8 would be on a separate circuit. "Why would we want to do that? won't it cost more in wire?" Great job! And Kudos to your electrician friend for being willing to coach. Hopefully you paid him well for his time and expertise that he has spent a lifetime acquiring.
I've read that Wago are not reliable and have issues long term. Look at the tiny indent it left in one spot on the wire for the contact point. They also spin on the wire which makes me think there is not a really strong connection. Is it ok for a 9W led bulb? Probably. I would not use them. I didn't catch if he was only using them on switches or everywhere.
I have been using them for years, professionally. They are a solid product with which I have had zero issues. Additionally, I know that they are the wire connector of choice for the motors at a local steel mill-and it’s unlikely you will get a harder life than that. I use them in my own home, and sleep soundly.
@@jeremylamarre5341Maybe I should have added a bit more info. I think they are far better than back stabbing an outlet if an outlet is pre-pigtailed with the screw terminals. The non flip tab backstab style (not what he used here) are also less desirable.
Brother, I feel ya about heights. That feeling where your body overrides your mind is very real and almost impossible to overcome. I discovered it about 6 feet up a 30 ft ladder attempting to clean out my gutters. 😅
Overcoming fear is HUGE. I’m building my own place right now, and found working on an 8:12 pitch roof absolutely terrifying… to the point where I wasn’t comfortable unless I had established three points of contact. Yes, even with a harness and roped off 100% of the time. Not that I’m an old hand at it yet, but after a week or so I’m now running up and down this roof and able to focus on what I’m doing, instead of how I’m going to die. I’m 10x as productive and far less exhausted now, win-win. That survival instinct has undoubtedly kept me alive before, but I had to come to terms with it being a hindrance. Trust is earned, and the only way to gain that trust is to do overcome by doing. Slowly and on your terms, but doing gets‘er done.
Good friend of mine was the CEO of one of the largest electrical, contracting companies in the United States, 15th largest according to the 2023 ENR rankings. For years, they’ve required every single employee to put in at least one year of fieldwork prior to going into the office and working as an Engineer, Estimator or Project Manager. Heck, even the people working in Business Development have all done their year out in the field. Unfortunately, a lot of recent graduates feel that working in anything other than an office type environment is beneath them and choose to work elsewhere. However, to the company, the knowledge gained in that one year is an invaluable component of the entire organization. As a general contractor, who’s had the pleasure of hiring them on numerous high dollar projects, I can attest that the employees who work for them are by far the most knowledgeable of the numerous electrical contractors I’ve worked with in my 25+ years.
That pat on the back after Ben explaining himself getting down from the scaffold finally was well deserved. Everyone has different things that intimidates and straight up scares them. And Scott saying you have to do something to get ahead on the job, it just hit hard. Thanks again for all you guys do. And the ones that do a good job in their trades, I appreciate it.
I have seen many a professional tradesman do a complete and utter hack job. Often, they send some new-hire or apprentice to your job. I've seen pros who could not be bothered to put a level on a box, snap a line before drilling a dozen joists, or walk the cable out so it is not a twisted mess. I have also seen many amateurs do near flawless jobs. Careful workmanship is not assured by professional status, believe me.
Yeah, as soon as I learned that there was a standard symbology for the electrical diagram, I went down that rabbit hole until I fully understood the language. Then I rebuilt the plans based on what I wanted using that language. CS FTW!
As a fellow IT-professional, I also really enjoyed planning and installing all of the electrical for my recent addition! My plans/drawings looked VERY similar to Ben's. The biggest difference is that I didn't install any low voltage (ethernet) lines because I expect wireless to reign in the near future and didn't want to be restricted to the throughput/speeds of current technology for my hard-wired ports.
At least if you have cable in there and newer standards become desirable you can use the old cable to pull new cable through. Assuming you can terminate them well enough to achieve the maximum speed of Cat6, cat6a etc.
I did say a little prayer, yes. I eventually realized that I really was going to be okay but was going to have to do something I didn't want to do. A strong lesson I feel like we all have to re-learn every now and then. :-)
6:21 depending on the quality of the old school Toroidal dimmer or newer PWM dimming circuit used, you may soon come to regret your choice to have all lights on one circuit being too bright for most tasks that will require you to dim them to be able to work under them. Why you ask? Flicker! Most people didn't notice the flicker rates of dimmed incandescent lighting but we no longer use that form of 'hot wire' lighting. Solid state lighting, i.e. LED lighting is VERY PRONE to flickering. Cheaper off shore products cut corners and you often notice it when you dim an LED light because of the soft flickering. Again, most might not be bothered by it but if you are, you are screwed. You will end up doing one of two things, redesigning your lighting grid to be able to turn it on and off in stages to simulate the various levels of light intensity or spend BIG DOLLARS on proper LED light fixtures and REALLY expensive dimmers. FYI, Lutron is still using 70's technology Toroidal dimmers and claiming they work with *most* LED lights but because of that ancient and wasteful technology, your lights are already dimmed 10 to 11% when you have them at full brightness because of the inefficient circuit. The worst part is that Lutron claims their Toroidal dimmers can help save you money which is a white lie because while you could dim your lights to a lower level, the wasted energy needed to dim the lights plus the byproduct heat waste almost negates the savings. And of course Lutron has their shills, um, lobbyists, um loyalists fighting those claims in forums. Those that require prism correction in their eye prescriptions will notice flicker rates in lighting more than those that don't. Anyone that sees cheaper Christmas LED lights flickering when they view them out of the corner of their eye or when moving their head side to side will know about that annoying flicker rate. That is caused because those LED string lights are using half wave rectification so you are seeing what is a 30Hz flicker instead of 60Hz.
Yeah I'm not dimming any lights via external dimmers, I also rejected that for the reasons you suggested. The dimming capability is built into the LED panels and controlled via a separate 0-10V slider. :)
This is a great video. Your son-in-law is obviously an outstanding educator. It is impressive that he went first to a master electrician for the layout and then refined and defined the objective. Too often engineers assume they know more than a tradesman and tradesmen understandably have little regard for pompous engineers. How beautifully the two can complement each other when a humble approach is taken. Ben’s attention to labeling, making circuit schedules, planning cable paths, locating equipment appropriately, etc. is commendable. I really like his concept of testing (an engineer’s ingrained habit) before the wiring is covered up. Engineer’s sometimes do not know the reason why a tradesman does something a certain way and the tradesman cannot reasonably explain the theory behind the methods he uses. Another example where cooperation and humility would be helpful. Still have reservations about those Wagos.
I didn’t really understand the redundancy here, its and extra connection, extra point of failure. You can remove outlets fairly easily but I guess this makes it a little easier?
I feel Scott's pride in Ben overcoming his fear of heights. When I was in my 20s I replaced my parent's two-story roof and needed some help and my father had to get up on the roof to help at one point. I didn't know he was afraid of heights until he was up on the roof and when I found out I suggested he get down and his response was, "Don't worry about me, I know you need my help so I'm here."
No matter how well you plan - There are never enough receptacles. There is never enough lighting. The HVAC is always inadequate. The radio and television staions you want are always on the other side of a mountain, or so far away you are in the fringe reception area At least, this has always been my experience.
Ben has a great on-camera presence. He should have his own RUclips channel. I really enjoyed seeing his attention to detail and practical application of his plan. Great video as always.
Ben.....yours was a very well presented, DETAILED, run through of your work; where, why, how. well done! (I've got my own "best son-in-law in the world"")....but I can see where Scott may be coming from! love you guys. Darrell
Building to overkill has its drawbacks beyond initial time & money expended. Yes, dedicated circuits reduce breaker trips & the few splices mean fewer potential loose connections. But too many staples turn later changes from minimally invasive tasks into messy projects.
No other trade is even in the same universe when it comes to how critical and persnickety they can be, when someone who isn't a pro showcases their electrical work. You could wire your garage to a level of quality that surpasses a SPACESHIP, and they will still be able to instantly point out things they see as flaws. It's really something!!
In Short. 30 Home runs to run 30 devices. Good job. Beast mode. You’ll get it done in 10 weeks instead of 20 weeks next time. Can just imagine what I woulda charged to do that!
I built a 24’x32’ garage with 5 separate circuits just for outlets. I have quads every 4’ with two circuits in each quad using 4 circuits and the 5th circuit is every 2 feet just at the work bench. I used different color outlets for each circuit so I don’t have to guess which circuits I’m plugged into.
My grand father, father and I all appreciate the electrician you are as we would do the same if we had a chance to build our own garage - the piece of mind this would give me daily is insurmountable.
I did much the same thing -- except for the colour-coded outlets. Instead, I have labeled every outlet with the circuit that it belongs to, and where it is in that circuit -- for instance, 1/3, meaning this is the first outlet out of the three that make the circuit. An excellent, practical and affordable labeler is the Brother P-Touch Cube.
For the network cable shielded cable will help protect from emi from lightening strikes in the area. Also use gfi outlets for all of your electronics. I live in North West Wyoming and found that I was the only one that had a modem survive a lightning strike was due to the gfi tripping. The modem has survived for 7 years now.
"Save money where you can and spend it where you need to" at 17:27. The trick, my friends, is understanding which is which. I saved money by laying a 5/8 spruce plywood subfloor in my house, and my wood floors squeak badly. The staples just don't hold well. My new workshop has 3/4 Douglas fir plywood and THAT was money well spent. Live and learn.....
Labels on the wire will not help you once the walls are drywalled. To complete your 'overkill' (as you said at the beginning) install a inside wall cabinet (like some panel box) or use an additional empy rack slot of your low voltage installions to store a file folder with all the drawings of your building. Add pictures and mayby a video of your walk arounds on a usb stick. Only with a dedicated place to store these items they will survive the lifetime of the building.
Love it. I have pictures of everything, including all walls and wires with labels showing, so I'll always have a document of where things are. If we sell the house, I'll pass it along. :)
I agree - The building electrician at my workplace labels all outlets with the panel and breaker number on the faceplate. Makes a world of difference with an old industrial building that has been subdivided and reconfigured ten ways to Sunday over the last 50 years.
It is always overkill .......... right until it isn't! Then it changes to "Good Planning"! As a 62 year old working in the UK Electrical Utilities industry (for the same firm) I am interested in seeing how different systems evolve to do parallel tasks. In the UK we would have run a ring of outlets (240v 13A each) .... or maybe two. If there was to be anything heavier maybe a 3 phase 415V outlet or two (if there was 3 phase to the building) and it would all just work well. No thinking about what you can plug in where, just wherever is convenient. And If it were mine there would be Many double outlets on the circuit! We apply diversity so you can have a row of sockets end to end around your walls should you want to, you would only ever have a certain amount of load you would be putting on and 32a would cover that easily. We would use 2.5mm twin and earth cable (not sure what the conversion is to freedom units). Our system gives you 4A per KW so you can run 8KW of plugged in appliances without overstretching things! I am involved in frequent faults on our mains system where people are off supply until we do a repair and we tend to fit them a generator in the interval. A normal house can manage on 1800w if they are reasonably careful of loads (no electric showers or cooking) but we can up that to 6KW if needed (normally that would do 2 houses easily) ....... so that gives you some idea of how much you actually need, rather than what you want ;o) Data transfer is not my speciality ...... but my home has a fibre system feeding into a router to give wifi. I did need a second router to boost the signal as the sounds of anguishfrom my 15 year old attempting to game through two double brick walls quickly got annoying ...... for both him and us ;o) As I said, it is the differences that make it all interesting!
When we wired Dad's new 24' by 32' workshop, we put in four 20A circuits for recepts (one on each wall), with counter-height outlets every 4'. We also wired a 15A circuit for interior lights, another 15A circuit for exterior lights on water-resistant switches set up for 3-way operation (ie, can turn on/off lights on a side at each corner) and extra circuits for an evap cooler, for a 240V air compressor, and a 240V for a welder. This has meant there's never a shortage for power in the shop, it's worked beautifully.
It's not overkill. Its expensive, and that is why builders put several receptacles on one circuit. Older homes, the electrical needs weren't like today, and the codes for atleast one outlet per wall, per x feet. Even now, codes change like haircolor, and now any wall with water on other side (sink, shower, toilet,...) has the outlet be GFCI. I did networking years ago, and learned never to have Category wire parallel to AC wire. Plus I did my first home with a trunk of RGquad6/Cat5e pairs and mmode fiber. Overkill, perhaps. But I moved and never got to light the fiber. Even today, we have APs aka access points for wifi. And products like Unity to install on walls, in closets and use PoE aka power over ethernet, so no outlets needed. Great work from the both of you and look forward to seeing it all finished!
When I first started working I was scared of heights as well. I was dragging a ladder around to nail off top plate. I was laughed at by the boss. Then I went to forming locks and dams. I was fortunate to start at low elevations. The last job I was on was 98 ft in the air. Somewhere along the way I was able to work fearlessly.
If you have a 240 VAC outlet for, say, an air compressor, then I suggest you wire that outlet with a contactor so you can turn it on and off with a low-voltage switch across the room, or with a timer. That way you won't be leaving the compressor under power when you aren't using it for long periods (since air distribution always leaks).
As soon as I saw the tubular nail protectors I search on Amazon and bought some for my ongoing kitchen rebuild. I hate regular nail plates -- why did I not know of these before? 😀
That is a great video. To see a family work together and learning things about each other as you go is heart warming for those of us who are of a certain age...LOL
Socialogy and personal development gurus could use this as a case study for moving beyond those inborn fears and limitations to maximize your potential and enrich those in your circle. Congratulations Gentle Ben!
Having dedicated circuits for equipment is pretty common and often recommended. Personally, equipment like a table saw, it is best to run conduit or flex conduit so you can upgrade when needed. Say you get a deal on a 7.5 hp table saw and need 30 amps of 240, it may be half the price for a 2.5hp because people just cant run it.
WAGO will tell you the cable should be stripped 11mm before insertion. There’s a handy little line printed on the side as a guide for the non-metric folk out there. 👍🏻
When I did my first DIY electrical job I too connected all of the devices and tested everything. I learned very quickly this is a big waste of time. It's far easier and faster to rough the box in and roll/tuck the wires before drywall then spend half a day to add your switches and outlets at the very end after paint. Congrats on the build! Looking nice.
Ben you do nice work I learn something new I never saw the southwest wire tubes they are nice the old Standard was a 3/4 hole and a nail plate. but you are wrong about the Milwaukee stapler. I divided 200.oo dollars by 1400 staples and its paying you ..
I am not sure the financial arrangement they had for the master electrician to do those plans but it is rarely mentioned on RUclips that you should expect to pay for those and it is money well spent. Doing remodeling on my own, I have never regretted spending hundreds on tools to save tens of thousands in sub contractting costs. Your time is worth something too and if a tool gets you done faster or makes the process more enjoyable, definitely worth it.
Regarding the sweat equity comments, the money saved by doing a task myself didn’t just go into more or better materials, it went into the professional-grade tools needed to do the task. Frequently, a contractor would quote me $1000 to do a job and I’d see that I could do it myself over a weekend, but I need a $600 tool to do it efficiently and correctly. I’d buy the tool, do the job, and end up with the satisfaction of completing a job myself, saving hundreds of dollars, and I’d have a nice tool that will cost me nothing to use on the next job. Now, over 25 years after that first fixer-upper we bought, I have a shop full of all of the tools I’d ever need to do whatever job interests me.
One of the things I would recommend for the next stage is to make the outlets for different circuits different colors. Ie white for circuit 1, gray for circuit 2, then black and off white. And at a glance you or a guest can easily see that you put the saw on white and it’s vacuum on gray.
I wish you had included a list and or link of the tool recommendations from Ben! I guess I'll have to watch the vid again, wish I had time to watch the vid again! BTW Great vid & info!
Just like Wagos are a step-up from wire nuts, "Cable Stackers" are a step-up from so many staples. You'll still need some staples, but not anywhere near what you used.
Good on you BEN using your engineering knowledge into the electrical trade to do what you wanted the way you wanted...the oeend result is surely priceless...and you got to overcome your fear of heights at the same time...😁😁😁
Must be nice to have infinite time and money for the project. Most of us need to get it done sooner not later. I'd love to know the additional cost of his "overkill" approach.
Great work! Love the "overkill and simplicity" motto. Maybe consider surge protection at the garage panel? Most are some sort of MOV design but there are others like SurgeX rhat use a different technology. Im not an expert on surge suppression amd there are certainly differing opinions on what's best, but a common underlying theme is to have redundant levels of surge protection. It's been fun watching this project come together, thanks!
When it comes to stripping wire, I much prefer the Ideal Stripmaster, they cost a little more, but they do so much a better job. The model number I carry in my toolbox is the 45-093.
I do a little electrical work around my house to upgrade and replace old outlets and switches. I recently found out about the NEW design of Leviton E5601-MW Decora Edge 15 Amp Single Pole Rocker Switch, this has the Wago made into the switch to simplify the installation. Checking online shows only about one dollar extra per unit. I will be using them in the future.
in germany, we have been using this spring mechanism for almost 20 years with the major manufacturers. at sockets, light switches. meanwhile something similar at cee three-phase plugs. no more ferrules. at the cee plugs you don't even have to remove the insulation. do you have something like cee plugs or what do you use when you have devices that need a lot of current?
When I built my house it only took a couple of days to run the wire, but of course there was no waiting around for people to inspect it. One afternoon I ran 750 ft of wire by my self. It is sad when a person can do better than a "professional". As far as engineers go, when my son started fitting, he would argue with engineers about their mistakes. Now that he is seasoned, he will tell them once and if the don't fix it, he will build them $100,000 worth of scrap.
More is definitely better when you're doing a shop, always way easier to add a few extra receptacles up front and you really can never have too much light. Every time I've tried to do overkill on LED shop lights I've always inevitably come back and added one or two more.
I’m a retired master electrician and I have to say it looks like you did a nice job. You will likely find somewhere down the road that actually having an understanding of your electrical system will come in handy. I would have used some of the money you saved to install better insulation though, fiberglass is the worst performing insulation on the market these days.
i'm so glad you are covering ethernet and access points, america is tearabley ignorant on this stuff, it can be used for so many things, even with NO internet!!!!
That's very interesting. I know just enough to get myself in trouble so I'm having an electrician out this week to wire my shop and then I'll put my sweat equity into the rest. I did pick up some handy tips though, so thank you!
great work! I am sure a couple of others have mentioned this, but I am guessing that you will be using that home lab to have some IT experimentation and fun. If the walls are still open at the time I type this it might be worth your time to go back and run some fiber from your server area to where you main work area will be.
Good video….good explanations….it would have been nice to have someone pulling some lines into boxes, stripping, connecting and even talking about NEC’s a little for the hands on vs theoretical aspects 👍
Sure wish Wago had been available when I rewired my 1940 farmhouse which had been added onto in the early 60s. Just make sure you use brand name lever connectors like Wago or Ideal. Slightly different designs but with all the same functionality and advantages over wire nuts.
Great job Ben! That romex stripper is awesome BUT Klein makes a MUCH better version - much more sturdy and stout. Same 14-2,12-2, 16/14/12g holes as well. It’s also yellow! I have both and the ideal one is just flimsy and crappy feeling.
"If we WANTED to, WE COULD". That's how all projects end up, brother. :) +1 on that one.
I graduated from Oregon State and Ben is a fantastic teacher. He taught an Operating Systems class and it was one of my favorites.
Ben's eyes lit up when you called him the "world's finest son-in-law." You can tell he really appreciates all of your work on this project. Keep up the good work!
Can you imagine how lucky I feel to have Scott as a father-in-law? :-)
@Stonesand Yes, and he's also lucky to have you and your skills as well. It's nice to see complementary skills between you two and the pride of both of y'all putting in sweat equity into this project. Cheers!
11:31 VELCRO WIN!!! Yes, this is the way to bundle network cabling if you don't want to damage it and also makes it super easy to unbundle when doing work such as adds and tracing.
I'm a convert! Just a staple into the wood, then a simple Velcro tie! So good!
I am an electrical engineer in Germany. Before I could start my studies at the university, I had to do an internship for six months. Without this internship, I wouldn't know anything about the field of electrical installation. It is a mistake to think that the electrical engineer is an electrician plus knowledge of the theory behind it. By the way: wonderful to see how proud the father-in-law is of his son-in-law!
Germany's labor education training system is so well thought out.
This is a great comment. I think most of us see 'electrical engineer' and think it means 'electrician +'
This is why Germany is awesome! All my buddies in chem E asked each other if we had any real idea how to make stuff. It was a universal no. FyI, love me some Weha and Wera tools.
I'm a big believer that an electrical engineer should be REQUIRED to go out into the field at regular intervals and preform manual labor with electricians.
Doing so would help them understand that putting it on paper doesn't mean it can be done in the field.
It would also help the guys in the field understand why the engineers do what they do and the reasons behind it all.
I started in the field as an apprentice, worked my way through school, became a master electrician and then moved into the IT Industry where I have been ever since. Being able to speak the language and knowing how to perform the work that the electricians do for us gives me an advantage many others in my current field don't have.
Looking at your work I can see that it was well thought out and executed with pride, care and dedication.
Great job and thanks for sharing with us the fruits of your labor.
As a network engineer, I really like the use of velcro for cable bundles. It makes them easy to assemble/re-assemble for troubleshooting/replacement.
As a retired Design build builder of 40 years I appreciate this video . I also recommend that all engineers of all trades get the on the job experience and do the hands on work. It would make everyone’s life HAPPIER
As in machining industry . As well I was very fortunate to be R&D machinist . Engineers need to work as machinist so they understand you can draw it but sometimes it's harder to machine .
As an engineer I've seen it both ways. Engineers who dont understand how things are built and tradesmen who don't understand why their jury-rigged solution isn't acceptable. Honestly, I've seen way more of the latter and they're typically more resistant to being told they're wrong. The engineers I know will usually come around if they can be shown a reason why they're not thinking right about a given topic.
As a tradesman, I appreciate an engineer admitting he’s an engineer and might not know what he’s doing 😂😂
refreshing right
Working on construction, my arch nemesis is the proverbial office-bound engineer that has no practical construction experience.
Engineering (and architecture - the pretty stuff) makes or breaks the build and there's nothing worse than starting into a job with an unconstructable design that ends up bleeding the owner's and contractor's funds while the job grinds to a stop. Meaningful amounts practical, hands-on experience (read: more than just as few months of being an on-site intern) helps prevent that and I wish no engineering board would consider giving the title "PE" without it.
That has to be a first, I'm just guessing!
I’m an electrical engineer and I’ve done some electric work with one of the electricians at my church, just as a side gig. I knew nothing🤣 now I know a little
The creative process to design and then implement something hazardous and useful was so much fun I really do miss that it's over. Putting in the insulation was far less enjoyable. :-)
The network engineer that labels everything! Great idea, very practical
A great tip for any significantly sized (500'+) shop is to run two (or more) separate lighting circuits so you can have lights on while you work on lights.
Did exactly this is my shop. Was great to throw up temporary lights on one side, add it as a new circuit, and then use those while doing all the wiring and finishing work on the other side in decent light. Once the finished side had its light circuit on, that when I started the work on the other side since I could turn its power off.
Bought a box of modern cable staples (loose) the other day and they were utter trash, and no, it was not the monkey swinging the hammer. How would I ever had made a living if they had always been such junk? Very cool tool that is!
I have to chuckle a little when people say they’ve designed their household electric for the future. My parents built their house in 1953 and my dad being a construction worker planned the house with all the latest techniques for the future, their kitchen had an outlet on either side of the kitchen sink and an extra outlet on the ell. Lol Back then they had a toaster and maybe a coffee percolator, but you never really know what the future will bring.
One other thing is that you’re a young man and the older you get the more you’ll need that brighter light you’ve already installed.
Nice job on all the work that you’ve done and I’m glad that you found a way to enjoy that work, when you do stuff for yourself it should be fun and not stressful, no matter how many calls you got asking about your progress. Lol
Thanks for sharing and enjoy your new space on you move in!
As a mechanical engineer, I can relate to Ben's approach. It seems over done at first glance, but the beauty is in the fact that you can scale it up for really, really complex things, or scale it back. It's a way of thinking about how to solve problems, rather than just having to train extensively at one skill to become a specialist
Dude you my Dog. Thank you both for your knowledge and understanding. Your program is the truth. May God's grace remain with you always My Dog
Great video... Great tour... we love working with homeowners who have thought through what they want in their space, especially on the low voltage networking side. Some give us blank stares when we ask if they want multiple circuits in hop-scotch patterns around the room so that if you numbered the outlets sequentially around the room, that outlets 1, 3, 5 and 7 are on one circuit and that 2,4,6 & 8 would be on a separate circuit. "Why would we want to do that? won't it cost more in wire?"
Great job! And Kudos to your electrician friend for being willing to coach. Hopefully you paid him well for his time and expertise that he has spent a lifetime acquiring.
Wagos are a game changer in my opinion for all the reasons you said. I didn't know they had a probe point though! That's cool.
I've read that Wago are not reliable and have issues long term. Look at the tiny indent it left in one spot on the wire for the contact point. They also spin on the wire which makes me think there is not a really strong connection. Is it ok for a 9W led bulb? Probably. I would not use them.
I didn't catch if he was only using them on switches or everywhere.
I have been using them for years, professionally. They are a solid product with which I have had zero issues. Additionally, I know that they are the wire connector of choice for the motors at a local steel mill-and it’s unlikely you will get a harder life than that. I use them in my own home, and sleep soundly.
@@jeremylamarre5341Maybe I should have added a bit more info. I think they are far better than back stabbing an outlet if an outlet is pre-pigtailed with the screw terminals. The non flip tab backstab style (not what he used here) are also less desirable.
Brother, I feel ya about heights. That feeling where your body overrides your mind is very real and almost impossible to overcome. I discovered it about 6 feet up a 30 ft ladder attempting to clean out my gutters. 😅
Overcoming fear is HUGE. I’m building my own place right now, and found working on an 8:12 pitch roof absolutely terrifying… to the point where I wasn’t comfortable unless I had established three points of contact. Yes, even with a harness and roped off 100% of the time.
Not that I’m an old hand at it yet, but after a week or so I’m now running up and down this roof and able to focus on what I’m doing, instead of how I’m going to die. I’m 10x as productive and far less exhausted now, win-win.
That survival instinct has undoubtedly kept me alive before, but I had to come to terms with it being a hindrance. Trust is earned, and the only way to gain that trust is to do overcome by doing. Slowly and on your terms, but doing gets‘er done.
Good friend of mine was the CEO of one of the largest electrical, contracting companies in the United States, 15th largest according to the 2023 ENR rankings. For years, they’ve required every single employee to put in at least one year of fieldwork prior to going into the office and working as an Engineer, Estimator or Project Manager. Heck, even the people working in Business Development have all done their year out in the field. Unfortunately, a lot of recent graduates feel that working in anything other than an office type environment is beneath them and choose to work elsewhere. However, to the company, the knowledge gained in that one year is an invaluable component of the entire organization.
As a general contractor, who’s had the pleasure of hiring them on numerous high dollar projects, I can attest that the employees who work for them are by far the most knowledgeable of the numerous electrical contractors I’ve worked with in my 25+ years.
Same should go for automotive engineers, the consumers would get a lot better product.
Dude! Ben! Lot’s of respect on the scaffold challenge!
Thanks! It was a harrowing half hour! :)
That pat on the back after Ben explaining himself getting down from the scaffold finally was well deserved. Everyone has different things that intimidates and straight up scares them. And Scott saying you have to do something to get ahead on the job, it just hit hard. Thanks again for all you guys do. And the ones that do a good job in their trades, I appreciate it.
What an ideal son-in-law; smart, self-effacing, interested, enthusiastic. Great work.
I have seen many a professional tradesman do a complete and utter hack job. Often, they send some new-hire or apprentice to your job. I've seen pros who could not be bothered to put a level on a box, snap a line before drilling a dozen joists, or walk the cable out so it is not a twisted mess. I have also seen many amateurs do near flawless jobs. Careful workmanship is not assured by professional status, believe me.
Careful workmanship is not assured by licensure--for sure!!
Careful workmanship is assuredly assured by PRIDE in one’s workmanship.
No lies, I am jealous of Ben’s opportunity to do a build like this.
Maybe if I’m lucky my company will sell and I can do a brand new build of my own.
High voltage is usually everything above a 1000V so 120 and 240 is low voltage. Under 100V is super low voltage.
Looks really good still.
Let’s see more of Ben on the channel 🎉 great speaker!
Hearing Ben is a computer science man makes lots of sense. This is exactly what I’d want for a home office and I’m a computer science man myself
Yeah, as soon as I learned that there was a standard symbology for the electrical diagram, I went down that rabbit hole until I fully understood the language. Then I rebuilt the plans based on what I wanted using that language. CS FTW!
As a fellow IT-professional, I also really enjoyed planning and installing all of the electrical for my recent addition! My plans/drawings looked VERY similar to Ben's. The biggest difference is that I didn't install any low voltage (ethernet) lines because I expect wireless to reign in the near future and didn't want to be restricted to the throughput/speeds of current technology for my hard-wired ports.
It's something that I worried about too! Decided to go with known tech to hopefully get me through the next decade. :)
At least if you have cable in there and newer standards become desirable you can use the old cable to pull new cable through. Assuming you can terminate them well enough to achieve the maximum speed of Cat6, cat6a etc.
Nice job Ben. I'm sure there was a little well spent prayer time in that half hour waiting to come off the scaffolding. We all need that😊
I did say a little prayer, yes. I eventually realized that I really was going to be okay but was going to have to do something I didn't want to do. A strong lesson I feel like we all have to re-learn every now and then. :-)
I love you guys been following you forever
6:21 depending on the quality of the old school Toroidal dimmer or newer PWM dimming circuit used, you may soon come to regret your choice to have all lights on one circuit being too bright for most tasks that will require you to dim them to be able to work under them. Why you ask? Flicker! Most people didn't notice the flicker rates of dimmed incandescent lighting but we no longer use that form of 'hot wire' lighting. Solid state lighting, i.e. LED lighting is VERY PRONE to flickering. Cheaper off shore products cut corners and you often notice it when you dim an LED light because of the soft flickering. Again, most might not be bothered by it but if you are, you are screwed. You will end up doing one of two things, redesigning your lighting grid to be able to turn it on and off in stages to simulate the various levels of light intensity or spend BIG DOLLARS on proper LED light fixtures and REALLY expensive dimmers.
FYI, Lutron is still using 70's technology Toroidal dimmers and claiming they work with *most* LED lights but because of that ancient and wasteful technology, your lights are already dimmed 10 to 11% when you have them at full brightness because of the inefficient circuit.
The worst part is that Lutron claims their Toroidal dimmers can help save you money which is a white lie because while you could dim your lights to a lower level, the wasted energy needed to dim the lights plus the byproduct heat waste almost negates the savings. And of course Lutron has their shills, um, lobbyists, um loyalists fighting those claims in forums.
Those that require prism correction in their eye prescriptions will notice flicker rates in lighting more than those that don't. Anyone that sees cheaper Christmas LED lights flickering when they view them out of the corner of their eye or when moving their head side to side will know about that annoying flicker rate. That is caused because those LED string lights are using half wave rectification so you are seeing what is a 30Hz flicker instead of 60Hz.
Yeah I'm not dimming any lights via external dimmers, I also rejected that for the reasons you suggested. The dimming capability is built into the LED panels and controlled via a separate 0-10V slider. :)
You are blessed to have a great son-in-law like Ben! Like you, he does what needs to be done for his family.
This is a great video. Your son-in-law is obviously an outstanding educator. It is impressive that he went first to a master electrician for the layout and then refined and defined the objective. Too often engineers assume they know more than a tradesman and tradesmen understandably have little regard for pompous engineers. How beautifully the two can complement each other when a humble approach is taken. Ben’s attention to labeling, making circuit schedules, planning cable paths, locating equipment appropriately, etc. is commendable. I really like his concept of testing (an engineer’s ingrained habit) before the wiring is covered up. Engineer’s sometimes do not know the reason why a tradesman does something a certain way and the tradesman cannot reasonably explain the theory behind the methods he uses. Another example where cooperation and humility would be helpful. Still have reservations about those Wagos.
I like the connectors in the boxes. With all the modern technology, it's about time for these connection practices to be updated. Great job!
Connectors like that have been pretty much standard in Europe for decades, probably longer.
I didn’t really understand the redundancy here, its and extra connection, extra point of failure. You can remove outlets fairly easily but I guess this makes it a little easier?
@@michaelsmithers4900the wago shown has room for 3 wires, so its not an extra connection if you need to wire up 2 switches to control 2 lights
I feel Scott's pride in Ben overcoming his fear of heights. When I was in my 20s I replaced my parent's two-story roof and needed some help and my father had to get up on the roof to help at one point. I didn't know he was afraid of heights until he was up on the roof and when I found out I suggested he get down and his response was, "Don't worry about me, I know you need my help so I'm here."
That Milwaukee stapler is a really handy tool, our electricians were happy and showing it off when they got it. I wish my house had CAT6 everywhere!
No matter how well you plan -
There are never enough receptacles.
There is never enough lighting.
The HVAC is always inadequate.
The radio and television staions you want are always on the other side of a mountain, or so far away you are in the fringe reception area
At least, this has always been my experience.
Great job. You struggled, learned, and grew. Then, I had your work checked. Outstanding! And you somewhat overcame a fear.
Ben has a great on-camera presence. He should have his own RUclips channel. I really enjoyed seeing his attention to detail and practical application of his plan. Great video as always.
He reminds me somewhat of Scotty from Strange Parts
Ben.....yours was a very well presented, DETAILED, run through of your work; where, why, how. well done! (I've got my own "best son-in-law in the world"")....but I can see where Scott may be coming from! love you guys. Darrell
Building to overkill has its drawbacks beyond initial time & money expended. Yes, dedicated circuits reduce breaker trips & the few splices mean fewer potential loose connections. But too many staples turn later changes from minimally invasive tasks into messy projects.
No other trade is even in the same universe when it comes to how critical and persnickety they can be, when someone who isn't a pro showcases their electrical work. You could wire your garage to a level of quality that surpasses a SPACESHIP, and they will still be able to instantly point out things they see as flaws. It's really something!!
As an electrician your statement is flawed…
Part of growing as a tradesman is learning how to ignore the Peanut Gallery.
In Short. 30 Home runs to run 30 devices. Good job. Beast mode. You’ll get it done in 10 weeks instead of 20 weeks next time. Can just imagine what I woulda charged to do that!
I built a 24’x32’ garage with 5 separate circuits just for outlets. I have quads every 4’ with two circuits in each quad using 4 circuits and the 5th circuit is every 2 feet just at the work bench. I used different color outlets for each circuit so I don’t have to guess which circuits I’m plugged into.
My grand father, father and I all appreciate the electrician you are as we would do the same if we had a chance to build our own garage - the piece of mind this would give me daily is insurmountable.
Sounds like shit work I’d prolly pay you $50 & no more
I did much the same thing -- except for the colour-coded outlets. Instead, I have labeled every outlet with the circuit that it belongs to, and where it is in that circuit -- for instance, 1/3, meaning this is the first outlet out of the three that make the circuit. An excellent, practical and affordable labeler is the Brother P-Touch Cube.
Ben,
Hope your bruised shoulder heals quickly! Great job! All the best!
For the network cable shielded cable will help protect from emi from lightening strikes in the area. Also use gfi outlets for all of your electronics. I live in North West Wyoming and found that I was the only one that had a modem survive a lightning strike was due to the gfi tripping. The modem has survived for 7 years now.
"Save money where you can and spend it where you need to" at 17:27. The trick, my friends, is understanding which is which. I saved money by laying a 5/8 spruce plywood subfloor in my house, and my wood floors squeak badly. The staples just don't hold well. My new workshop has 3/4 Douglas fir plywood and THAT was money well spent. Live and learn.....
well done, thanks this was very helpful. im a computer guy myself.
I’d love to see a follow up video a year or six months after the building is finished to see what it’s being used for
Labels on the wire will not help you once the walls are drywalled. To complete your 'overkill' (as you said at the beginning) install a inside wall cabinet (like some panel box) or use an additional empy rack slot of your low voltage installions to store a file folder with all the drawings of your building. Add pictures and mayby a video of your walk arounds on a usb stick. Only with a dedicated place to store these items they will survive the lifetime of the building.
Love it. I have pictures of everything, including all walls and wires with labels showing, so I'll always have a document of where things are. If we sell the house, I'll pass it along. :)
This is something I wish I would have for my current house. It would make thing s so much easier when it comes to troubleshooting.
I agree - The building electrician at my workplace labels all outlets with the panel and breaker number on the faceplate. Makes a world of difference with an old industrial building that has been subdivided and reconfigured ten ways to Sunday over the last 50 years.
It is always overkill .......... right until it isn't!
Then it changes to "Good Planning"!
As a 62 year old working in the UK Electrical Utilities industry (for the same firm) I am interested in seeing how different systems evolve to do parallel tasks.
In the UK we would have run a ring of outlets (240v 13A each) .... or maybe two. If there was to be anything heavier maybe a 3 phase 415V outlet or two (if there was 3 phase to the building) and it would all just work well. No thinking about what you can plug in where, just wherever is convenient. And If it were mine there would be Many double outlets on the circuit! We apply diversity so you can have a row of sockets end to end around your walls should you want to, you would only ever have a certain amount of load you would be putting on and 32a would cover that easily. We would use 2.5mm twin and earth cable (not sure what the conversion is to freedom units). Our system gives you 4A per KW so you can run 8KW of plugged in appliances without overstretching things!
I am involved in frequent faults on our mains system where people are off supply until we do a repair and we tend to fit them a generator in the interval. A normal house can manage on 1800w if they are reasonably careful of loads (no electric showers or cooking) but we can up that to 6KW if needed (normally that would do 2 houses easily) ....... so that gives you some idea of how much you actually need, rather than what you want ;o)
Data transfer is not my speciality ...... but my home has a fibre system feeding into a router to give wifi. I did need a second router to boost the signal as the sounds of anguishfrom my 15 year old attempting to game through two double brick walls quickly got annoying ...... for both him and us ;o)
As I said, it is the differences that make it all interesting!
“Simplicity & Overkill” aka over engineered…
…absolutely my mantra: don’t complicate - simplify - and build to outlast
Thanks guys! 👍
I agree, if I'm doing it myself, I don't want to ever have to go back and do it again!
When we wired Dad's new 24' by 32' workshop, we put in four 20A circuits for recepts (one on each wall), with counter-height outlets every 4'. We also wired a 15A circuit for interior lights, another 15A circuit for exterior lights on water-resistant switches set up for 3-way operation (ie, can turn on/off lights on a side at each corner) and extra circuits for an evap cooler, for a 240V air compressor, and a 240V for a welder.
This has meant there's never a shortage for power in the shop, it's worked beautifully.
It's not overkill. Its expensive, and that is why builders put several receptacles on one circuit. Older homes, the electrical needs weren't like today, and the codes for atleast one outlet per wall, per x feet. Even now, codes change like haircolor, and now any wall with water on other side (sink, shower, toilet,...) has the outlet be GFCI. I did networking years ago, and learned never to have Category wire parallel to AC wire. Plus I did my first home with a trunk of RGquad6/Cat5e pairs and mmode fiber. Overkill, perhaps. But I moved and never got to light the fiber. Even today, we have APs aka access points for wifi. And products like Unity to install on walls, in closets and use PoE aka power over ethernet, so no outlets needed.
Great work from the both of you and look forward to seeing it all finished!
I was surprised to hear an engineer refer to a receptacle as a plug at first. Two different things.
When I first started working I was scared of heights as well. I was dragging a ladder around to nail off top plate. I was laughed at by the boss. Then I went to forming locks and dams. I was fortunate to start at low elevations. The last job I was on was 98 ft in the air. Somewhere along the way I was able to work fearlessly.
Wow! Had to have special tools for doing the things I used a knife for when I was doing it everyday
If you have a 240 VAC outlet for, say, an air compressor, then I suggest you wire that outlet with a contactor so you can turn it on and off with a low-voltage switch across the room, or with a timer. That way you won't be leaving the compressor under power when you aren't using it for long periods (since air distribution always leaks).
As soon as I saw the tubular nail protectors I search on Amazon and bought some for my ongoing kitchen rebuild. I hate regular nail plates -- why did I not know of these before? 😀
What a treat to get cool information delivered by a professional educator. Cool video for sure
That is a great video. To see a family work together and learning things about each other as you go is heart warming for those of us who are of a certain age...LOL
Socialogy and personal development gurus could use this as a case study for moving beyond those inborn fears and limitations to maximize your potential and enrich those in your circle. Congratulations Gentle Ben!
Having dedicated circuits for equipment is pretty common and often recommended. Personally, equipment like a table saw, it is best to run conduit or flex conduit so you can upgrade when needed. Say you get a deal on a 7.5 hp table saw and need 30 amps of 240, it may be half the price for a 2.5hp because people just cant run it.
WAGO will tell you the cable should be stripped 11mm before insertion. There’s a handy little line printed on the side as a guide for the non-metric folk out there. 👍🏻
Or, 7/16", in the units that put mankind on the moon...
Ben, very well done!
When I did my first DIY electrical job I too connected all of the devices and tested everything. I learned very quickly this is a big waste of time. It's far easier and faster to rough the box in and roll/tuck the wires before drywall then spend half a day to add your switches and outlets at the very end after paint. Congrats on the build! Looking nice.
Well done! I really like to see men taking pride and enjoyment in their craft.
Ben you do nice work I learn something new I never saw the southwest wire tubes they are nice the old Standard was a 3/4 hole and a nail plate. but you are wrong about the Milwaukee stapler. I divided 200.oo dollars by 1400 staples and its paying you ..
There's a whole lot of back-slapping going on here!
I am not sure the financial arrangement they had for the master electrician to do those plans but it is rarely mentioned on RUclips that you should expect to pay for those and it is money well spent.
Doing remodeling on my own, I have never regretted spending hundreds on tools to save tens of thousands in sub contractting costs. Your time is worth something too and if a tool gets you done faster or makes the process more enjoyable, definitely worth it.
Thanks for the awesome content and great video!!!
Sweat equity is priceless when the equity and work is done properly.
Regarding the sweat equity comments, the money saved by doing a task myself didn’t just go into more or better materials, it went into the professional-grade tools needed to do the task. Frequently, a contractor would quote me $1000 to do a job and I’d see that I could do it myself over a weekend, but I need a $600 tool to do it efficiently and correctly. I’d buy the tool, do the job, and end up with the satisfaction of completing a job myself, saving hundreds of dollars, and I’d have a nice tool that will cost me nothing to use on the next job. Now, over 25 years after that first fixer-upper we bought, I have a shop full of all of the tools I’d ever need to do whatever job interests me.
I dig the wire protection rings.
One of the things I would recommend for the next stage is to make the outlets for different circuits different colors. Ie white for circuit 1, gray for circuit 2, then black and off white. And at a glance you or a guest can easily see that you put the saw on white and it’s vacuum on gray.
Thank you Scott. I always get something from your videos, even if it's not what I came for.
I wish you had included a list and or link of the tool recommendations from Ben! I guess I'll have to watch the vid again, wish I had time to watch the vid again! BTW Great vid & info!
Just like Wagos are a step-up from wire nuts, "Cable Stackers" are a step-up from so many staples. You'll still need some staples, but not anywhere near what you used.
I only learned about those at the end! You're right, I totally would have used those had I known about them!
Good on you BEN using your engineering knowledge into the electrical trade to do what you wanted the way you wanted...the oeend result is surely priceless...and you got to overcome your fear of heights at the same time...😁😁😁
Must be nice to have infinite time and money for the project. Most of us need to get it done sooner not later. I'd love to know the additional cost of his "overkill" approach.
Great work! Love the "overkill and simplicity" motto. Maybe consider surge protection at the garage panel? Most are some sort of MOV design but there are others like SurgeX rhat use a different technology.
Im not an expert on surge suppression amd there are certainly differing opinions on what's best, but a common underlying theme is to have redundant levels of surge protection.
It's been fun watching this project come together, thanks!
I imagine Scott is a tough father in law to earn respect from. In this video I sensed honest respect from Scott to son in law.
When it comes to stripping wire, I much prefer the Ideal Stripmaster, they cost a little more, but they do so much a better job. The model number I carry in my toolbox is the 45-093.
nice job Ben
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
you should be very proud the project was very well thought to meet your needs and as a construction professional your work looks top notch
I do a little electrical work around my house to upgrade and replace old outlets and switches. I recently found out about the NEW design of Leviton E5601-MW Decora Edge 15 Amp Single Pole Rocker Switch, this has the Wago made into the switch to simplify the installation. Checking online shows only about one dollar extra per unit. I will be using them in the future.
Thanks so much for this tip. I do minor renovations and you can bet when I have to replace switches I will be using these babies.
Cheers from Alberta.
in germany, we have been using this spring mechanism for almost 20 years with the major manufacturers.
at sockets, light switches. meanwhile something similar at cee three-phase plugs. no more ferrules. at the cee plugs you don't even have to remove the insulation. do you have something like cee plugs or what do you use when you have devices that need a lot of current?
Absolute garbage switch.
When I built my house it only took a couple of days to run the wire, but of course there was no waiting around for people to inspect it. One afternoon I ran 750 ft of wire by my self. It is sad when a person can do better than a "professional". As far as engineers go, when my son started fitting, he would argue with engineers about their mistakes. Now that he is seasoned, he will tell them once and if the don't fix it, he will build them $100,000 worth of scrap.
You mean low voltage and extra low voltage. High voltage is transmission scale.
More is definitely better when you're doing a shop, always way easier to add a few extra receptacles up front and you really can never have too much light. Every time I've tried to do overkill on LED shop lights I've always inevitably come back and added one or two more.
I’m a retired master electrician and I have to say it looks like you did a nice job. You will likely find somewhere down the road that actually having an understanding of your electrical system will come in handy. I would have used some of the money you saved to install better insulation though, fiberglass is the worst performing insulation on the market these days.
i'm so glad you are covering ethernet and access points, america is tearabley ignorant on this stuff, it can be used for so many things, even with NO internet!!!!
Totally better to have more than enough and not need it than to need more and not have it. I totally love your design. Nicely done.
That's very interesting. I know just enough to get myself in trouble so I'm having an electrician out this week to wire my shop and then I'll put my sweat equity into the rest. I did pick up some handy tips though, so thank you!
you are a great teacher, thanks
great work! I am sure a couple of others have mentioned this, but I am guessing that you will be using that home lab to have some IT experimentation and fun. If the walls are still open at the time I type this it might be worth your time to go back and run some fiber from your server area to where you main work area will be.
Good idea. And run it through conduit both to protect it and to allow for future potential uses.
I love this!
Good video….good explanations….it would have been nice to have someone pulling some lines into boxes, stripping, connecting and even talking about NEC’s a little for the hands on vs theoretical aspects 👍
This old dog just learned a few tricks! And I’m buying those lever-lock connectors for my cabin build. Didn’t know they existed! 🙄
They are not a very tight connection for permanent install. I’m pretty sure he used them only for testing, before insulation.
@@chrismullin8304They are suitable for permanent install. Just make sure to get wago ones not some cheap knockoff brand
Sure wish Wago had been available when I rewired my 1940 farmhouse which had been added onto in the early 60s. Just make sure you use brand name lever connectors like Wago or Ideal. Slightly different designs but with all the same functionality and advantages over wire nuts.
Great job Ben! That romex stripper is awesome BUT Klein makes a MUCH better version - much more sturdy and stout. Same 14-2,12-2, 16/14/12g holes as well. It’s also yellow! I have both and the ideal one is just flimsy and crappy feeling.
Hey cool! Yeah this thing just plain wore out!