# from residential to commercial



## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

I always thought condos were residential.



Read the prints, read every line of the prints. Talk to the inspector. Tell him what you are planning on doing. Ask him for suggestions. Way down deep inside, a lot of inspectors are real people.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

Don't worry Carl, you are still doing Residential.


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## SparkyDino (Sep 23, 2013)

dronai said:


> Don't worry Carl, you are still doing Residential.


just more of it in one building :laughing:


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

karl_r said:


> My first job would be a condo project and I don't know what to expect.


 
How many floors (stories) is it?


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## karl_r (Nov 5, 2012)

five.five-six said:


> How many floors (stories) is it?


12 with a store at the 1st floor


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## SparkyDino (Sep 23, 2013)

karl_r said:


> 12 with a store at the 1st floor


sounds like the service/distribution end, & the store may be where you can learn some new stuff.

you'll be fine, good luck bro~:thumbsup:


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## Pete m. (Nov 19, 2011)

five.five-six said:


> Way down deep inside, a lot of inspectors are real people.


I'm not that deep and no we're not.:jester:

Pete


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Be more careful Karl. The transformers in that building are way more powerful so turn things off before you work on them. The little things you got away with in houses can become twice as deadly in large buildings. I am talking about arc flash hazards.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

residential is sensible to the service, then willy-nilly.

commercial is supposed to be sensible to the service, then to the subpanels, then willy-nilly. sometimes commercial is all sensible the whole way and everything is lined up in rows and columns (that's nice). 12 story condo is just a 1 story condo x 12, except for risers/feeders, lobbies and rooftop, and maybe some house stuff and fire alarm etc. And as others said, more power, transformers, etc. condos is probably the perfect place to transition from regular resi though.


just my take on it.
good luck with the new job.


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## karl_r (Nov 5, 2012)

wildleg said:


> residential is sensible to the service, then willy-nilly.
> 
> commercial is supposed to be sensible to the service, then to the subpanels, then willy-nilly. sometimes commercial is all sensible the whole way and everything is lined up in rows and columns (that's nice). 12 story condo is just a 1 story condo x 12, except for risers/feeders, lobbies and rooftop, and maybe some house stuff and fire alarm etc. And as others said, more power, transformers, etc. condos is probably the perfect place to transition from regular resi though.
> 
> ...


is there a feed for each floor? I guess I won't do the whole building alone. 
Probably I'll install lots of spot, CAT6 and small panels. 
What is a regular size for a panel in a modern condo?


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

karl_r said:


> is there a feed for each floor? I guess I won't do the whole building alone.
> Probably I'll install lots of spot, CAT6 and small panels.
> What is a regular size for a panel in a modern condo?


Cmon, put in a larger than necessary one. It is "Be Kind to Sparkies who Retrofit" week.....


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

karl_r said:


> is there a feed for each floor? I guess I won't do the whole building alone.
> Probably I'll install lots of spot, CAT6 and small panels.
> What is a regular size for a panel in a modern condo?


panels are sized to load. there's no one size fits all. there will be engineered plans.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

wildleg said:


> panels are sized to load. there's no one size fits all. there will be engineered plans.


Read the plans, your biggest challenge will be bidding it correctly. Is there a GFI on the main? If so, do you have a contractor to calibrate it?


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## Mate (Sep 5, 2009)

karl_r said:


> is there a feed for each floor? I guess I won't do the whole building alone.
> Probably I'll install lots of spot, CAT6 and small panels.
> What is a regular size for a panel in a modern condo?


Usually it's 125 amp panel for each door.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

commercial installations can fall into different categories
single phase and three phase.
if resi as what you have been doing you may need to study up a little for three phase
transformers as a refresher.
going from resi to industrial is a larger step, but valuable experience none the less.


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