# 2104 Box Fill



## Speedy Petey

Some guys just love those tiny metal boxes. FOr the life of me I don't know why.

I love those non-compliant loops of cable too. Looks like just a bit more than 12". 

Doesn't your inspectors even notice this stuff???


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## TOOL_5150

yeah, whats with the stupid loops.

~Matt


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## 480sparky

Whatever happened to 334.30?


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## user4818

Don't you have plastic boxes in Canada, eh?


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## mikeg_05

the wire seems kinda glossy too, must be the flash. Perhaps canadians don't believe in plastic boxes, they are pretty hard core dudes, eh?:whistling2:. The only time we leave loops in boxes like that are when they are next to a towel closet in a bath. End up moving the son of a  on the trim. We seem to never get the right cabinet layout on the RI for some reason


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## user4818

Here's another question for you Canadian guys...why does the CEC require plastic boxes to have a grounding strap and grounding screws?


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## gardiner

I really hate to say this about that type of workmanship but in Alberta I have found in residential I suspect due to the lack of properly licenced journeymen (most work residential only for short period just long enough to get into the oil field) some projects are being done totally by green apprentices with little or no supervision, or by electricians not yet licensed to Canadian standards using the standards they are used to in thier home country. How they keep getting away with this at inspection time I have no idea. 
I had two sent to the company I work for a coupe of years ago by social services the deal was they worked for us for three months (free) then they could write for an Alberta Licence if they passed that and had more then five years experience they were then allowed to go after their Masters.


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## personal

*metal boxes*

Dont know why guys are still using the metal boxes still. The plastic are easier to install, larger, & less blood shed. Dont need to install crappy plastic bags on boxes on exterior walls, just use the airtight ones. It comes down to price and being old school I think. If they can save $100 bucks on the r-in they will. Usually the guys installing the metal boxes are also the ones cutting corners elsewhere on the job. As soon as I started up on my own i've used plastic boxes. Will never go back.


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## cdnelectrician

I HATE plastic boxes! Never liked them. I always use the boxes in the pictures above. I also always leave loops at my boxes, maybe not that big but I always leave a little loop. Just enough so that if a drywaller comes along with a rotozip or a drywall knife and he cuts my wires I can always pull a little extra into the box. Usually I will never have more than two cables coming into a single gang box anyways, if you lay everything out properly during rough-in then there is no need to have 3 or 4 cables in a single gang box. The other thing I always do is screw the boxes to the stud from the inside of the box and I never use nails, makes it really easy if you need to move it later. Keep in mind when I did do residential it was all custom high end stuff, not cookie cutter houses so the extra time spent doing all that was always covered.


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## Bkessler

cdnelectrician said:


> I HATE plastic boxes! Never liked them. I always use the boxes in the pictures above. I also always leave loops at my boxes, maybe not that big but I always leave a little loop. Just enough so that if a drywaller comes along with a rotozip or a drywall knife and he cuts my wires I can always pull a little extra into the box. Usually I will never have more than two cables coming into a single gang box anyways, if you lay everything out properly during rough-in then there is no need to have 3 or 4 cables in a single gang box. The other thing I always do is screw the boxes to the stud from the inside of the box and I never use nails, makes it really easy if you need to move it later. Keep in mind when I did do residential it was all custom high end stuff, not cookie cutter houses so the extra time spent doing all that was always covered.


I have been using metal boxes in all my remodel kitchens, usually with a with a one size bigger plaster ring than drywall going up.


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## mikeg_05

cdnelectrician said:


> Keep in mind when I did do residential it was all custom high end stuff, not cookie cutter houses so the extra time spent doing all that was always covered.


Someone has to wire houses that middle class america lives in

Sorry off topic


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## cdnelectrician

I realize that...I suppose if I really had to use the plastic boxes I would, I still really don't like them. I was just pointing out that I was able to justify the extra time using steel boxes to the customer because plastic boxes are just junk. Just my opinion though! Here in Ontario you don't see a lot of guys using plastic boxes at all.


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## mikeg_05

right on:thumbsup: whatever floats your boat


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## matapus

I hate the fiberglass boxes. Monday morning and my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, one wrong swing of the hammer and the thing cracks to pieces. As for metal or plastic, each has their own advantage for certain situations.


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## thekctermite

matapus said:


> I hate the fiberglass boxes. Monday morning and my coffee hasn't kicked in yet, one wrong swing of the hammer and the thing cracks to pieces.


True, but some of the fiberglass boxes can help you get away with things that you can't with plastic. Allied Molded has some of their boxes listed to be closer than 24" horizontal separation in a firewall for instance. They also have a 3 gang that you can put in a firewall that would normally violate the 16 square inch penetration rule. You can't do that with any other plastic box I've seen!


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## scott_8222

Here in Edmonton all I have seen is metal boxes. When installed properly they seem to have more strength to them. Leaving loops is pretty common as well expecially due to the lack of drywallers and the people used to fill the void. On a second floor of a "cookie cutter" house all the 6/32 tabs used to fasten the receptacle were taken off by the rotozip!!


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## Cerrak

We seem to use metal boxes here in BC as well. You can find a lot of plastic boxes at the home builders center, but our electrical supplier mostly carries metal.

The metal boxes are cheaper than plastic. Not sure which I prefer, use both of them, depending on what project Im working on. Use plastic when doing reno work in Residential basements, but use mostly metal everywhere else.


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## william1978

I always thought that bigger was better.


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