Let us know how that 10 gauge installation works out for you. Should be very easy to do.:vs_worry:

 

Guessing this is your first time doing wiring.
14 and 12 are the wire gauge sizes, the number of conductors has nothing to do how there going to fit.
#10 is not going to fit in the hole for starters for good reason for starters.
You would need a 30 amp. breaker for #10, wire, how would that protect anything plugged into the outlet.
Wire would cost far more.
Far harder to strip and bend.
Give us an example of why this would be a good plan using #10 for a 20 amp. circuit.

 

#10 is not going to fit in the hole for starters for good reason for starters.
You would need a 30 amp. breaker for #10, wire, ..........

Actually 15 & 20A breakers will accept #10. It is done on rare occasions for voltage drop reasons.

 

Will 10 gauge fit? It just seems easier to run the biggest wire that you can use to future proof any changes you might want to make later.

There's that term again.

Is this a home? WHY would you need to "future proof" general use receptacle circuits??? Just run what you need and worry about the future in the future. If you need another circuit later you can run it later.

Bottom line is, by code with "typical" 15 & 20A receptacles you CANNOT have them on anything larger than a 20A breaker. Besides the fact that #10 would be IMPOSSIBLE to work with in most device boxes.
So unless you have a 5000 sq/ft house with only one panel location which would lead to very long circuit runs, just run #12 and be done with it. Hell, in a dwelling I still do a few receptacle circuits in #14 and most lighting in #14.

 

There's that term again.

Is this a home? WHY would you need to "future proof" general use receptacle circuits??? Just run what you need and worry about the future in the future. If you need another circuit later you can run it later.



I am trying to think ahead so I don't have to do it later.
Why do double work?

Bottom line is, by code with "typical" 15 & 20A receptacles you CANNOT have them on anything larger than a 20A breaker. Besides the fact that #10 would be IMPOSSIBLE to work with in most device boxes.
So unless you have a 5000 sq/ft house with only one panel location which would lead to very long circuit runs, just run #12 and be done with it. Hell, in a dwelling I still do a few receptacle circuits in #14 and most lighting in #14.

The specifications and instructions which are on outlet and switch manufacturer web sites will say what size and type of wire you can use.

Personally I do like to "over-engineer" things, but #10 wire is a bit much if you ask me. #12 is difficult enough to wrestle with!

^
Thanks.


I live in the suburbs of DFW. I plan on building a retirement home ( I am 57 now) in the country in a few years. I am weary of concrete and strip malls.

I don't want to build a new home and then 3-5 years down the road add something new that requires a revision that could have been easily handled at the beginning with a little prior planning.

I like the idea of solar panels and a Powerwall from Tesla. I don't know if it requires a wire larger than gauge 12 but it was only a thought.

But I want to be independent, even if I am tethered to the grid.

I have CAT5 wire in my house and now CAT7 is popular.
It doesn't cost anymore to install 7 than 5. Ditto for a larger gauge wire if there is any benefit.

That is why I was asking.

Thanks.

 

You cannot put receptacles on a 30a circuit. Now now, and not in the future.

 

30 amp breakers have not been mentioned by the OP. Just the wire.

Maybe he wants to able to change the box later and put in a dryer outlet in a bedroom or something.
That will be cool. Run the exhaust out the window.
Future proofed......

 

The specifications and instructions which are on outlet and switch manufacturer web sites will say what size and type of wire you can use.

Personally I do like to "over-engineer" things, but #10 wire is a bit much if you ask me. #12 is difficult enough to wrestle with!

 

Use conduit. Then you can pull out and change the wires in the future.

 

Conduit sounds like a good idea, especially for the CAT wire.

Running 30a wire to your 15 or 20 amp receptacles does not future proof them. You still won't be able to increase the amperage of that circuit to accommodate future add-ons.

Not for nothing, but if you're going to build a retirement home, my concept of that is to do it once and do it right, nobody wants to get into putting additions on when they're 70. Solar panels and a battery wall are all fine and good, but would have nothing to do with the gauge wire your home has on it's receptacles and lights.[/QUOTE]

It's just a little pre planning to save money before the sheetrock goes up.

I am mentally making a list of things that I want before the effort goes into the design.

Thanks.

 

Get yourself a little 10/2, 12/2, and 14/2 and build a couple duplex outlet boxes. You'll see real quick why you don't want to use larger wire than required. Larger wire means cooler wire under load and less fire danger. Your heart is in the right place but the NEC covers this with the current limits already in place for 12/2 and 14/2. Also, modern NM is safe for a lot more heat than 40-50 year old NM. Follow the code and you'll be safe.

Also, no one has mentioned your mention of 12/3. You only need 12/3 for 220v or for 3-way switches. But normally you'd use 14/3 for a two-way light switch.

 

Get yourself a little 10/2, 12/2, and 14/2 and build a couple duplex outlet boxes. You'll see real quick why you don't want to use larger wire than required. Larger wire means cooler wire under load and less fire danger. Your heart is in the right place but the NEC covers this with the current limits already in place for 12/2 and 14/2. Also, modern NM is safe for a lot more heat than 40-50 year old NM. Follow the code and you'll be safe.

Also, no one has mentioned your mention of 12/3. You only need 12/3 for 220v or for 3-way switches. But normally you'd use 14/3 for a two-way light switch.

Thanks!

 

Circuit breaker is meant to protect the wire; there is nothing that states you can't use bigger wire than circuit breaker allows. As far as specs go: 14AWG for 15A CB, 12AWG for 20A CB, 10AWG for 30A CB. Now, normal power outlets are intended for 15A or 20A power feed. There are special outlets for 30A CB.

Living in a townhome with 150A service and 15A wiring to each room I wish i had MOAR POWA in each room. In fact, if I ever build my own house, i'll put 8AWG wire with 50A service to each room, add 20A breakers for each outlet to have per code outlets but 50A of juice available in each room...

 

No reason you can't do that as long as you are OK with having a panel exposed in each room and maintain minimum clearance both width and in front of the panels. Also, you can't simply add up 50 amps of service to each room. You have to consider the total capacity of the feeding panel and your service. Of course you'd never, realistically speaking, draw anywhere that current in any room, not even in the kitchen and laundry so what you're saying is pretty pointless.

There are smart things that can be done to adjust to our modern electric world. I just replaced my main panel with a generator ready panel and, while I was at it, I rewired most of the house. In key areas, I just made sure that outlets were on two different breakers to not exceed maximum outlets per circuit. I have outlets on one circuit at each nightstand and a separate circuit in the middle under the headboard for plugging in an electric blanket. All of the accessible outlets are dual-duplex (4 outlets) because we always use more plugs these days for wall warts and I wanted hard-wired outlets as much as possible rather than outlet strips all over the house. Now I have plenty of outlets for TVs, DVD players, cable boxes, phone chargers, lamps, laptops, and alarm clocks as well as a few left over for whatever else may come up in the future. All of those devices draw such ridiculously low power that total use on any of those circuits probably never exceeds 1 amp. Those are examples of what, in my opinion, are smart changes in how we view electricity in the home. Just adding panels in every room doesn't offer the same kind of benefit.

I did the same thing at the desk area. Outlets under the desk and just at desktop height, again on multiple circuits and, again, plenty of them. Same thing at my network and telecomm panel area except that everything there is on a single circuit with battery and inverter backup. Still, lots of outlets, but not lots of amps; it's just not required.

 

Future proof... Here's an idea. Run an additional 14/3 to every switch or outlet location, cap it, mark it, date it, put your name on it and do not connect it on either end. If that doesn't satisfy you, pick a futuristic spot in each room and run an extra 12/3, cap it, mark it, date it, put your name on it and don't connect it on either end. Then 5 years into the future when everything is cordless you'll be happy the wires are there, just in case

 

1. Power transmission is never cordless. If you are thinking of inductive chargers, look at the wire connected to them..
2. if you are referring to wi-fi as cordless; do some research on wifi security. WPS pin HMM DISABLE IT NOW!!! Packet flooding to restart the access point and capture a handshake with authorized node... cant stop that if the attacker has powerful enough transmitter to cause your access point to reset connections....

 

Just build according to current standards. The house is going to outlive you anyway.

Our house was built in 1983 and purchased by us in 1987. Never had any problems out of the electrical.

A couple of years ago, we remodeled our kitchen. We needed more outlets and to relocate the outlet for the built in microwave because we moved it to a different location. I hired an electrician to do the work. An hour or two and he was done. And we are happy. The outlets in the kitchen weren't enough for all the appliances in use during holiday meals. Now with three more on a separate 20 amp circuit, all is good.

My only suggestion is to make sure you have enough outlets to serve a party. :biggrin2:

 

In all honesty, this is one of the more sensible answers i have seen. The fact that I want 50A in each room does not mean it makes sense for other 99.99% of people.

Code exists for a reason: to maintain safe wiring practices. You can wire up many different layouts all within code, which will have different price tag and serve different purpose. Put some thought into what you will need in the future, bounce that concept off the code requirements and if the price tag is within you budget, do it.

 

As an earlier poster said, constructing with flexible metal conduit into which you can pull nearly any wires you want, is the most flexible.
My early 80s So Cal home has it, although I think it was rare even then. Almost unheard of now, it's all romex for speed & cost reasons.

If I was building a new home, I'd spec flex conduit for both electrical and the data/network.
It's not a matter of spec'ing a hypothetical "cat9" copper, what if you wanted fiber optic or coax or some other medium?

 

I've been running 1Gbps on Cat5e cables for a while now. (less than 20ft however) My longer runs down to my switch in the basement are 100Mbps.

In my house, I have two Cat5e's and two RG-6s run from each room down to a "hub" in the basement. (Actually, each room as two of them so 4 Cat5e/4 RG-6s to each room).

It was all done by the prior owner.

 

Note cat 5 and cat 5e are different!

And distance matters. 20 feet length vs 100 feet length and lower specification [cat 5] may not work at all! (For streaming TV, I prefer cat 7 for a 100 ft. length. Cat 5 does not work at all.)

 

Edgar Cayce said that we would have something in our garages the size of a water heater that would provide us free energy from space.

He was right , if you put your solar system inverter in the garage and ignore all the panels on the roof.

He just didn't tell you how much all that equipment would cost to receive the "free energy".

 

When you build the walls will you be using 2x6?

 

It depends on whether I intend to add soundproofing or thermal insulation to those particular walls.

 

I have only seen metal studs used in non structural walls. They only carry the wall finish.

 

This agrees with my experience as well.

 

Load bearing steel studs exist, they are used more often in commercial than in residential.

The lightweight C studs used in partition walls are non load bearing.

 

The top choice is also smooth with rounded corners.
It costs money to do, so the price is higher.

Why they do that is a mystery to me to this day.
For guys making picnic tables?

Buy #1 or #2 studs from a real lumber store. They will usually deliver for free if your order is a good size.

Mine were rough as heck but the price was right and they were graded studs. There will be some warped ones in there but on a big project there is always somewhere to use them in shorter bits.

 

The top choice is also smooth with rounded corners.
It costs money to do, so the price is higher.
Why they do that is a mystery to me to this day.
For guys making picnic tables?

I never noticed the rounded corners. I 'll look for them the next time I visit the store. Maybe they are rounded for safety reasons to prevent knicks and cuts. Like they make rounded scissors for children.....:biggrin2:

Buy #1 or #2 studs from a real lumber store. They will usually deliver for free if your order is a good size.

Mine were rough as heck but the price was right and they were graded studs. There will be some warped ones in there but on a big project there is always somewhere to use them in shorter bits.

fire stops between joists?

Yeah, there is nothing more aggravating than having to cut a board because you need 6 or 10 inches here or there and don't have any cut wood laying around.

 

I haven't gone through all the posts so I don't know if anyone has discussed the dangers involved with what you plan, but you will end up with is a fire hazard on your hands.

10 gauge would not fit outlets and switches properly so the end result would be bad connection points... which causes heat, which causes fire.

The outlets and switches are also not built sturdy enough to support the forces involved in pushing them around in order to bend 10 gauge wire enough to get them into the various boxes.

Nothing wrong with "future proofing" but if not done smartly, it can turn around and bite you in the butt.

 

I'm jumping in here because I see a simple question asked and 78 posts already.

Receptacles come in many voltages and amperages. You need to read the specs on the receptacle you intend to wire to determine what wire size you need.

For many standard residential grade 120V duplex receptacles used in the USA they are rated 15A which requires a minimum 14AWG wire size. The can often accept up to a 12AWG wire size if you wire to screw terminals but are limited to 14AWG wire size if you "back stab" wire them.

You need to read the spec sheet that comes with the receptacle.

 

I'm jumping in here because I see a simple question asked and 78 posts already.

Receptacles come in many voltages and amperages. You need to read the specs on the receptacle you intend to wire to determine what wire size you need.

For many standard residential grade 120V duplex receptacles used in the USA they are rated 15A which requires a minimum 14AWG wire size. The can often accept up to a 12AWG wire size if you wire to screw terminals but are limited to 14AWG wire size if you "back stab" wire them.

You need to read the spec sheet that comes with the receptacle.

Thanks....that was concise and to the point..:smile:

 

The original was somewhat along the lines of "I am retiring my whatever, can I just plan for the future and use #10 wire....and the OP wasn't buying the "why would you ever do that" or the "WAY too hard to work with" answers and the thread went south from there to steel studs and "white wood" for framing! And btw, the old model back stab has been a huge no no for years now. And basically ANY duplex receptacle you buy in the US will accept # 12 wire either wrapped around the screws on the sides of fed up through the guide holes in the back and ending up under the clamps on the side. Ron