[EdwardButters]

Hello,

I am re-wiring an old house with plaster walls. The 1st floor is gutted and the 2nd floor is not. I ran all the wiring for the 2nd floor from the box in the basement (not hooked up) to their spots in the walls. I cut rectangle holes outlined with a plastic box in the spots where the receptacles and switches will be. So I have all the wires in their spots but now I am confused as to which boxes I should install in the wall. Plastic or metal? Does it make a difference? What would above code method be?

Thanks for reading, you guys helped me out big time with my last questions!

 

[Daniel Holzman]

Unless you live in a special code district, which only your local wiring inspector can tell you, either plastic or metal boxes are code compliant. Personally I like the plastic boxes with a screw that allows you to adjust the depth of the box, makes plaster work easy.

 

[EdwardButters]

Thanks Daniel! I live in Pittsburgh. On the blue plastic boxes...do I just cut out the little flap to open the hole to put the wire in? Or are these not the correct box?

 

[Stubbie]

Thanks Daniel! I live in Pittsburgh. On the blue plastic boxes...do I just cut out the little flap to open the hole to put the wire in? Or are these not the correct box?

Your describing carlon zip boxes I think. You need to link us to the type of plastic box your using. Plastic is preferable in my opinion for old work.

However you obviously haven't done this before and doing electrical work as a DIY before you do your research generally comes back to haunt you ....

 

[hyunelan2]

Just push down on that little flap with your screwdriver to pop off one side and it will allow you to slide the wire in. I believe on 2+ gang boxes, they are made to hold the NM-B wire in place, whereas a 1 gang box they simply break off. You don't need to clamp the wire to the box though, as long as you staple it within 8" of the box, it should meet code (check local code restrictions).

 

[Jim Port]

Old work boxes have a cable clamp to secure the wires, even single gangs.

Wiring that is fished into the wall is not required to be secured where it cannot be accessed.

 

[brric]

Metallic or plastic, the deeper the better, IMO.