Wiremold: a review

Just finished a small job using Wiremold and thought I'd share my experiences with it.

The last time I used the stuff was a long time ago. I was asked to add a couple of outlets in a bedroom in an old house that had only one. Seemed simple enough.

Installation was easy, sort of. But even in such a relatively simple job there are pitfalls. The main culprit here was the instructions on using the stuff, or the lack thereof. What was especially unclear was what parts were supposed to go over or under what other parts. A better set of installation instructions is definitely needed here.

I ended up calling their customer service 800 number. After about a

15-minute wait, I got ahold of a real live human bean, who was able to answer my question--but only after consulting with other people there and opening a package of the same item I was using. In other words, he didn't seem all that familiar with actually installing the product.

So it's in, and it's working. But I can't say I'm altogether happy with the stuff. In particular, the open seams left in various parts--between channel and elbows, and in the elbows themselves--don't look all the pretty or finished. Which is probably inevitable when you install the stuff in an old house that has corners that no longer meet at 90°. I ended up using some of the little covers in the "accessory pack" I bought to cover the worst of the openings.

And, like most other things, even though it seems like a no-brainer to a DIYer for small projects, there are numerous tricks to using it that would make an experienced installer's work much better than a first-timer.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl
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I share your pain. I would rather run wiring in steel tubing, but there are occasions when tubing is just too industrial looking, so WM is the lesser of the evils. If you really want to bitch, try hanging a few Italian lighting fixtures

Reply to
RBM

On 1/22/2009 1:00 PM RBM spake thus:

Don't get me wrong; my overall take is that it's a pretty good system, well thought-out, modular and adaptable. Just needs a little tweaking in both the appearance and documentation departments.

Conduit (EMT) would have been totally unacceptable in this situation.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Where did you buy your WireMold supplies?

I went to the orange borg to see what they had. Limited supply of parts, mostly white, although I think I could complete my small project with what they had *if* I wanted white. Since I want beige, I was out of luck. Very limited supply, haphazard assortment, shelf labels (or lack thereof) seem to indicate that they don't even carry many of the parts in beige that they carry in white.

Tried the blue borg.

They don't carry WireMold, they carry a similiar product called CableHider. Unfortunately, their selection (in both white and beige) was even more limited than the orange borg.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

*LOL I can relate Roy. When someone calls me and asks how much to hang a light fixture I have to ask if it is from Italy. Those things just don't have any standard way of mounting. I would rather install Wiremold instead of Italian light fixtures.
Reply to
John Grabowski

*What Wiremold line did you use? The 500 and 700 lines seem pretty cut and dry and the catalog has some details for installation.
Reply to
John Grabowski

On 1/22/2009 1:59 PM DerbyDad03 spake thus:

[snip]

The orange Borg.

I had exactly the same problem. They had the "channel" in both white and ivory, but the only "starter box" I found was white. (It turns out you don't need this anyhow; just use the box meant to go over a box.)

I ended up getting all the stuff in ivory, but it took some hunting.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

On 1/22/2009 2:19 PM John Grabowski spake thus:

The 500 line. Hard to determine from the packages, though, which don't have that information on them.

Is this the "catalog" you're referring to?

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If so, it requires a plugin I don't have (RealRead), so it may be a while before I get to read it.

Do they have a printed catalog? (Heavens, how old-school! But I have the Simpson catalog in paper, which has a wealth of information.)

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

h

It looks like you can order a printed version or CD version here:

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

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*I have one of those old fashion paper catalogs. I assume that they are still available because the supply house has them. For future reference you can go to an electrical supply company and ask to see their Wiremold catalog. Ask if they have any catalogs to give out. Some supply companies have racks or shelves filled with all types of catalogs. Help yourself. You distinguish the lines by the part numbers. If it is three digit number beginning with a 5 or a 7 then the part is either for the 500 or 700 line. If it is a four digit number beginning with 57 then the part is good for both lines. As I mentioned in another thread the electrical supply industry works on part numbers. You can communicate much better to a counterman at a supply company if you have a part number.
Reply to
John Grabowski

On 1/22/2009 3:14 PM DerbyDad03 spake thus:

You can, and I did. I can hear the presses rolling as I write.

Thanks.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

They are not real common but a wiremold bender can be real helpful in making a neat job. When properly installed there should not be any gaps visible.

Don Young

Reply to
Don Young

on 1/22/2009 3:29 PM (ET) David Nebenzahl wrote the following:

How about an instruction video. It's about installing a ceiling fan, but the installation is basically the same. Not the Wiremold products. The ends are butted together and a a fitting cover installed over the joint to hide the edges. The OP probably didn't buy the covers.

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Reply to
willshak

on 1/22/2009 3:29 PM (ET) David Nebenzahl wrote the following:

How about an instruction video. It's about installing a ceiling fan, but the installation is basically the same.

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Reply to
willshak

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