Flexible steel conduit.

Apr 19, 2010 14 Replies

Why do I have to go all the way to Burbank California every time I need a roll of 1 =BD=94 flexible steel (not aluminum) conduit. Why don=92t other electrical suppliers carry it? Why does Home Depot carry 2=94 flexible steel along with fittings for 1 =BD=94 but not the conduit itself?


One would presume volume of demand would dictate what they carry, particularly the general suppliers.

--

Does Burbank still require steel flex? I know LA started allowing Romex around 1980.

When was the last time you saw Romex in an office building? Don=92t people deserve the same quality in their home as in their place of work?

Office buildings often use steel studs.

Not usually. When they use steel studs, isn't metalic sheathed cable required?

What you think is flexible metallic conduit in an office building is really metal-clad cable with the wires already inside of it before it is installed...

The bigger question here is what on earth are you installing in your house that requires 1 =BD=94 conduit or raceway to contain it ? Such cables and conduits are much more common in commercial buildings because of a need to run many more parallel circuits from the same panel to the same area served in an efficient manner...

~~ Evan

It is hard to find anyone framing houses in wood here in Florida. The outside walls are block and the interior walls are steel. Framers go faster with steel and they don't have to worry about warped wood. Obviously termites, rot and mold are not a problem.

You use a plastic grommet and pull in Romex, just like you do with wood. It is actually a lot faster because you can snap in a grommet a lot faster than drilling a hole. If you use smurf tube, (ENT) you don't even need the grommet

They're still wood here in Alabama. There's a house bring framed out behind me and they're actually using hammers! I thought they were obsolete.

Didn't know that, thanks.

First you were talking about the lack of availability of flex steel conduit outside of Burbank. Now you're lamenting about the difference in requirements (or customary practice) of materials for residential vs. office buildings. The big box stores tend to carry the materials do-it-yourself homeowners need for their residences.

The only time we see wood is in a load bearing wall but most houses are block with trusses so the interior walls are only partitions.

:

No trusses here either. I guess we're far enough away from the gulf so hurricanes aren't the same problem as where you are.

Molly Brown posted for all of us...

NO! Not like the black hole that I work in... I want better.

--=20 Tekkie Don't bother to thank me, I do this as a public service.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required