ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Violation Photo Forum Bootlegging a Receptacle

There are a couple of issues raised by this sort of install.

The first is... well, flexible cord is one thing, and Romex another. Though there is no rule against Romex being run exposed, it just isn't usually done that way.

A commmon solution, pushed in handyman mags, is what Larry suggested; run it behind the baseboard. As I see it, doing so would also require the use of a steel plate to protect the entire length of the cable.

Romex does need protection where it pierces the wall; it's also likely that it is not properly secured to that box.

The plug is not designed to be attached to Romex. Having actually performed the tests myself, I can say that the plug does NOT provide adequate strain relief when used on Romex.

Is this method preferable to using an extension cord? Well..... let the discussion begin!

The main problem aside of the lack of strain relief would be the moving and bending of solid wire every time that thing is unplugged. Solid wire is just not intended for flexible use! Eventually the conductors might break and pose a fire hazard.

Though there are many people in Austria (namely trained pros) who use solid YM for extension cords... (at school we have such a beast running across the class room, stuck to the floor with duck tape)...

2 words... Wire-mold.

When faced with this situation, I have done two things- besides using Wire-mold.

In one case, I ran MC behind the floor molding, using a steel channel as additional protection.

The other way- one I did in my duplex- was to simply run pipe on the wall, using 4-squares and industrial covers. Before assembly, I painted everything to look nice in the home.

One thing to remember about this really old stuff is that you usually don't have a ground wire, the boxes lack wire pigtails to work with, and are too small for a GFI anyway!

NO NO NO!!

The way it's supposed to be done is wire up a plug to 16-gauge SPT-2 cord (the figure-8 stuff used for extension leads).

You staple that along the baseboard and connect the other end to a surface mount bakelite socket. Jeeze.

Must I explain everything?

When I go to the trouble to pull the baseboard off I also cut out the drywall, bore holes through the center of the studs, and run the new cable safely out of reach of the screws and nails. The reinstalled baseboard hides all of the sins.
--
Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous for general use." Thomas Alva Edison

In my great grandmother's (now deceased) old house, which was falling down, this is basically how the house was wired. There were recepts in the basement with cords going upstairs, into the wall, out of the wall to surface mounts. The upstairs was done the same way, plug it in downstairs, staple it to the wall up, and go through. The few lights were wired in the wall. All of this was ancient Romex w/o grounding wire and zip-cord extension cords. The whole basement where everything ran was wired up to date, however, with the exception of course of the wires heading upstairs. Some guy bought that house, gutted it, fixed the falling roof, and rewired the whole house.

Ian A.