My cousin's house in Cali, Colombia is made of solid masonry walls (brick and concrete).

Most construction down there in that city is made like this (including interior walls), which results in VERY solid buildings. Reinforced concrete (and rebar) is very big.

Now, when they did the wiring for his house, he tells me he chiseled narrow trenches into the wall in order to lay conduit. The electrician then fished through the pipe and into the device boxes. All of the pipe is then plastered over.

Is this an acceptable thing to do also here in the USA?

I went to a high-school here in NYC where all the walls (exterior and interior) were cinderblock and all the original wiring was in-wall so I'm assuming it is.

What's the proper device box for solid-masonry walls?

I know handi-boxes are used for surface mount conduit runs, but what would be the proper device for in-wall conduit runs? Somehow I doubt a handibox is listed for any type of in-wall use.

I didn't open any of my cousion's receptacles or switches to see the boxes.

For the record, Colombia uses NEMA standard wiring practices & devices, just like the USA (it's a 110-volt country).

Thanks guys!! [Linked Image]