All Forum Posts by: Saulo Queiroz

Hey @Rick Santasiere sorry for the delay. What @Brian Pulaski said is correct. You use normal outlets (duplex or decorative except for GFCIs) and you just break the tab (bridge) connecting the two screws on the hot side of the outlet (The copper screw) but don't do the same on the neutral side (silver screws). The basic concept is that they run a 3 wire (black, red, white) to the outlet, and the black is constant power and the red is being cut off from the switch, so when you break the tab half of the outlet will have constant power and the other half will be controlled by the switch. The easiest way to find this now will be to open the outlets and look for that red wire.

I should mention though that there is another way to do it. If the house is older, there's a chance that all outlets have 2 wires (black and white), but one of the outlets they did what is 

@Anthony Angotti got it haha, you can buy a "fan box" which can hold heavier fixtures and are required for fans. They have thicker screws than a normal box. Usually at places like home depot they will say something like Fan box with a Saf-T brace. They have it for both new construction (where you screw cross bar to joists) or remodel (where you make a normal box hole and then spin the bracket and it extends until it grabs the joists. You will need a wrench). If there is a joist in the center of box, they also sell a fan box that is a pancake size and goes under the joists. Just make sure to use galvanized screws.

@Anthony Angotti so if I understand it correctly you already have something in the ceiling, and just need to replace the box?

Yeah @Ned Carey prior to owning my electrical company I have about 10 years of tax returns from 2 companies, but I guess I just have be persistant and try at different places.

Thanks @Harjeet Bhatti

@Kenneth Cowan it seems like I'm not allowed to post a link...guess you can go to Youtube and search for Smart Electrical Solutions. I just started creating them so don't have much up there yet. Trying to figure it out the best way to do it.

@Andrew B. especially with older homes a 2-wire cable (14/2, 12/2) was ran from switch to fan instead of a 3-wires (14/3, 12/3) but to know that you would have to take the fan down to look into the box or the switch. To fix it you have to either run a 3 wire from switch to fan where the black would go to the light and fan to red, and each of those colors would go to a different switch.

A quick fix is to get one of those remotes control for fans they sell at local supply houses. Basically do a search online home depot and you will see it. The device goes between the box in the ceiling and fan. The black wire from box goes to the device and the device has a black and blue wire which you can connect to light and fan, then just leave your switch on all the time, and just use the remote control that comes with it. 

@Craig Bellot from what you are describing it sounds like it is the main breaker to that apartment that it tripping, correct? A rule of thumb is to keep the constant load(devices that are on often) to no more than 80% of the main breaker's capacity. So let's say 80% of 200A would be 160A. If that's the case then only a service upgrade would fix it. Now if we are talking individual breakers then what @Johann Jells said applies. Each of those appliances need their own circuit. You can basically apply that 80% rule to each circuit as well. 

@Filipe Pereira perhaps the smoke/co is low voltage connected on the fire alarm. I used to be a supervisor for a company that built most of the 80-350 apartment buildings in Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury, and all of them would have hardwired smokes in each apartment as well as the fire alarm smokes out in the main corridor and stairs. A new building in CT won't get their CO without that. I had to walk with fire marshall and inspectors to test every single items, and even if smoke beeped weird they would fail that inspection

@Johann Jells the interior decorator was there because I also do lighting design as an electrician clients will show me what they want and I have to come up with lighting for high end homes that will create the atmosphere and look desired by the homeowners. I will take that out for lack of future confusion.

 Anyways to your question. That isn't on the National Code Book but on the the NFPA 72 (Which stands for National Fire Alarm and Signaling code) has a requirement that smokes have to be installed inside each bedroom (they say sleep rooms in case people transform other rooms into bedrooms) even for existing homes in addition to requiring them outside each sleeping area and then one on each level of the home that is a combo carbon/smoke (Additional smoke alarms are required for larger homes.) Now houses built to earlier standards often don’t meet these minimum requirements. The local town inspector will have to enforce it though.

Thanks @Samantha Magina I will give that a try.

@Harjeet Bhatti yes, last year I did file a tax return for 2016 on my company while on the W2 job, but still halfway through 2017 so I have around year and a half, but company has been doing well, making way more, and can show that.