Ok gang I need some help here.

I am working on a project with 83 condos. Each floor has 4 units and there will be 4 floors to each building.

The construction is metal stud framing. What do I need to look for in pricing this out.

I have done alot of Commercial Jobs where we just stub up a 3/4" conduit up into the drop ceiling.

I am thinking that I would just wire this just like I would any other wood home just I need to make sure that I use Grommets when I punch the wholes through the metal stud. you help will greatly apperciated!

Thanks

might need to be in conduit depending on your city check the local codes.... in chicago it has to be conduit in a hi rise

in chicago it has to be in conduit period. you also do not need a license to be an electrician. You do need one to cut hair though.

Depends upon your local rules and regulations. Here in Vegas commercial AV tower projects must be in flex to steel boxes strapped to the metal studs with restrictions on bend radius and cable diameter that fills the conduit. Speakers have to be run with flex to fire-rated cans. It's going to all depend on your area and inspector.

suthngin, considering you are from South Carolina (home of Trademark Properties and "Flip this House w/o a building permit" crew) then I would say you probably don't need to run it in conduit.

I would suggest checking with the local building dept just in case though. You may also want to either invest or find a friendly electrician that will allow you to borrow or punch. If you have to drill every hole, it will take you forever.

ccording to the NEC 2005 you must run non MC/BX Cabling through the metal studs using some sort of gromet or conduit. THe outer sheathing on the wire can in no way be in contact with the metal studding WHILE running through it. We use a special hole punch that will punch a one inch hole in the metal stud. Then we buy yellow inserts made for a 1" Hole available at Home Depot. They are in electrical, usually hidden. As for the NEC code, I can't remember what section. Also, check local reg's. If the wire is not in "smokeless" conduit, you micght have to use CMP or Plenum Wire, which will about triple the price fo the wire. Also, iron out who will provide the telephone and Coax up to each conduit and run the cable and phone distribution from the main lines entering the building.

Mike

Mike

I would also check on restrictions regarding speakers in the ceilings. Even though code may allow it, I have seen condo projects where they forbid it due to noise transmission.

Yep, they might (if you can go in the ceiling) ---make you use fire-rated back boxes or cans... Except, possibly for the top floors, you'll probably have to go with in-walls... and may need to use noise cancelling (or should spec in) backboxes in the "common walls".
I know around here, they do insist on fire rated ceiling enclosures on a lot of multi story projects. I can share a real condo - ceiling speaker nightmare we ran into once, where we pre-wired for ceiling speakers... came back to trim them all out... and they laid 3 layers of sheet rock (for fire) over the wires... and then dropped down about another 6 inches, and had a double sheet rock ceiling, so there was like this air plenum in between. We couldn't see or tone our wires!
Also when they initially laid the 3 layers of rock, the insulators or rockers pulled out our speaker wire coils and pushed them up, so the insulation was on top of the wiring, no to mention all the wires pretty much had nothing to do with where we "mapped" them, when we wire-tied them to the ceiling joists! A REAL FUN TIME!!!
Those hole punchers are cool... do a few floors, and your bi-ceps will gain about 3 inches!!!

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