Stop running alarm wires next to Romex, it's not that hard

I keep seeing new guys bundle alarm cable right alongside electrical Romex in the same knockouts and conduit. Did it on a job last month at a strip mall in Aurora and had to tear out 80 feet of wire because the interference was setting off false alarms on three zones. I've been doing this for 12 years and I can tell you right now, even a few inches of parallel run will mess with your sensor signals. The manufacturer spec says 12 inches minimum separation but I do 18 to be safe. We spent an extra day rerunning those lines and the customer was ticked about the delay. Has anyone else had to deal with this from a previous crew's sloppy work?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy97527d ago

Totally! Its like folks skipping the manual on anything these days.

angela4327d ago

Totally reminds me of that time I tried to build that ikea desk without the instructions. Spent like 3 hours putting it together wrong, had to take it all apart and start over. Ended up with an extra bag of screws and a wobbly leg that still bugs me to this day. Its like people just assume they can figure stuff out or copy what someone else did without checking the basics first. But then you watch a 5 minute youtube video and suddenly everything clicks. Human nature I guess, always wanting to skip straight to the fun part without the boring setup stuff.