Remember when we had to actually count wires for box fill?

Back in the day, I'd spend 10 minutes with a pencil and the NEC book, adding up every conductor and device. Now I just use an app on my phone that does the math in like 2 seconds. The switch happened for me around 2015 when a foreman showed me the app on a big apartment job in Phoenix. It's way faster, but I kinda miss the mental workout, you know? What's the oldest school method you guys still find yourselves using sometimes?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean_foster523mo ago

Forget apps, I still sketch my bar's floor plan on a napkin like @caseyw12 with his wire nuts.

tarab542mo ago

I worked at a place back in 2014 where the owner still hand-wrote orders on a notepad while we had a perfectly good POS system sitting there. He said the same thing about "keeping it real" or whatever, but it just meant more mistakes and longer wait times. Is a napkin sketch really that much better than a quick app layout? I get being old school but if it slows things down and causes confusion, maybe it's time to evolve a little. What happens when you hand that napkin off to a new hire who can't read your handwriting?

caseyw123mo ago

You mentioning the mental workout hits home. I still catch myself doing the old wire nut twist test by hand, like a caveman, even though I have a torque screwdriver in my bag. My brain just defaults to "feels tight enough" every single time.