Re: how to fit x10 switches in a gangbox

["Armond Perretta" <newsgroupreader@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bill Kearney wrote:
> random735 wrote:
>> Has anyone else had this problem?  is there a reasonable solution? is
>> there a line of x10 switches that aren't so bulky?
>
> Yes, either rearrange the wires or replace the box with a deeper one.
> Neither proposition is easy.
>
> If there's a lot of 'extra' wire in the back of the box it's possible
> you could trim it a bit.  But most likely there's not enough to make
> it worthwhile.

I have 2 3-gang boxes, 1 4-gang box, and many 2-gang boxes in my home.
Almost all of  the switches in these boxes are X10 (SmartHome).  I spent
many a boring hour cutting back and re-arranging the wires in these boxes,
which are pretty much standard depth boxes with little room for extra wire
However in all cases including the 4-gang box everything fit in.  The 4-gang
box is referred to around here as my "masterpiece." I saved _it_ for last.

In several cases the common wires and some of the hot leads were cut way
back, twisted together, and connected to a separate piece of 14 wire that
was run out of the box.  Most of the leads from the X10 switches are
stranded wire, and I was able to connect many switch leads to the single 14
gauge wire.  This was a big help.

This is not something I would want to do more than once, and I doubt that a
professional installer would bother doing it this way considering the time
required.  There would probably be little payback for such a job.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare