wrote in message
ps.com...



Aha, so is removing the cover plate and then removing the
switch or outlet from the box is readily accessible, tearing
out the wall is where the line is drawn.

Sorry - don't understand what you're trying to say with the above.


I sure wish those boxes were bigger, or at least DEEPER.
I recently replaced a ground -fault breaker in a bathroom
and it was a PIA.

That's a problem with existing wiring. It's common to find old wiring that
used shallower boxes and in fact those boxes do not meet code for upgrades
to today's devices. Every box has a capacity rating and every element - the
wire, the device have displacements. If you can't stuff the GFCI into the
box you simply have the wrong box, not a problem with the size of the GFCI.
It does become necessary to replace those old shallow boxes with proper
sized boxes. So in short - you're right, it's a PIA, but the relief comes
from a new box.


I'm willing to bet that the number of homes that get that
inspection ever, let alone periodically, is about nil.

I'd suggest that more wiring gets inspected than you might think. Agreed
that a lot of homeowner rework and add-on work does not get inspected, but
more new work in existing structures does indeed get inspected than you'd
guess.


In an earlier article (not sure if its part of this thread or an
earlier discussion, someone suggested that for copper
wire it was better to terminate it on the screw, rather
than using the clamp. I assume he was referring to
switches and outlets. I find that to be well-nigh
impossible with #12. Is it acceptable to use crimped
lugs, with two lugs on the same screw? Or is there
really no problem with what Leviton calls 'back' connections?

#12 terminates on the screws just fine. Strip it back, pre-curl the bare
wire, slide it around the screw and give it a squeeze with the needle nose
and tighten the screw. It's done every day and it's no big deal. It's not
even a little deal.

That said, a lot of GFCI outlets now come with a clamp on the back and
screws on the side. You can wire to the screw as you would a standard
outlet, or you can stab the wire into the back and tighten that same screw
to clamp down the wire. This is not the same as the old, cheap back
stabbers that have been discussed here. This is a real mechanical clamp
that holds.


--

-Mike-