I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are moving
a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials) The wire
is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room wall) with no
markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black sheathing: 1
black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground. I'm guessing
that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my curiosity...any ideas
on what it is?

Dick wrote:

I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are moving
a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials) The wire
is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room wall) with no
markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black sheathing: 1
black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground. I'm guessing
that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my curiosity...any ideas
on what it is?

14/3 w/G Romex (or 12 if not 14). It's almost certainly a carrier
between two 3-way switches. Also almost certainly you're correct that
the brown is actually red.

Get #12-3w/gnd romex wire and be done with it. You can extend #14 with #12
but not the other way around. #12 Romex seems to come in a yellow jacket
these days. Get the other sizes too if you are not sure, you can always
return the unopened packages.



"Dick" wrote in message
...
I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are moving
a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials) The wire
is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room wall) with
no markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black sheathing: 1
black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground. I'm guessing
that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my curiosity...any
ideas on what it is?

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Dick wrote:

I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are
moving
a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials) The
wire
is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room wall) with
no
markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black sheathing: 1
black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground. I'm guessing
that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my curiosity...any
ideas
on what it is?

14/3 w/G Romex (or 12 if not 14). It's almost certainly a carrier
between two 3-way switches. Also almost certainly you're correct that
the brown is actually red.

3 cond wire is often also used to carry 2 branch circuits to another room in
the house. This is permissable as long as the two branches go to opposite
phases in the panel.

"Dick" wrote in message

I'm guessing that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my
curiosity...any ideas on what it is?
It's a dumb idea. If you don't know what the wire is, how do you know if it
is the correct wire? Rather than try to save $4, let the electrician, who
is a licensed professional, do the job the right way.

"PipeDown" wrote in message
link.net...

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Dick wrote:

I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are
moving
a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials) The
wire
is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room wall)
with no
markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black sheathing: 1
black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground. I'm
guessing
that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my curiosity...any
ideas
on what it is?

14/3 w/G Romex (or 12 if not 14). It's almost certainly a carrier
between two 3-way switches. Also almost certainly you're correct that
the brown is actually red.

3 cond wire is often also used to carry 2 branch circuits to another room
in the house. This is permissable as long as the two branches go to
opposite phases in the panel.
And last, and most likely, it carries one constant hot and one switched hot.
In short, it could be any damned thing.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news:aXa6f.31$0V6.12@trndny06...

"Dick" wrote in message

I'm guessing that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my
curiosity...any ideas on what it is?
It's a dumb idea. If you don't know what the wire is, how do you know if
it
is the correct wire? Rather than try to save $4, let the electrician, who
is a licensed professional, do the job the right way.


I agree with Edwin. I've had customers who thought that they could save
money by going to the supply house to get materials and pay for it
themselves. I give them a material list and give them the addresses of the
suppliers. When I get to the job they don't have all of the materials I
requested, because the supplier was out, or there was a communication
problem between the counterman and the customer, or they couldn't get
everything in their car, etc. It winds up with them running to the supply
house while I am on the job waiting (With the meter running) for them to
come back with the right materials.

Since you have no idea what you need, you might as well let your electrician
provide the necessary materials. You may wind up paying for a full roll of
wire when all that is needed is a few feet.


John Grabowski
http://www.mrelectrician.tv

"Dick" wrote in message
...
I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are
moving
a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials) The
wire
is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room wall) with
no
markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black sheathing: 1
black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground. I'm guessing
that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my curiosity...any
ideas
on what it is?



Do you really think the electrician can't get the right wire ?
Do yourself a favor and just call him up and tell him to get what he needs.

If you can't trust him not to overcharge you for the wire, you should phone
someone else.

AMUN

Sure sounds like a bad way to save money. Let the electrician do the
whole thing. Otherwise if there is ever a warranty problem with the
job, it may be your problem.

Stretch

"Stretch" wrote in message
ups.com...
Sure sounds like a bad way to save money. Let the electrician do the
whole thing. Otherwise if there is ever a warranty problem with the
job, it may be your problem.

Stretch

Agree; the fact that it is "black roundish" and is perhaps #14 AWG is
worrying. Maybe it needs replacement?
It also betrays that the poster may get the wrong or inadequate materials
which may well include other electrical bits and pieces; an electrician will
know what to get.
No point getting into the middle of the job and then finding that a 'octagon
box' , wire nuts, cable anchors etc are needed.

Dick wrote:

I have to get an electrician to lengthen a section of wire as we are
moving a wall. (I told the electrician that I would supply the materials)
The wire is a black insulated roundish wire (running in our living room
wall) with no markings on it. There are 4 wires encased under the black
sheathing: 1 black, 1 brown(possibly very faded red), 1 white & a ground.
I'm guessing that it's 14 gauge but it may be 12 gauge. Just for my
curiosity...any ideas on what it is?

Let the electrician deal with this. It sounds like it could be a 220 line,
or high voltage (stove, oven, etc.) or a switched plug. You're talking a
minimal amount of money.

Rich
--
"you can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"