Structurewall Technical Information Wiring Details #S-2.1

Wiring a Winter Panel Home

Properly wiring a Winter Panel Home is not difficult, but it does require using nonstandard practices. The techniques described below are for exterior walls. Interior partition walls are framed in standard fashion, with stud walls providing the wiring chases.
To simplify your wiring, try to make use of interior walls wherever practical. All wiring to upper floors should be run in interior wall cavities or separate wiring chases. Long horizontal runs of wire for the first floor are best run in the basement, with short upward extensions for receptacles and switches. Horizontal runs for upper floors should be carried in the joist cavities.
Several alternative wiring techniques are described below.

1. Concealed Panel Wiring

The most common technique for running electrical wires in Structurewall panels is shown in Figure 1. Horizontal wiring runs are carried in the basement (or ceiling joist cavities for upper floor wall panels), and short upward extensions for outlet receptacles pass through the panels. Wiring is done before drywall and final flooring are installed. Detailed procedures follow:

Measure along the wall fear outlet placement, as per code, and cut holes for the receptacles at the required height. You will need to cut through the inner waferboard skin and rout out foam to the proper depth (remember that drywall will be added to the wall; the receptacles should end up flush with the drywall).
In the floor below, directly under each receptacle hole, drill an upward-angled ¾" hole through the outer joist and inner skin of the panel.
Use an electrician's "fish" from below and push up through the foam. Do not push the fish further up than is necessary. If the fish does not end up in the cavity routed for the outlet box, an assistant should probe in the foam from above. It will take a little practice to become proficient with this, but after a while it is quite easy.
Attach the wire or wires to the lower end of the fish and pull them up to the hole cut for the box.
Connect the wires and secure the receptacle to the waferboard with Madison straps.

Figure 1. Concealed panel wiring. The wiring for wall outlets is completely enclosed within the panel.

2. Vertical Rout Wiring Technique

An alternative wiring technique involves making a downward vertical rout through the waferboard from the outlet box as shown in Figure 2. This can be done after panels are installed, but it is easier if the panels are pre-routed before installation. Use the following procedure if panels have not been pre-routed for wiring chases.

Figure 2. Vertical Rout Wiring Technique. The inner surface of the stresskin panel is routed vertically to produce a wiring chase.

Cut hole for outlet box in waferboard and rout out foam.
Rout through the inner waferboard skin and foam vertically down from the outlet box to the floor. The groove should extend approximately 2" into the panel. You will be unable to rout the groove all the way to the floor level.
NOTE: ROUT PANELS VERTICALLY ONLY. DO NOT ROUT HORIZONTALLY, BECAUSE IT WILL DAMAGE THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE PANELS.
From the floor below, drill an angled hole upward through the band or edge joist into the wall panel underneath the receptacle and routed groove. The hole should not penetrate the floor at all. You can connect this hole with the routed channel using a short section of pipe, or you can simply push the wires through.
Pull up enough wire from the lower level to connect the receptacle. Set the wires far enough into the routed groove so that trim nails or drywall fasteners cannot hit them, then secure them in place with a bead of foam sealant (low expanding type). Drywall and the baseboard will cover this.
Install the receptacle and secure it to the waferboard with Madison straps.

To pre-rout panels, use a plunge router with the depth set at about 2". Rout vertically along the inner surface of the panel from the receptacle location down to a point about 4" above the bottom of the panel. Remember, you can only rout panels vertically, never horizontally. With pre-routed panels, you can drill straight into the wiring channel from below.

3. Door Jamb Wiring Chase

Wiring along door openings for switches, thermostats and wall lights (both exterior and interior) is most easily installed before the rough door openings are closed in with 2x4s, as shown in Figure 3. Use the following procedures:

Cut a hole through the waferboard skin for the receptacle and rout out the foam to the proper depth for the box. For exterior lighting fixtures, receptacles may not be required, in which case holes through the waferboard will suffice.
From the floor below, drill an angled hole up through the band joist into the panel at the edge of the rough door opening and push a length of wire through. The wire should come up at the very edge of the routed groove for the 2x4 so that it will not be damaged when the 2x4 is installed.
Use a short section of pipe to make a horizontal chase from the door opening to the receptacle, or simply push the wire through the foam. The wire should be about 2" in from the inner panel surface to avoid possible damage from trim nails and drywall fasteners.
Install the receptacle making sure that it extends out the proper distance for the drywall that will be installed later, and secure it to the waferboard with Madison straps.
Install the 2x4 framing around the door opening. This embeds the wire firmly and safely into the foam.

Switches, thermostats and wall lights can also be wired after door openings are framed in. Cut an entry hole or a vertical rout, 1' high by 1" wide, through the inner waferboard skin halfway between the floor and receptacle height. The hole or rout should extend approximately 2" into the panel.

Using the techniques already described, extend the fish up to this point from the floor below. Then reinsert the fish and guide it up to the receptacle height. For very high receptacles, several routs through the inner waferboard skin may be required, with the wire extended in stages. Remember: only rout vertically through the waferboard; never horizontally.
After the wires are installed, secure them in place with foam sealant. Drywall will cover the penetrations in the waferboard skin.

Figure 3. Door Jamb Wiring Chase. Installing wires into the panel edge before the rough door opening has been framed in is the simplest alternative for wiring switches, thermostats and wall lights.

4. Surface-Mounted Wiring

Surface-mounted wiring is a simpler alternative for wiring, and it can be done after the drywall has been installed. Use special pre-formed channel (wire mold), which contains the wire and mounts directly on the wall surface (see Figure 4). Wire mold is available in metal or plastic from most electrical suppliers, along with all the necessary fittings and elbows for your particular applications.
Surface-mounted wiring has been used for decades in commercial buildings, but only recently has it made its way into houses. Most homeowners have not wanted the wiring to be visible. Surface-mounted wiring is becoming more acceptable, however, particularly with the availability of more attractive wire mold.
A big advantage to surface-mounted wiring is the ease with which modifications can later be made. This may be an important consideration to some homeowners.

Figure 4. Surface-Mounted Wiring. This is a very simple wiring technique that can easily be modified later. Homeowners may not be willing to have exposed wire mold, however.

5. Baseboard Raceway

This technique is gaining popularity with some Winter Panel Home builders. A specially-made baseboard is used that extends out from the wall at least an extra ¾", providing a chase for wiring (see Figure 5). These baseboards are usually shop-manufactured and cut to length on-site.
Receptacles are inset into the baseboard and usually a short distance into the drywall and Structurewall panel as well. Because the receptacles do not penetrate far, if at all, into the insulation, the integrity of the insulation is little affected with this wiring technique. Wires should enter and exit the receptacles through the ends rather than back or sides.
A slight variation of ties technique makes use of surface-mounted, low-profile, baseboard hydronic or electric heating units manufactured in Europe (available from Danex, Inc., Route 23, Box 66, Acra, NY 12405). These baseboard heaters, which stand out little more than a wooden baseboard, carry relatively low-temperature water or electric resistance heating elements along the full perimeter of a room. They have built-in wiring chases, making them well-suited for wiring stresskin panel houses.

For More Information

Additional information on wiring and other details relating to the construction of Winter Panel Homes are available from the company.

Figure 5. Baseboard Raceway. This increasingly popular wiring technique involves running wires in specially-made hollow baseboards or European heating elements.

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