Call me crazy, but I like things that are effective, yet still simple enough for me to install myself (whenever possible). That’s why I’m so intrigued with the Electra-Base Baseboard Raceway. It’s a baseboard-replacing wire channel that lets you drop in outlets wherever you need them, but get this – the outlets are “wired” via a special extension cord, so there’s no electrician needed.

Here’s how it works: to install Electra-Base raceways, you remove your existing baseboard, cut Electra-Base down to the exact length you need with a hand saw, and stick it into place with its pre-applied adhesive backing (the stuff it strong – you won’t need any nails or screws, so no wall damage). Once the base is in place, if you do want to add a power outlet (that’s optional), this is where you add the (also optional) 10 foot cord with plug, which is basically an extension cord that plugs into one of your wall outlets on one end, and has a 2-outlet receptacle at the other, which snaps into a bezel opening in the raceway to create a standard duplex outlet.

Finish things off with corner and joint fittings, end caps and access connectors, and you have a complete, professional looking raceway that puts power where you need it. Even with the power cord in place, you’ll still have plenty of room left in the raceway for multiple low-voltage home theater and Ethernet cords, so all you’ll see is baseboard, not decor-detracting cable clutter.

Pouring concrete over conduit or wire duct.

Yikes. Just think about it – vital wiring for a soon-to-be building, all buried beneath a hard, thick layer of concrete. The tough stuff may be great for protection, but if anything slides the wrong way under the weight of the concrete being poured over, around and through it, who knows what could happen. All I can say is that you don’t want to be faced with troubleshooting once the concrete is in place. So how do you prevent any tragic mishaps?

One excellent way would be to use Ipex’s Vertical Lok™ Electrical Duct Spacers before the cement mixer pulls up. Designed to act as a sturdy frame to hold rows of conduit firmly in place, these spacers help duct formations stay properly stacked and in line, even under the pressure of pouring concrete.

Unlike some prefabricated duct support systems, Vertical Lok™ spacers come in individual sections, so that they’re easier to transport to, and handle on, the jobsite, and let you build a spacer configuration that exactly fits your needs. Featuring a tight fit and plenty of spaces to accommodate reinforcing bars, the Vertical Lok™ system gives your duct and conduit superior strain relief, so you don’t have to worrying about things bending, buckling, or being forced out of shape. And it doesn’t even require any special tools for assembly. This is one of the best “oops” preventers I’ve seen in a while.

Floor-level cords are a notorious tripping hazard even for people who are able to get around without any trouble. But add things like wheelchairs or crutches into the equation, and those cables not only become an obstacle to roll over, but also threaten to snag walking aids, which can cause the individuals using them to lose their balance and fall. Not to mention that rollovers and pedestrian trampling of any kind can crush and otherwise damage the cables. It’s a situation that you can’t ignore.

Several cord protector manufacturers have solved the problem of ADA compliance in the presence of floor cords (and even hoses and air lines) by creating a variety of heavy duty polyurethane cable covers with gently sloped sides that are textured for traction and accommodate wheelchairs without a problem. They’ve also come up with modular rails that can be attached to ADA-compliant cord protectors to create clearly marked crossing points that have the added advantage of providing hand-holds for people who’d like a little extra stability.

These are all outstanding products, but have the drawback of being a little too expensive, bulky and intrusive for environments like smaller retail stores, offices, and school media centers. While they’re perfect for large outdoor events, concert venues, and other large-scale applications, the heavy duty polyurethane products would just be overkill in situations that don’t include crowds in large, open spaces.

Enter the OFR Over-Floor Raceway by Legrand Wiremold. It’s every bit as ADA-compliant as its bulky counterparts, but with a scaled-down, low profile steel design that’s appropriate for just about any indoor business or educational environment. It can be installed over any type of flooring, and when all is said and done, it only rises a half inch above the floor surface, with sloped sides that ease the crossing of pedestrians, wheelchair users, and even small carts. People are protected, cables are protected, and no one goes broke in the process. You’ve gotta love that.

I’m glad to see that this pared-down mentality is catching on in the cable management and electrical industries, as well. For the past few years, we’ve been offering raceway that comes flat on a roll, and collapsible electrical boxes that ship flat and are then snapped into shape when you need to install them. But I’ve just come across one of the most significant space and money savers I’ve seen yet: Click and Go® Tool-Free Cable Trays.

Like both the raceway and outlet boxes I just mentioned, Click and Go® cable trays ship and store flat, and don’t expand to their full size until you’re ready to install them. That means that they cost less to ship, take up less prime real estate on your stock shelves, and save a lot of room in the back of your pickup truck or service van compared to basket-style cable trays.

The thing I love most is that even though Click and Go® trays help you cut corners on shipping expenses and requisite storage space, they don’t sacrifice performance. These things can do anything and go anywhere that traditional cable trays do, thanks to a huge variety of accessories that let you customize the shape and direction of your cable tray system. 45° and 90° bends, 4-way junctions, T-junctions, reducers, forks, covers, trapezes – you get the idea.

And one more point – i”m sure you noticed the “Tool-Less” mention in the product name. That’s because it takes absolutely no tools to assemble – you just align the cable tray sections, fold them into shape, pop in a few clips, and you’re ready to go.

The catch is, when these items are sold (mainly to tourists) in their actual countries of origin, the artists can barely turn a profit. Sold in the US, though, for higher (and yet what still seem like shockingly low) prices, these products now yield a much higher income for those who created them. It’s essentially a Fair Trade arrangement, except that instead of applying to things like coffee, the concept applies to handicrafts. I love to purchase gifts there, because you can not only find something uncommon and exotic, but you also feel good knowing that your business is truly helping someone out.

All of this lead-in to explain why I’m such a proponent of today’s featured product: CAB cable rings. CAB cable rings are made to support aerial cable runs in an amazing number of industrial applications and environments, ranging from utilities and paper mills to open pit mines and traffic lights. They’re available in stainless or galvanized steel, as well as in standard and “long” styles, which give you the flexibility to suspend single or multiple cables of varying diameters. Not to mention they’re extremely cost-effective.

But it gets better. CAB cable supports are produced by individuals at the Cambria County Association for the Blind and Handicapped (CCABH) of Johnstown and Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. CCABH was founded by the local Lions Club in the 1940s, and now provides functional disabled adults with job training, employment (producing CAB cable rings and a variety of other products), and a sense of purpose. In addition to job skills and the opportunity to earn an income, members of the CCABH program also receive individual, group, and family counseling, are able to participate in social-orientation lessons that include basic budgeting, banking transactions, and comparison shopping, and are included in CCABH-sponsored outings that include dinners, shopping trips, and tours.

If you’re planning an aerial cabling project, please keep CAB cable rings in mind when you’re shopping around for cable supports. Getting the job done is always a great thing, but it’s so much better when you can support an extremely worthy cause along the way!

Learn more about CCABH…

No, Burt Ward never exclaimed that one during his years as Robin, and yes, it is kind of a weird way to kick off a blog post. But cut me a break – what else was going to pop into my head when I found out about Ideal Industries’ Duct Seal?

Duct Seal is a soft, putty-like compound that can be molded, squished and worked into just about any small gap in flashing or heating/air conditioning ducts, and around pipes, conduit and electrical boxes. It helps stop air leakage, makes surfaces smooth and void-free, and pretty much saves the day, just like the Dynamic Duo.

Because it’s ultra pliable, Duct Seal can take almost any form you need it to; you can work it into a low-profile sheet to patch cracks in ductwork, or mold it into more of plug-type shape to fill in the holes and gaps that are usually left around electrical boxes or pipe penetrations. Just work it into place and smooth the surface: problem solved.

Unlike some other filling materials, Duct Seal never hardens, so if you ever need to undo your work, the compound can be easily removed without you having to hack or chip away at it, or otherwise make a mess. But here’s the really cool thing: even though Duct Deal stays soft, it’s actually paintable, so you can match it to your walls for a seamless finish.

The Duct Seal formula is completely nontoxic, and unlike many other chemical-based repair materials on the market, you can handle it without gloves or fear of skin irritation/chemical absorption. It’s also completely non-corrosive, so it’s safe to use on both plastics and metals. Ooooh, and one more thing: Duct Seal also has a relatively high flash point (590°F), so it’s helpful in preventing electrical fires.

While it may not be a caped crusader, Duct Seal is a multitasker that’s really worth keeping in your toolkit. Because it’s able to run the gamut between HVAC, plumbing and electrical, it can save you from having to keep a stock of different tapes and filler compounds on hand, and unlike some of the stickier products out there, it’s actually easy to redo if you need to make changes.

So Bam!!! Pow!!! Splat!!! Take that, holey ductwork.

Now that you know about my admiration for miniature metal fasteners that are greater than the sum of their parts, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I’m newly enamored of (what else?) a little steel connector with a lot of holding power, also known as the Wire Grabber™ by Arlington Industries.

Although the Wire Grabber is designed to grasp hanging wires and support impressive amounts of weight, it has nothing to do with mounting wall art – it’s actually used to suspend cable trays and other fixtures from beams and purlins. As a matter of fact, the Wire Grabber’s name really says it all. Its main function is to create strong hanging loops in the steel wire that suspends cables trays from the ceiling. Here’s how it works.

The Wire Grabber is made up of 3 components: a base, a clip, and a screw. You start out by running the loose end of a suspending wire through the Wire Grabber’s base. After that, you insert the wire end through the hanging ring or hook on your cable tray or light fixture, and then thread it back through the Wire Grabber’s base in the opposite direction. Once that’s done, you just fit the top clip into the base and tighten the set screw. That’s it – the Wire Grabber will hold the newly-formed hanging loop in place, even under a weight load of up to 100 pounds.

What’s really nice about the Wire Grabber is that even though it makes contact with the hanging wire in 6 places, it never actually bites into the wire or causes damage, so if you need to adjust hanging height or switch out a fixture, you can use the exact same piece of wire over again. The Wire Grabber’s holding power is also unaffected by oils and grease, so you can use it even in less-than-pristine environments without any worry.

I’ve got things partially concealed with a floor vase full of decorative bamboo, but unfortunately, the camouflaging benefits of green stalks and pottery only go so far. Barring standard surface raceway (its shape isn’t quite subtle enough for this particular situation), I’ve been looking for some sort of cord concealer that my eyes won’t be drawn to when I’m trying to focus on the TV. Something that can lay right along the floor and blend in with my smooth baseboard molding all at once. And as of last Friday, I found it: quarter round decorative raceway.

“Quarter round” sounds a little weird, but it’s a perfect description of this raceway. It’s built on a 90-degree angle and has a gently arcing surface, so that you can fit it into any corner, and see only the lightly rounded top. Quarter round raceway is perfect for fitting into corners, be they the junctions between two walls, or the places where your baseboard meets the floor.

In my case, it’s a “where the baseboard meets the floor” kind of a thing. My baseboard molding is totally flat, with no decorative shaping or anything, so I think that the quarter round might even add a little extra something to that wall. What’s really nice is that it can be painted to match the existing trim, so it will all blend seamlessly (if you have natural wood molding, the raceway is even available in an unfinished, stainable “woodgrain” material, so you can still get an exact match).

Installation is super easy: just peel the backing off the pre-applied adhesive strip, and stick it right to your wall, floor, or molding. It’s almost too easy. And best of all, it lets you shift your attention away from the exposed cables, and back to where it needs to be: on the TV, of course.

Now that you know the truth about what could be lurking inside your conduit, the big question is how to get it out. It’s not like you can stick a pressure washing wand down that stuff – but that would be nice, wouldn’t it? Luckily, Ideal Industries got creative and came up with a very cool little thing called a foam carrier, a plug-like cleaning tool that’s attached to a pull line or cable, and maneuvered through a length of conduit – in one end, and out the other. As it’s pulled through, the foam carrier gently scrapes out any nasty bits that are clinging to the conduit’s interior, leaving you with a clean, unobstructed run of duct to send new cables down.

Being made of foam, the carriers are mildly flexible, so they can navigate smoothly through bends and around corners. You can pull them by hand, or even better, use a mechanical blower or vacuum system to send them down the line. Want to cut time in half and clean your conduit while you’re running new cables? Each foam carrier features a metal center rod, which is equipped with hooks at each end, perfect for attaching to, say, cabling. Once the cables and carrier are attached, just pull the whole assembly at once, and you’ll have freshly-pulled wires in crud-free conduit. That’s what I’m talking about.

So imagine my surprise and delight when D-Line Half Round Raceway came waltzing through the door. Unlike its boxy counterparts, this decidedly shapelier version has curves in all the right places, but not in the way that will make anyone look twice. In fact, the semi-circular shape actually helps D-Line Half Round avoid notice, since it blends and transitions and more smoothly with walls than rectangular raceway does.

If you look at the picture, you’ll see what I mean. Isn’t it great the way it blends right in with the baseboard molding that it’s installed right above? What’s really nice it that you can even paint it to match. That gentle curve actually mirrors the detailing in the molding, and unless someone were to get down on their hands and knees and do some close-range squinting at it, they’d be none the wiser of its presence.

In addition to being paintable, D-Line half round raceway is also easy to cut with scissors or a PVC cutter (depending on its size) and is available with the inner and outer corner fittings that make it possible to “bend” the raceway into, out of, and around corners. As for installation, it’s a piece of cake: after you’ve cut the raceway to length, just peel off the backing, and press the pre-applied adhesive against the wall. Then step back and admire your work. But be warned: you may need to take a really close look – this stuff can be easy to miss.