I've got a 1960's colonial with mostly aluminum NM cable for electrical. Some copper is in there, but this appears to be entire circuits that have been converted over - I have not found a mix of copper and aluminum spliced together (yet).
I started using Alumicons to splice copper pigtails. This has worked fine in boxes with one device and one cable, but I am quickly running out of space in boxes with multiple cables.
At this point I would like to get rid of the aluminum entirely, and I'm hoping to do minimal damage to the drywall.
I am thinking of the following - I am now tracing my circuits so I know which outlets, lights, switches, etc. are on which breakers. My plan is to eliminate each circuit one at a time and replace it via copper run to each location via the most convenient route possible.
I am hoping for the first floor to remove the boxes and drill - via a 90 degree drill, stubby and regular bits, and extensions where needed - down into the basement. From there I''ll run 12 Ga copper NM to the panel. I'll hop from box to box via the basement to splice everything in and keep run as short as I can while also keeping things tidy. I know for lights and switches I'll have to cut some drywall to get the cable down into the basement, up into the switch, and then up to the ceiling to the light fixture.
Since the plan is to know what circuit powers what, and to plan on replacing an entire circuit at once, I figure I can abandon the aluminum in the walls. I'll splice the conductors together with a wirenut - I figure this way if I do screw something up I'll have a short circuit and the breaker will trip immediately, so I'll know there's a problem right away. I don't see how there could be an issue if I'm going one circuit at a time and cutting the wire at the panel, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
For the second floor, I have stacked walls that I know runs straight from the first floor to the attic (there's a laundry chute so I know the 1st floor and 2nd floor walls are 'stacked'). I plan on running four pieces of 12/2 up that wall via cuts in the drywall at the top and bottom of the 1st and 2nd floor so I can drill through the top and sill plates to have holes to run cables. From the attic I'll branch out and drill down through the top plates, and run cables to the boxes from above. There are four bedrooms, two baths, and a hallway up there, so I figure four circuits should do the trick.
My question is, does this sound reasonable? Are there any pitfalls I'm missing, or a better technique I don't know about?
Also, since the upstairs runs will be longer, would I be better off running 10/2 from the panel to the first box on each circuit, and then splicing in 12 Ga cable from there?
