Old timer told me to stop using cheap NM staples and he was right

Back in 2018 I was wiring up a new house in Cleveland with a 70 year old master electrician. He saw me using those thin little plastic staples from Home Depot and said "those will crack and fail in 5 years, get the bigger insulated ones." I figured he was just being old fashioned. Fast forward to last month when I was troubleshooting a short in that same house and found three of those staples had snapped right through the sheathing. Cost me 4 hours to re-pull those circuits through the attic. Has anyone else had trouble with those budget cable staples holding up over time?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_zara19d ago

I had three of those cheap staples split right down the middle last year on a job in Columbus. One of them actually cut through the jacket on a 12-2 Romex and I didn't catch it til I was doing the trim out. That was a long day of re-pulling wire in a finished basement. The old timers know, those little plastic ones just can't handle the expansion and contraction in an attic.

piper_green19d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that old timer was looking out for you. I had a similar thing happen with a buddy's shed he built back in 2020. He used those cheap staples on the NM running out to the light and outlet, and last summer the whole thing just started flickering. When we pulled the cover off the junction box, the staple had rusted through and was digging into the wire like a little knife. It's wild how something that small can cause such a headache. Now I just buy the bigger insulated ones in bulk from the supply house, even if they cost a few bucks more.

xena_anderson17d ago

Huh, actually those bigger insulated staples you're talking about aren't exactly for romex. The big plastic ones are usually for larger cable like SER or SEU. You want the small plastic staples or the metal ones with the plastic saddle for NM. The metal ones with the plastic piece on top work fine for 12-2, just make sure you don't hammer them too tight. The problem with the all plastic ones is they crack in cold weather or when they get old. I switched to the metal ones with the plastic saddle about five years ago and haven't had a single issue since. They're like two cents more but worth it.