# Holmes on Homes - Is horizontal breaker box a Canada thing?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holmes-on-homes-is-horizontal-breaker-box-a-canada-thing/618064>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 7, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holmes-on-homes-is-horizontal-breaker-box-a-canada-thing/618064 "2012-04-07T05:18:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holmes-on-homes-is-horizontal-breaker-box-a-canada-thing/618064/1 "2012-04-07T05:18:23Z")

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Ok I figured this would be a good place to ask this. My TiVo has always got a lot of episodes of this show on it, it’s one of my lower, ‘chaff’ Season Passes, and I’ve noticed a lot of the time dwellings will have their circuit breaker box mounted _ **horizontally** _. Maybe I just haven’t lived, but I have NEVER seen this in real life anywhere. The service lines (i.e. street power) always go in at the top in thick cables and the house Romex (or BX) lines come out the sides, so it makes sense to always mount the rectangular boxes vertically.

I know this show is based in Canada, so is it just a Canadian thing, hoser? 😃

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holmes-on-homes-is-horizontal-breaker-box-a-canada-thing/618064/2 "2012-04-07T06:04:39Z")

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I’ve never seen a circuit breaker box mounted horizontally out here in the west. You know those easterners - they’re kind of weird. 🙂

ETA: You brought 'er, _you_ hose 'er.