Subject: electrical wiring
So...

I'm currently wiring up our pergola with power. There is power up to the base, but no run up to the top for lighting. But there is conduit.

I bought three wires: black, white, green. I don't remember now, but I think I got 12 gauge. At the least 14 gauge. Insulated, but stranded. Pro tip: don't get stranded wire. Just get a solid conductor. It was a breeze to run through the conduit (which was a great dread of mine), but connecting it to the poles of outlets and switches is a pain. As you tighten the screws, the stranded wires splay out. It's still making electrical contact when it does that, but I just don't like strands that aren't under the screw. Maybe I'm being anal, but if a few strands not under the screw then it is potentially going to touch something else. I really don't strip the wires far enough that this should be a real danger, but...Murhpy's Law.

I have the run completed, and just need to shut off the power, open the box at the base of the pergola, and get these wires in. I may have to pig-tail them. Dunno until I open the GFCI box. The flex is a bit of a pain because it's a relatively short distance from the switch to the GFCI box. But solid conduit was not an option because of the large "swoops" of the 90 deg couplers (compared to irrigation, which are very sharp 90 degrees). I didn't have enough space for any swooping.

I had to pig-tail the ground (green) wires because there were connections to the outlet, the switch, and the weatherproof boxes of each. So each box has a pig-tail connecting to the box, and the switch (or outlet), and the wire that continues on to the GFCI box.

But stranded wire was not the optimum choice, IMO. Though, I'm sure it made fishing the wire through the 90 deg bend in the conduit easier.