Jeff Remas

Semper Fi USMC 1982-1988

Looked at a house with a 100amp main panel in it yesterday. Gas radiant central furnace in this little chalet, well pump, electric hot water, etc. The hot water tank was in full gear, the furnace was on, the well was pumping away and multiple lights were on. Guess what the total amp draw was on the SE conductors? How about 19.8A Good thing the fridge did not kick on or it would have shot up to over 27!

Not true, bad sentence for an official report. Is the house 100% complete? Probably not because the wiring is not finished if the hot water heater and furnace are not wired yet (is that correct) No electrical installation needs to plan for future expansion.

That was a cute story. Well written.

Yes, yes and yes. The suretest uses a calculation when it places a small load on a receptacle. According to the literature it is very accurate but in my opinion, not placing a full load is not very accurate. My suretest sits in my bag and looks pretty.

Stop checking voltage drop. Easy answer. It is beyond your expertise and standard of practice. I am aware of an inspector who would exceed the standards to a point where an arbitrator found him reporting at the expert level. He missed something that was beyond the scope of his normal home inspector practice but because his reports for framing were in such detail like an expert they held him accountable for a $35,000. claim. You can exceed the SOP, we all do but unless you are an expert, don't start reporting things your little gadget tells you if you really are not an expert in that area. Hint #1 you bought if from an inspector going out of business.

In and industrial setting or commercial setting like I am used to, I understand. My requests are reasonable and I don't think that any of the electricians would fight me on them. I keep a good relationship with the contractors just for this reason. That would be my call. BTW on all of the 480/3ph power panels that I worked on or any power panel that did not utilize a grounded conductor, all of the connections were to the equipment grounding lug or bar, not the neutral with the bonding screw in place.

OK, after reviewing and THINKING about your responses, I will have to back down but under conditions on this one. There is nothing that would required a 4th wire, However: 1) If you ran 2/2/4 SER cable to the sub panel then the 4awg wire would have to go to the equipment grounding terminal bar. Nothing can be connected to the neutral (grounded conductor) bar. This way in the future, connecting a 120vac circuit would not work. 2) The bonding screw for the neutral bar would have to be left out. 3) As an AHJ I would want a sticker on the panel stating 240vac loads only on 240vac dbl pole breakers. So you are right, nothing in the NEC prohibits this but it all depends on how you make the connections in the panel.

Yes it does apply. How do you bond the panel to equipment ground without violating 250.142(B)? One of the factors in this situation is what code cycle it is under. The next factor is whether or not it is within the same building or a separate structure. What I need to see is what specific code section allows this. I would not allow this in my jurisdiction and would cite what I already did as one of the violations. I need to be proven wrong with code sections, not opinion.

250.142(B) does not have an exception for what you are describing. Jim, please explain or verify.

You don't have to write it up as a defect if it is not but you can still put in your report what you recommend for "safety enhancement" and common sense. So it is not a negotiating point between the buyer and seller but it should be addressed if it is not GFCI and weather protected.

I am curious as the the grounding requirements due to the type of soil or lack there of (sand) creating a proper ground fault path. <25 Ohms is required between supplemental rods, but I am not sure that is a good benchmark for a primary grounding point. Is Tedesco really going overseas?

Normally as part of the permit process, you will have to contact the utility company and request a job number after you tell them what they are doing. Sometimes they have you relocate the service (this has happened to me more than once) so don't think you automatically will be placing it in the same place as the existing service. The utility company uses very specialized wire with a much higher amperage rating than what it looks like it can carry. I noticed you said you would be OK with 2/0 but you did not specify copper or aluminum which is a key factor. In addition, I can assume that this is a residence and not a business or commercial property which includes 3unit apartment houses and up. How you run the wire, (conduit, SEU, etc.) may also have an effect on the amp rating of the service entrance cable.

Joe when did the code change not allowing receptacles above baseboard heaters? I see this in a lot of homes from the 70's. It is more of an issue when a cord goes inside and touches an element. What age group of heaters are you referring to?

The lumber must be rated for direct burial. Most PT is not, only some are and are processed at higher pressures. Either way it is an amateur way of building.

No, the landing is less than 3'. There are multiple problems with this situation starting from the design to installation.

Rich Moore you are certainly on the ball. They had to jack hammer out the bottom block in order to pour the sidewalk to the correct elevation.

Let me know what you think about this. Figure this one out, more than one problem. IRC 2003 applies.

It cannot be a sub panel since it does not have a 4 wire cable coming to it. If it is a sub then it is way wrong. Maybe he is talking about the 2 wires per terminal bar hole that has been violated. If those black wires neutrals going to the 240 line, some white tape would be nice. Everything else is a little too far away.

Darren from NJ, Yes, the invert (bottom) of the pipe cannot be above the basement floor in this case but remember that it must be on 2" of gravel or crushed stone which would take it abover the floor. Great catch and attention to detail by the way!

Jon, this is new construction and in my state the IRC applies. Whether it is the old BOCA, IRC or standard building practice, the footer drain should be at the level of the footer (along side it) which should be below the basement floor or crawlspace floor. This is the presriptive code as written as well as common sense. National foundation repair and waterproofing companies are not the authority when a code applies in your area. Silt socks can be placed over drainage pipes (I prefer black corregated with holes rather than what you see here) however I have talked to several contractors that have one back a few years later and they were blocked from the outside. Nice for french drains, not for the footer. Eventually all footer drains get clogged even if it takes 50-100 years. The gravel around the pipe along with the geotextile fabric over the gravel should help this situation and protect it. This is still go guarantee if you backfill with a lot of clay for example. Clay can allow water to pool on top giving opportunity for water intrusion into the foundation walls. I have witnessed this problem personally. The clear majority of foundations are damp proofed, not water proofed. Water proofing is a multi layer process or a membrane that is still layered on. Parge and tar is only considered damp proofing.

Follow up: Here is what the wonderful "handyman" the realtors love did to repair it. I went back to pick up the radon monitor and was curious how they did the repair.

Yes, this pipe should have been along side the footer. There was no gravel and no geotextile fabric. You are looking at the only place not covered yet. It is bad on 3 counts of non compliance

Yeah, I need to update it with the salt and pepper and no goatee

IRC applies, more great plumbers.