Another electrical question

[esch]

I can find on www distances from poles to structures, but I have a line coming from a pole to a weatherhead, then from that weatherhead to another weather head, hangs 5-7 inches from metal roof.......

I found one PDF stating 5 foot clearance above roof, and 24" from wire to fascia board (when entering a weather head mounted to side of building)

But I dont think I have ever seen a 5' Mast on a house, thats alot of leverage for a 200A service weight

Is there anything to be said? Or done?

Thanks for your time,

Matt

[John Dirks Jr]

10ft above walkways.

12ft above driveways.

18ft above roadways

8ft. above any roof between flat and 4:12

10ft. above and 3ft. horizontally from decks and balconies

3ft from sides and bottom of windows

3ft out from any openable window

3ft above the ridge for any roof 4:12 or greater

(Ed. note: John, I removed your graphic. It's copyrighted material and may not be displayed without the permission of the author. Mike)

[esch]

Yesterday was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day, looking back I should have posted the service wire is running from one weather head to another.

Both weather heads are 3 foot from soffit running parrallel to ridge, but still about 20 feet from the ridge.

Does this still apply to the 3 foot above ridge line or should each weather head have a seperate service line coming from pole?

Thanks for your time,

Matt

[Jim Port]

Are these conductors under the utilities control or the homeowners? Could you please post a pic?

[hausdok]

Yesterday was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day, looking back I should have posted the service wire is running from one weather head to another.

Both weather heads are 3 foot from soffit running parrallel to ridge, but still about 20 feet from the ridge.

Does this still apply to the 3 foot above ridge line or should each weather head have a seperate service line coming from pole?

Thanks for your time,

Matt

There's an exception for a roof slope of 4:12 or greater; 18-inches of clearance is OK over the eaves if the mast is 4ft or less from the edge of the roof.

Dude, are you sure you've got enough training under your belt to be out there doing inspections on your own?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[hausdok]

Oh,

Re. the 5ft height of the mast. If you think that it can't sustain the weight of the drop, recommend they install guys or bracing on it.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[esch]

Mike,

I'm a carpenter not an electrician.

I am trying to learn but I cant find anything about service drop running from one weather head to another in a "series" type.

The service drop comes from the pole to first weatherhead, then to a second weatherhead.

Each weather head is approximately 2 foot tall. Between the 2 weatherheads is about 25 foot in which the line sages to be 5-7 inches from the roof.

I can't find if the line needs to be raised or if each mast should have its own line ran from pole.

I DO know that if your weatherhead is on pole (service entrance underground to house), then this setup is fine.

Sorry,

Matt

[hausdok]

OK,

So I misunderstood your initial post. Bottom line, it may not hang within 5 inches of the roof, period. You've stated that both masts are within 3ft. of the edge of the roof. What's the pitch? How many meters are there?

Have you called the local utility provider and asked them for the URL to their service diagrams and rules?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Katen]

I can find on www distances from poles to structures, but I have a line coming from a pole to a weatherhead, then from that weatherhead to another weather head, hangs 5-7 inches from metal roof.......

I found one PDF stating 5 foot clearance above roof, and 24" from wire to fascia board (when entering a weather head mounted to side of building)

But I dont think I have ever seen a 5' Mast on a house, thats alot of leverage for a 200A service weight

Is there anything to be said? Or done?

Thanks for your time,

Matt

OK. Here's the scoop. With regard to the height of a cable or open conductors above a roof, there's a general rule, and then there are 4 exceptions. It doesn't matter if there's one mast, two masts, or a hundred masts. The clearance requirements and the exceptions are the same.

Here's the general rule and the exceptions:

225.19 Clearances from Buildings for Conductors of Not over 600 Volts, Nominal.

(A) Above Roofs. Overhead spans of open conductors and open multiconductor cables shall have a vertical clearance of not less than 2.5 m (8 ft) above the roof surface. The vertical clearance above the roof level shall be maintained for a distance not less than 900 mm (3 ft) in all directions from the edge of the roof.

Exception No. 1: The area above a roof surface subject to pedestrian or vehicular traffic shall have a vertical clearance from the roof surface in accordance with the clearance requirements of 225.18.

Exception No. 2: Where the voltage between conductors does not exceed 300, and the roof has a slope of 100 mm in 300 mm (4 in. in 12 in.) or greater, a reduction in clearance to 900 mm (3 ft) shall be permitted.

Exception No. 3: Where the voltage between conductors does not exceed 300, a reduction in clearance above only the overhanging portion of the roof to not less than 450 mm (18 in.) shall be permitted if (1) not more than 1.8 m (6 ft) of the conductors, 1.2 m (4 ft) horizontally, pass above the roof overhang and (2) they are terminated at a through-the-roof raceway or approved support.

Exception No. 4: The requirement for maintaining the vertical clearance 900 mm (3 ft) from the edge of the roof shall not apply to the final conductor span where the conductors are attached to the side of a building.

So, the installation you describe is wrong no matter what, but we don't know what the required clearance is until you describe exactly what's there or include some pictures that illustrate the condition more exactly.

Also, in my area, the electrical utility requires guying at any mast that sticks up more than 24" above the surface of the roof.

- Jim Katen, Oregon