How well do you know the Code? Think you can spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldn't identify? Here's your chance to moonlight as an electrical inspector and second-guess someone else's work from the safety of your living room or office. It's your turn to identify the violation.
Hint: I’m Deeply Concerned
May Winners
Our only winner this month was David Gomez, an estimator for Nickle Electrical Companies in Newark, Del. He correctly identified several problems with this installation, including the following NEC violations:
Our three winners this month were: Jeffrey Winders, a contracting assistant with R.L. Mills, Inc. in New Orleans; Bryan Hard, a project engineer for Mark III Construction, Inc. in Fresno, Calif.; and Tony Punzalan, a licensed professional engineer with McPhee Electric Ltd. in Farmington, Conn. Each one of them knew that these service conductors were too close to the window and the deck.
Section 230.24(A) requires service conductors, where outside of the pipe or cable jacket, to maintain a minimum clearance of at least 3 ft from windows designed to open, as well as balconies, decks, porches, doors, ladders, stairs, fire escapes, and similar locations. These drip loops can easily be reached from the deck or through the window. Conductors run above the top level of a window are permitted to have less than 3 ft of clearance, according to an Exception in this specific Section of the Code. For final spans of overhead service conductors within 3 ft of a deck, or similar platform where they could be easily reached, Sec. 230.9 requires compliance with the vertical height requirements of Sec. 230.24(B). In this case, a minimum height of 10 ft above the deck would be required for any overhead service conductors within 3 ft horizontally of the deck.
