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. Can you identify the specific Code violation(s) in this photo? Note: Submitted comments must include specific references from the 2020 NEC.
Hint: Missing and damaged parts
Tell Them What They've Won…
Using the 2020 NEC, correctly identify the Code violation(s) in this month's photo — in 200 words or less — and you could win an Arlington Industries 18" Slider Bar and plastic box for mounting between studs with non-standard spacing. E-mail your response, including your name and mailing address, to [email protected], and Russ will select three winners (excluding manufacturers and prior winners) at random from the correct submissions. Note that submissions without an address will not be eligible to win.
October Winners
Our three winners this month are Bob Zielinski, Evart, Mich.; Steve Terry, New York; and Robert A. McCuen, Savannah, Ga. They all knew that NM cables cannot be installed or used in this manner.
Where NM cables are installed at angles with joists in unfinished basements and crawl spaces, Sec. 334.15(C) requires NM cables smaller than two 6 AWG or three 8 AWG to be either run through holes bored in joists or installed on running boards. Most of the cables here were not installed using either of those options. Larger NM cables are permitted to be secured to the bottom edges of the joists. Using NM cables as a means of support for other NM cables, raceways, or nonelectrical equipment is prohibited by Sec. 300.11(D). Section 338.10(B)(4)(a) requires the SER feeder and branch-circuit cables installed here to follow the same installation rules for the NM cables. This basement was very dry, so I do not think there were any violations of Sec. 334.12(B)(4), which prohibits NM cables from being used in damp or wet locations.
