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 2023 NEC.
Hint: Janitor’s closet crisis
Tell Them What They've Won…
Using the 2023 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-in. 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.
March Winners
Our winner this month was Michael Anders, an EC&M reader from Charlottesville, Va. He was able to correctly cite some Code concerns with this installation.
Securing NM cables to an electrical metallic tubing (EMT) raceway is generally going to be a violation of Sec. 300.11(C). Raceways can be used as a means of support for cables, where the raceway contains power supply conductors for electrically controlled equipment and is used to support Class 2 or Class 3 circuit cables that are solely for the purpose of connecting to the equipment control circuits.
Another concern I have is whether NM cables should be installed here at all. This is the entrance to a boiler room for an apartment building, and it seems to me that the NM cable is installed in a high-traffic area where the cable may be exposed to physical damage. This exposed installation violates requirements found in Sec. 334.15. One more concern is the use of NM cables in a building with walls and ceilings constructed of metal mesh and plaster. While not specifically a violation, the metal mesh often has jagged and sharp edges that could easily damage unprotected NM cables where cables penetrate those surfaces. I’ve seen this happen several times.
