ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion SE Cable Behind Window Shutter

That third pic is just garbage... Thats bad workmanship.

"Two of which did not speak English."
Thats not a reason for a red tag! That could be a law suit by the ACLU.

If you're calling 230.9A , I offer the following from the commentary on it.

If you're hitting it for under the shutter / within the finish.... As service conductors inside the building, you would be setting a precident (in your area) to not allow it at all. That would set you up for the debate, that it is allowed other places.

I was asked about this picture in the chat room last night. Other than I don't use SE, and its not allowed here... I can't find much wrong with the pictures.

The picture from Jim is a re-post from another thread, prompted by comment in the same chat session as e57 mentioned.
It's there as an example of truly bad workmanship.

(I've also got some pics of beautiful work done by people that spoke no English).

After seeing the new pic, I hope Mr Rossi now appreciates how blest he is to never have seen truly bad workmanship.

I don't believe he meant anything improper by commenting that two of the workers spoke no English. I think what he was saying, in a 'shorthand' manner, is that the contractor, and his crew, gave ample reason to doubt their qualifications, and shouldn't be working with electricity at all.

I don't want to get off-track here, into emotional areas- but the line has to be drawn somewhere. It is kind of hard to look out for the public safety when those you must communicat with are either unable or unwilling to make the least effort to learn the rules, let alone follow them. I translate "No Habla" as "I don't need no stinking NEC."

I personally would have done this job in 2" pvc. Running the SEC behind the shutter is in my opinion poor workmanship. The proper way (IMO) would have been to run the SEC (or p.v.c.), above the window so that it is "out of reach" according to NEC requirements.

"Out of reach", as a code requirement, depending on how you read it, only applies to the over-head drop, and unprotected conductors outside of the sheath, or conduit.

I run next to windows all of the time, Sometimes its the best way to get a strap on my RMC. (I would also be allowed to run that entire service within the walls...)

Although I don't see anything illegal about it except maybe the 3 foot clearance rule, I agree that it is poor workmanship. Having SE cable under the shutters is just opening it up to all sorts of problems down the road... removing shutters ,new window trim etc.

It looks like the guy was just trying to hide the wire and is why he went 3 or 4 feet out of the way to get to the shutter in the first place.

I personally would have went into the back of the meter with the load side and then ran 2" IMC straight up to the weather head through the roof and told homeowner to paint it white

[This message has been edited by Rich R (edited 06-26-2005).]

As an outsider looking in, why does any of this gawky stuff need to be outside the building anyway? It spoils the aesthetics of the houses. I've seen tiny 'senders' 4" square x 1" thick on the house eaves in Europe, that the POCO can interogate for billing without even getting out of their vehicle. The 'real' meter is inside for the consumer's use.
Alan

Alan, the common thought in the USA is to have the disconnect outside, where the fire department can get to it....something about water from the hoses and electrical hazard....

Other than poor quality of work, this service will meet code, depending on a few issues.
Point of attachment below the weatherhead - but the exception most likey permits it in this instance.
The SE behind the shutter is not great, but it is not in the "hollow" of construction, and can be installed this way.
Remember the NEC is the MINIMUM and sometimes stuff like this will pass.

Do you really expect the bad quality contractor/installer is spending his free time studying or visiting this website???

" don't want to get off-track here, into emotional areas- but the line has to be drawn somewhere. It is kind of hard to look out for the public safety when those you must communicat with are either unable or unwilling to make the least effort to learn the rules, let alone follow them. I translate "No Habla" as "I don't need no stinking NEC.""

I agree that if the men do not speak english, most likely they do not even know the NEC exists, let alone how to read it. So, yes that contractor would (based on our licensing law) would be required to be present to supervise this work.

Pierre