ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Above and beyond the NEC

Another thing I've done in the last few years in residential is to have all the outlets on 20-amp circuits. I still use 15-amp circuits for lighting unless the load justifies 20-amp.

Dave

All good ideas but.... the average homowner (most) will not know or care how many receptacles are on a circuit, what kind of recepacle it is, etc. Plug it in, it works, that's all they know. My point is going too far overboard might mean less money in your pocket with no return for your effort.

How about insulating bushings (red heads) in MC cable *grin*

-Jon

oh thats what those little red things are for i thought they were for us to chew on, just kidding lol

I agree with electricmanscott. I always went overboard for years in doing a better job than the code required or even my price allowed. Until I realized they were taking all the vacations and I seemed to have spent too much time on the job. Now I save the extra special work for the repeat customers and meet the code with the rest. I now have time to do the installations my wife wants. The customer very rarely notices that you went the extra mile

OK, Lets take this to the next step. When I was in business, and I was working in the attic, if I saw a hole near the chimney, I would tell the homeowner to get it checked out. That goes for when I saw ant or termite damage, again I would tell the HO where I saw the damage. I think that it gave my company credability and that I was looking out for the safety of my customers.

In my particular situation (No permits or inspections most places we work) even minimum code compliance is sometimes a hard sell. We try to do as good an installation as possible and maintain code compliance.

Most homeowners and builders here are only concerned about price,and if it works til you get out of sight,you're a genius.


Russell

I would have to say that there are lots of areas within the data centers that we design, that have requirements well above NEC minimums. Although there are also areas, due to reliability concerns and cost, that we keep to the absolute minimum.
Examples of over the NEC include:
Always pulling a dedicated neutral and EGC for every feeder to a panelboard, and circuit from the panelboard.
Almost always steel compression couplings for EMT, and threaded couplings for RGS with bonding bushings at all terminations.
Providing total coverage with regard to smoke detectors throughout the building.
All Class 2 and 3 circuits including communications, security, fire alarm, HVAC controls, etc in EMT.
Lots and lots of grounding.
TVSS's
UPS sizing
Gen sizing
And much more....

Examples of code minimum include
Smoke detector spacing in a high airflow environment, since the spacing is so tight as required by code (NFPA 72) already, I surely don't make it tighter (normally 125 sq ft per device).
Fan shutdown for smoke detection only when absolutely required by the letter of the code.
Working clearances for equipment; as we need as much space as possible left for the money making computer equipment for the customer
Ground fault detection/protection (except for redundant HVAC equip)
and much more too.