I went on a service call to trouble shoot landscape lighting the other day and found an interesting istallation:
Coming through a garage wall and laid across a mulch bed is a run of NM Cable. It runs about 3 ft., then disappears into the ground. On the other side of the walkway is a run of UF cable laying on top of the mulch, and coming from, (or going to) a round box with 2 flood lamp holders for treescape lighting. There is other outdoor lighting, all 120 volt, as part of this lighting scheme, also. I know the NM is part of the circuit. When I asked the homeowner if her husband did the work, she said no, a contractor did it about a year ago. I then asked her if it was a handy-man type and was told that it was an electrical contractor. I told her to call him back, and if he doesnt come out, I will try to rectify things, but she will have to pay again. Even though the circuit is GFCI-protected, I told her that it was an electrocution hazard because GFCIs do fail, and the NM cable will become saturated and possibly result in leakage currents. The GFCI protecting this circuit was hidden behind some shrubs, and although I tested it, I doubt it was ever tested before or will be in the future. She was unaware of GFCI testing. Did I over-react?
