Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum banner

Electrical wires not running through the bottom plate

4K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  hdavis 
#1 ·
The electrician is trying to tell me this fine?
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#5 · (Edited)
Looks good to me.

Ain't gonna look good for the inspector, though. :whistling

Unless there's more to the story (ie, the wall is going to be furred out to make it a plumbing wall). No self-respecting electrician, let along a wanna-be handy-man, would do such a terrible job. Fook, I'll be the plumber would be ashamed of that shît.

My guess is whoever drilled the holes did so from below, not knowing how far off he was. Guess it was just too much work to walk up the stairs and look. Better yet, walk up the stairs dragging the cord and drill and drill the holes down into the lower level from here.





Not no way, not no how.


It might, if you can manage to pay off the inspector. But there will be a lot more cost involved with fixing it once the drywallers and trim carpenters have had their day with it.


I say let it ride and have the inspector call the lazy ass out. Then tell him he has 24 hours to fix it.... on his own dime. This ain't no 'extra' or 'change order'.
 
#9 ·
I'll plan to do something similar to that in some remodels, but the bottom plate doesn't get drilled, and a chase is built floor to ceiling which provides clearance so nail protection isn't needed. Panel may be surface mount to the original wall.

It's somewhat ugly no matter what.

That isn't what's going on there.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Quit whining, take another picture with a scrap of drywall held out by the boar's nest.
Look at your watch, After turning the mains off, take a wood chisel and cut out the plate so the wires are not proud of the studs.

Don't molest any electrical insulation.....:eek:

Clean up, look at watch again, write bill to electrician....Turn power back on when nail stop in place.

Maybe some fire-stop foam/materiel in the air gaps?

Won't the un-used holes in the leftward cavity need to be plugged with a fire stop?
When does a wooden wire chase need vents? Yellow wires at 20 Amps, white at 15 = 7 x 20 + 9 x 15 =275 amps and the black ?service cable?

Note siding nail from other side rubbing on a wire.....

Maybe a piece of 2x 8" blocking behind the beehive, for structural integrity?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 91782
#15 ·
I'm a bit surprised that someone who claims to be a "General Contractor", would have questions about that.

I surprised that he wouldn't already know if that is an acceptable installation or not, and what can and should be done about it.

:blink:

It makes me wonder, if this is an issue that sends one to the internet for answers, what else won't get done properly, due to lack of knowledge and/or experience.

Makes me wonder about what the client has got him/her self into.







Assuming there is a client. :eek:
 
#19 · (Edited)
Ooops eight yellow sheathed wires?

ooops again I assumed post 2001 color coding on all white sheathed wires...

yellow = 12 Ga = 20 Amp?
white 14 Ga = 15 Amp?

Small service entrance cable or 240 wire for the black?

More then welcome to hear the "correct" answer...

Couldn't find a reference regarding # of non -metallic cables in 1", or 7/8" holes re NEC.

I "assumed" the needed staples were out of sight of the photo....:blink:

Structurally the top plates(if the highest floor) DON'T have the wooden diaphragm of the floor, to form a redundant load path for the massive Swiss cheese wiring penetration damage.
 
#20 · (Edited)
.......

yellow = 12 Ga = 20 Amp?
white 14 Ga = 15 Amp?....
12 = 30amp
14 =20 amp.

.......Small service entrance cable or 240 wire for the black?....
That's now how you perform a service calculation.


.......Couldn't find a reference regarding # of non -metallic cables in 1", or 7/8" holes re NEC.
......
No size of hole is specified in the NEC. The number of cables, however, is mentioned in 334.80, second paragraph.
 
#21 · (Edited)
So if the wires seen run into an attic they are double derated...? once for not being spaced , more for an insulated cavity, then the attic, especially if older 60 C rated NM used.

And the derating applies to the SE cable?

wouldn't it pay to run as many high load circuits through the cooler interior floor joist cavities in general?

Clean sheet wiring, moving to an internal location that would allow the vertical between floor wires to run in UN-insulated inside wall cavities might pay. Higher capacity same amount of metal... and safer generally.
And the cable spaces could be vented between firestopping bulkheads if desired.

I couldn't find what the NEC requires for actual spacing measurements...to prevent derating for "bundling"

I see better, now that keeping attic spaces properly vented saves money and improves the safety and lifetimes of the attic wiring.
 
#22 ·
All derating factors have to be calculated. Bundling, ambient temperature, rooftop, voltage drop........ it's not a one-of choice. If all are present, all must be calculated in.

I don't see any SE cable there. I see an 8/x or 6/x NM cable, but not SE.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top