Are Service risers allowed in-wall in your area?

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Are Service risers allowed in-wall in your area?


  • Total voters
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mxslick

Senior Member
Location
SE Idaho
I would like to use this to gather some simple data on which states/areas/jurisdictions permit a service riser to be contained within a wall of a building.

The other threads already discuss the Code implications, so PLEASE DO NOT RESTART that debate here. :grin:

The purpose of this survey is a simple yes/no situation and I'd like to keep it that way.

Please post with your state/country/jurisdiction when you vote so we can all see how widespread the practice is allowed/disallowed.

With the wide variety of opinions on the other threads I'd like to see some factual, non-argumentative data on this topic.

Thanks everyone!!

Obviously, my vote is yes, it is allowed and common practice here in So. California.
 
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Volta

Senior Member
Location
Columbus, Ohio
What if we don't see it done that way locally, and never heard of it being contemplated as allowable before these threads, and have never tried to pass an inspection for it? I would vote no, because I never heard it being attempted before.

Note that this does not include "through-the-roof" while not in wall. That can throw a wrench in to some interpretations and definitions, of course.

And how far back are you going to accept it as "allowed" now? Last year? Ten years? Thirty?
 

mxslick

Senior Member
Location
SE Idaho
Good points sir, and here are my responses:

If you don't see it done that way, chances are it is not allowed in your area.

If you haven't heard of it being comtemplated before, then take a look around your neighborhood before responding to the poll. It would tell if it is/was a allowed practice.

If you have never tried to pass an inspection for it, then chances are it is not a common or allowed practice so that would, depending on your observations of real-world installs in your area influence your answer.

Again, looking simply for hard data, not the whys and why nots, that discussion is being covered in the other threads.

Through the roof is not relevant to what I am asking here, but generally speaking the in wall risers here tend to penetrate the roof.

There was no time limit on the allowance when I thought this up...but I can see where one can argue that local amendments could change the answer.

Perhaps the best thing I can say to avoid a huge fracas is to say that this poll is referring to CURRENTLY allowed/disallowed.

Moderator: Could we please edit the poll question to add the word "CURRENTLY" to avoid confusion? Thanks!!
 
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jwjrw

Senior Member
I've never seen a riser in the wall here. Its either on the wall or underground.

Meck county Nc
 

jwjrw

Senior Member
jwjwr, Thanks you for your answer. So would that make your vote no, or is it something you haven't seen?


I haven't seen it and did not vote because I do not know that it is not allowed. I will look into that if I think about it this week.
What is the reason they are ran in the wall where you are? Seems like upgrades would be a pain.
 

al hildenbrand

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Occupation
Electrical Contractor, Electrical Consultant, Electrical Engineer
There is a history of installing the electrical service riser inside the exterior walls of dwellings in my area, the Twin Cities seven county metro area. To my knowledge, the practice has not been allowed for new installations for over three decades, with the exception of upgrades of existing in-wall installations.
 

hurk27

Senior Member
While I voted no for my area I'm in now, I found over the years it is or was a common installation in Florida and places on the west cost, I have not seen the practice done in any other locations, but then I haven't been everywhere:grin:
 

John120/240

Senior Member
Location
Olathe, Kansas
I vote NO. I would never even think about concealing the riser in the wall.

Meter is mounted on exterior wall, then either fed underground or overhead.

Vinyl siding guys will wrap riser with siding, but that is not germane to the

Situation at hand. Inspector would not allow riser to be concealed.
 

acrwc10

Master Code Professional
Location
CA
Occupation
Building inspector
I think it is interesting how militant some get about "How I would NEVER put the riser in the wall" and then they go on to say how "Dangerous" it is ,without any supporting facts. I guess the utillitys know enough to run a complete infistructure, but they have no clue how un-safe it is to put a servise riser in the wall, and foolishly they have put specifications and drawing of how they want it done in their manuals. I would think, just maybe, if it is so hazardous, the POCO's would specifically exclude this type of an installation and not allow them.

For those that are supplied by Pacific Gas and electric here is a link to their "Green Book" see page 16 figure 4-29

http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/mybusiness/customerservice/startstop/newconstruction/greenbook/servicerequirements/04.pdf
 

wawireguy

Senior Member
In WA we can run 15' of unfused conductor inside the structure before hitting the disconnect. Has to be in rigid for a overhead mast that you are striking to.
 

acrwc10

Master Code Professional
Location
CA
Occupation
Building inspector
As of now, the poll is 7 to 7 and less then 14 members have commented :grin: I would like to hear were you can and can not install inside the wall. Please post who your local utility supplier is. No one is going to come to your house to get you if you post. :grin::grin::grin:
 

mxslick

Senior Member
Location
SE Idaho
A big thanks to everyone who has voted so far...keep the votes coming, would love to see input from all 50 states. :grin:

I vote NO. I would never even think about concealing the riser in the wall.

Meter is mounted on exterior wall, then either fed underground or overhead.

Vinyl siding guys will wrap riser with siding, but that is not germane to the

Situation at hand. Inspector would not allow riser to be concealed.

Thanks for your post John..my question is even though you would not do so, is it a practice that is allowed despite what you would do/not do? (your follow up post names the POCOs, do they allow it?)

I think it is interesting how militant some get about "How I would NEVER put the riser in the wall" and then they go on to say how "Dangerous" it is ,without any supporting facts. I guess the utillitys know enough to run a complete infistructure, but they have no clue how un-safe it is to put a servise riser in the wall, and foolishly they have put specifications and drawing of how they want it done in their manuals. I would think, just maybe, if it is so hazardous, the POCO's would specifically exclude this type of an installation and not allow them.

For those that are supplied by Pacific Gas and electric here is a link to their "Green Book" see page 16 figure 4-29

http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/mybusiness/customerservice/startstop/newconstruction/greenbook/servicerequirements/04.pdf

Thank you, that is exactly one of my points in the other thread. :)

To put this in some perspective, here are the pros of putting the riser inside a wall:
  • Added physical protection;
  • Protection from heating effects of the sun;
  • Cleaner physical appearance;
  • Harder to access for theft of service

The drawbacks:
  • Upgrades would be a pain;
  • Extra drilling of the wall header;
  • A fault in the wall could be quite nasty;
  • Theft of service would be more hidden

No install is perfect, and no method is perfect. But millions of in-wall risers have served without incident for 70+ years here in California, and millions of exposed SE cable drops have served well elsewhere.
 

pete m.

Senior Member
Location
Ohio
I voted no even though there are existing installations that I have seen in the area (of course these are circa 50's through 60's from my best estimation). It is currently not an accepted practice.

Miami Valley area Ohio.

Pete
 

mxslick

Senior Member
Location
SE Idaho
Niether POCO or inspectors would allow such installations

Thank you, that explains your vote.

I voted no even though there are existing installations that I have seen in the area (of course these are circa 50's through 60's from my best estimation). It is currently not an accepted practice.

Miami Valley area Ohio.

Pete

Thank you Pete. I am from Ohio originally..My birthplace house IIRC had exposed SE and a fuse box in the basement. The second house I lived in had underground service.

So for overhead you must now run exposed, correct?
 
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