Window bond near pool????

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sid123456

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A home inspector said a window (aluminum frame) within 5' of this pool needed to be bonded. I've never seen this done myself, but I read 3' perimeter surfaces need bonding. Is he right?
 
Here's an old graphic, the 2008 requirement is in 680.26(B)(7)Ex2.

1014160805_2.gif
 
sid123456 said:
A home inspector said a window (aluminum frame) within 5' of this pool needed to be bonded. I've never seen this done myself, but I read 3' perimeter surfaces need bonding. Is he right?
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What code cycle was the pool installed under?
 
sid123456 said:
not sure yet... but what is the fix? haven't seen it yet.. If it's less than 3' does it comply?
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My pool was built in 1960, nothing is bonded. If a Home Inspector came here during a pending sale and cited that I would get quite a chuckle.

One more thing, here the typical construction method is CBS with stucco. The window frames are bonded with a #6 lug at the bottom of the frame and a #8 bare strapped to the CBS. After stucco you can't see it any more.
 
chris kennedy said:
My pool was built in 1960, nothing is bonded. If a Home Inspector came here during a pending sale and cited that I would get quite a chuckle.

One more thing, here the typical construction method is CBS with stucco. The window frames are bonded with a #6 lug at the bottom of the frame and a #8 bare strapped to the CBS. After stucco you can't see it any more.
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What is cbs?
 
sid123456 said:
What is cbs?
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Concrete block system.

sid123456 said:
house built 1970's
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Let me get Ken, I don't know when this come into effect, but I believe it was the 80's.

Also, its 5'.


680.26(B)(7) Metal Wiring Methods and Equipment. Metal-sheathed cables and raceways, metal piping, and all fixed metal parts shall be bonded.
The metal parts required to be bonded per 680.26(B) include all metal parts of electrical equipment associated with the water-circulating system of the pool, all metal parts of the pool structure, and all fixed metal parts, which include conduit and piping, metal door frames, and metal window frames, within 5 ft of the inside walls of the pool and not separated by a permanent barrier. Other examples of fixed metal parts covered by this requirement include metal fences and metal awnings. The bonding of these parts can be accomplished by one or more of the following methods using a solid 8 AWG or larger, insulated, covered, or bare copper conductor. See Exhibit 680.13. Brass or other corrosion-resistant metal conduit can also be used as a bonding conductor for connecting metal parts together.
? Connecting the parts directly to each other in series or parallel configurations
? Connecting the parts to the unencapsulated structural metal forming the shell of a conductive pool or connecting the parts to a copper conductor grid system used around the contour of a conductive pool shell
? Connecting the parts together using the pool shell constructed of bolted or welded steel as a common connection point. See Exhibit 680.13
? Connecting the parts to the perimeter bonding grid consisting of either structural reinforcing steel (re-bar or welded wire mesh) or a solid 8 AWG bare copper conductor encircling the perimeter of the pool
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sid123456 said:
A home inspector said a window (aluminum frame) within 5' of this pool needed to be bonded. I've never seen this done myself, but I read 3' perimeter surfaces need bonding. Is he right?
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I don't know how your lay out is. But, your other option would be to have a wood fence between the metal frame and the pool.
 
From the 1968 NEC:

680-7(a). The following parts shall be bonded together by a copper conductor not smaller than No. 8 AWG:

(2). All fixed metallic parts that are within 5 feet of the inside walls of the swimming pool and that are not separated from the pool area by a permanent barrier.
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The 1965 requires nonelectrical equipment to be grounded, but no mention of the 5' rule or minimum wire size.
 
Post #14 should have looked like this:

680.26(B)(7) Metal Wiring Methods and Equipment. Metal-sheathed cables and raceways, metal piping, and all fixed metal parts shall be bonded.
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NECHB commentary following the above:

The metal parts required to be bonded per 680.26(B) include all metal parts of electrical equipment associated with the water-circulating system of the pool, all metal parts of the pool structure, and all fixed metal parts, which include conduit and piping, metal door frames, and metal window frames, within 5 ft of the inside walls of the pool and not separated by a permanent barrier. Other examples of fixed metal parts covered by this requirement include metal fences and metal awnings. The bonding of these parts can be accomplished by one or more of the following methods using a solid 8 AWG or larger, insulated, covered, or bare copper conductor. See Exhibit 680.13. Brass or other corrosion-resistant metal conduit can also be used as a bonding conductor for connecting metal parts together.
? Connecting the parts directly to each other in series or parallel configurations
? Connecting the parts to the unencapsulated structural metal forming the shell of a conductive pool or connecting the parts to a copper conductor grid system used around the contour of a conductive pool shell
? Connecting the parts together using the pool shell constructed of bolted or welded steel as a common connection point. See Exhibit 680.13
? Connecting the parts to the perimeter bonding grid consisting of either structural reinforcing steel (re-bar or welded wire mesh) or a solid 8 AWG bare copper conductor encircling the perimeter of the pool
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Sorry for any confusion.
 
sid123456 said:
A home inspector said a window (aluminum frame) within 5' of this pool needed to be bonded. I've never seen this done myself, but I read 3' perimeter surfaces need bonding. Is he right?
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So, it seems your options are:
1. FIX what home inspector says is problematic,
2. or tell him why it isn't, convincing him that the pool bond is not an issue since the pool doesn't yet know what bonding is, having been built before this was an issue, and being grandfathered in.

I say, fix it. The pool knows what an equipotential grid is, whether the code said it exists or not.
 
The aluminum frame windows that I see from the 1970s are normally single pane windows. One option would be to replace the window with a double-pane vinyl window. Then you don't have to bond it and the home owner saves some energy on their heating/cooling bill.
 
chris kennedy said:
Post #14 should have looked like this:

NECHB commentary following the above:

Sorry for any confusion.
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Without the NECHB commentary, 680.26 (2008) makes no mention regarding windows, nor a 5' distance. I read the whole section last night, but if memory serves me, it was only the section on therapeutic pools that made these specifications, not the section on permanent pools.

It would appear that the handbook took the specific information from 680.62 (B) and applied it to the notes of 680.26. This wouldn't be enforceable.
 
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