Existing conditions are: 4 panel boards located on a wall in a electrical room with the current structural ceiling located approx. 15' above the top of the equipment with no obstructions in the dedicated space. Contractor wants to install a platform for storage right above the panels within a foot or two. If they drywall under the platform, does this now become the structural ceiling and would it be allowed?
110.26(F)(1)(a) 2005 NEC
- Thread starter VIC1958
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- Chapel Hill, NC
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- Retired Electrical Contractor
Imo, you are trying to call a platform a ceiling. It is what it is--a platform and I believe a violation
kwired
Electron manager
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- NE Nebraska
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- EC
Sorry Dennis but I disagree, they have built a "second floor" and this is the structure for that floor.
I run into electrical rooms frequently in small plants, many of which the room is built primarily to allow NEMA 1 equipment to be used in the room instead of needing something rated for the environment outside that room. The space above such rooms is often made into another room, storage space, etc. and is no different IMO then a multistory building, or do you think we need dedicated space above the bottom floor electrical room in a 100 story building all the way to the top level?
If all that is built there is a shelf so to speak - I guess there is more to debate though.
I run into electrical rooms frequently in small plants, many of which the room is built primarily to allow NEMA 1 equipment to be used in the room instead of needing something rated for the environment outside that room. The space above such rooms is often made into another room, storage space, etc. and is no different IMO then a multistory building, or do you think we need dedicated space above the bottom floor electrical room in a 100 story building all the way to the top level?
If all that is built there is a shelf so to speak - I guess there is more to debate though.
Carultch
Senior Member
- Location
- Massachusetts
110-26(e)(1)(d)
Any ceiling which does not add strength to the building framework is not a structural ceiling.
I don't see within the "dedicated space" rule anything that prohibits you from storing materials in the dedicated space. Please correct me if I am wrong. All that I see is that it prohibits piping, ductwork, and equipment that is foreign to the electrical installation. Materials that are not permanently installed and can be readily removed are not necessarily equipment.
I don't see any problem with a platform to store boxes of paper above electrical equipment, provided that the electrical equipment has sufficient clearance for its own heat dissipation that the paper won't catch on fire.
I would see a problem with storing anything that can leak.
- Location
- Lockport, IL
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- Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
I am with Dennis on this one (it does happen, sometimes ). The platform is not a structural ceiling. It is odd that you could install a suspended ceiling with removable tiles, which is part of the proposed installation. But the platform is not allowed within the first 6 feet above the panel.
One possible resolution would be to cantilever the platform about 7" away from the wall, so that it is not directly above the panels. Then you put some type of railing along the back, so that packages won't fall off in that direction.
). The platform is not a structural ceiling. It is odd that you could install a suspended ceiling with removable tiles, which is part of the proposed installation. But the platform is not allowed within the first 6 feet above the panel. One possible resolution would be to cantilever the platform about 7" away from the wall, so that it is not directly above the panels. Then you put some type of railing along the back, so that packages won't fall off in that direction.
- Location
- Lockport, IL
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrical Engineer
It's a good point. But my take is that the rule says the space has to be dedicated to the electrical installation. Storing materials in that space is not dedicating the space to the electrical installation.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
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- EC
So according to what some of you guys mentioned...
Say we have a facility with 20 foot high sidewalls on main structure. We supply this structure from a panelboard located on an exterior wall. If we decide to put a deck that is say 3 or 4 feet wide and 10 feet off the floor on the wall above this panelboard that doesn't serve much purpose other then storage - that violates the dedicated space. But if we build a deck with a larger dimension using similar construction method that actually is large enough to be more useful for an office, a break room, or something of that nature then it is a structural ceiling to the space below? I have been in many buildings where they have the larger deck that is still nothing but storage - but from a structural point of view it is heavier duty then it may be needed for an office or something like that because of the weight of what they intend to store there.
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