Can this be done?

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Mr. Wizard

Mr. Wizard

Senior Member
Location
Texas
Good morning everyone. I've been invited to bid on a motel re-wire, and have a couple of questions that I just can't seem to find the answer to. The motel is in two sections, and they are separated by a parking lot. The first section caught fire, and will have to be totally rewired. The second section, however, was tagged as uninhabitable by the city when they came and looked at the first section. The second section is in need of a rewire as well, with very shoddy and unsafe work. The problem is, the owner and his family live in the office area of the second section. The office area is a lot newer and nicer, up to date, and as far as I could tell - code compliant. Well, his panel in his office/apartment area was fed from the main service on the burned side of the motel (he now has no power). I talked to the inspector yesterday regarding building the owner a service - new meterbase and outside disconnect to power his panel, and only his panel. He said no, that in order for the city to release it to the POCO, the whole second half (the unburned side) is going to have to be rewired. His logic was that what would stop us from powering up the rooms using the old existing wiring. I think that is not right. If that were the case, all homes and businesses would have to conform to that rule. I have no intent on doing anything more than getting the owners apartment energized. My questions are: Can I, by code, energize the owners panel even though his living area and the second (condemned) section are under the same roof? And while I know there can only be one meterbase for the motel, can the owner have his own meterbase for his living area, seperate from the motel? Sorry for the epic thread
 
iwire

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
IMO the NEC does not hold the answer to your question.

That would be up to the local area and it's rules.

If it is considered by local building codes to be all one building I can kind of see his point.
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
Mr. Wizard said:
The second section, however, was tagged as uninhabitable by the city when they came and looked at the first section. I talked to the inspector yesterday regarding building the owner a service - new meterbase and outside disconnect to power his panel, and only his panel. He said no, that in order for the city to release it to the POCO, the whole second half (the unburned side) is going to have to be rewired.
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They are going at this all wrong. They first thing they need to do is to find a General Contractor and get a building permit. When they get the building permit then you can get a permit for temporary power. With temp. power you can energize the apartment ( if you want to ). You will need temp power on the job site anyway.

I'm surprised that they let the guy live in the apartment, without a certificate of occupancy there is technically no one allowed to live in the building.
 
GUNNING

GUNNING

Senior Member
Location
Gainesville, Florida
ok .. let me get this straight. The place burned half down. The owner still lives there. The AHJ condemed the building. You want to have a special place for the owner to live while you rewire the whole place.

Im thinking the AHJ is right. If a place burns down and someone is still living there they gota go. Owners, crackheads, squatters, everyone till a new CO is gotten. Who would let that happen before a new CO? No one.
Anyone asks and I would find them very suspect.
Tell the owner if he wants to live there get a CO.
 
Mr. Wizard

Mr. Wizard

Senior Member
Location
Texas
GUNNING said:
ok .. let me get this straight. The place burned half down. The owner still lives there. The AHJ condemed the building. You want to have a special place for the owner to live while you rewire the whole place.

Im thinking the AHJ is right. If a place burns down and someone is still living there they gota go. Owners, crackheads, squatters, everyone till a new CO is gotten. Who would let that happen before a new CO? No one.
Anyone asks and I would find them very suspect.
Tell the owner if he wants to live there get a CO.
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The part that burned is at least 50 yards from the area that didn't burn. But, for my point, the owners apartment is relatively new, with new wiring, plumbing, etc. And even though his area and the condemned (unburned) area share the same roof, they are separated by a large open area (about 60 feet apart). Basically three separate areas - the burned area, the condemned area, and his living area. But I guess in the eyes of the AHJ, they are all on the same piece of land, so they all get the green tag. I see everyones point on this - condemned is condemned. And if the property is condemned, that means ALL of the property, his place can't be excluded. Thanks ya'll
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
Mr. Wizard said:
:grin: No, this one is in Central Texas, and I sure feel like taking my work boots of and putting on my running shoes as well.
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It really doesn't matter, with this job there is nothing you can do even if you wanted to. They won't even issue you any permits to do any work. You have to look at it as if it were a brand new construction project. A new project doesn't start with an electrical contractor, it starts with a general contractor and a set of plans.

Once there is a building permit then you can do something. They may even let the guy live in the apartment. Who knows the GC may need to put a fence around it to seperate it from the construction site. But they have to have a plan for what they intend to do with the burned out building. They can tear it down and pave over it if that what they want to do and can get it approved. A burned out building by it's self is considered a hazard and probably needs fenced in to keep people from being injured.

I hope the owner had good insurance or a pot of money because this sounds as if it's going to get real expensive. It would be real hard to borrow on it because right now there is nothing of value standing.
 
Mr. Wizard

Mr. Wizard

Senior Member
Location
Texas
I hate to say it, but if the guy had any luck at all, the whole complex would have caught fire. As it stands, he is doing battle with his insurance carrier over the burnt part. And the insurance carrier tells him they will not pay a penny to renovate the condemned part. I agree with you, Growler, this is going to be very expensive for the owner. I guess that's a risk one must be willing to face to own a motel and live there also.
 
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