Chicago DIY

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Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
in the Chicago cook county area were the code is more stringent then the NEC and does not allow the use of NM cable and also DIY .does the Chicago area have less of the DIY than other parts of the country were the use of NM cable is allowed. I would imagine that the home centers in Chicago are do not even Carry NM cable or plastic boxes.
it seems to me that a DIY can grab a roll of NM and some plastic boxes and seem to think that it is very easy work and does not require much knowledge of Electrical codes more like juts twisting a couple of wires together.
I almost wish they would remove NM cable for the NEC and make all wiring to be conduit.
this would sure make you become efficient at running EMT with wood Studs.
 

Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
I'm sorry, was there a question here that I am missing :)

I am sorry I guess I did not make myself clear.

In Chicago area where NM is not allowed and you must use EMT do you see a lot of DIY doing electrical?
I thought that I read a long time ago in the Chicago electrical code that is is not legal for any one other than an Electrician's to perform wiring is this true and if so how does Chicago enforce this?

so since Chicago mandates the use of EMT I suppose that the home improvement stores do not carry NM cable let alone Plastic Boxes. Do they carry EMT and associated Electrical ?
does it not seem like it easer for a DIY to do electrical work using NM cable since this does not take much knowledge to run NM and
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
The following is from the City of Chicago website.
Q: Can owners do their own electrical work?

A: No. Due to the potential for electric shock or fire hazard, only Electrical Contractors licensed by the City of Chicago can perform electrical installations.
 

macmikeman

Senior Member
Once Rackateers released that whacky new bender they have, diy's are no longer held at bay by emt conduit. They can now bend loops around any regulation against unlicensed activity.
 

PetrosA

Senior Member
I'll bet the guy we troubleshot for today wishes there weren't any DIYers in this area. Lights went out in master BR and bath. By the time we found the NM shorted out by a staple in the basement, we had discovered that the master suite was wired (two owners ago) by the then homeowner. As best as we can tell without ripping down drywall, every switch and outlet in there has a hidden splice nearby. We explained that we can't hook up the rooms and leave them that way since we'd become liable and that the whole suite needs to be rewired. That poor guy :( What's worse is that they hired a home inspector when they bought the place that didn't flag that or any one of 20 or so bad JBs in the basement. I'll admit - it's the first time I ever saw a 1/2" PVC LB used, alone and hanging between joists, as a splice box for two 12-3 romexes...
 
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sparky 134

Senior Member
Location
Joliet, IL
You won't find NM cable but you will find AC (Greenfield) at the big box stores. I've fixed a few jobs where the previous owner ran everything in AC and should have been in EMT.
 

wptski

Senior Member
Location
Warren, MI
There have been other threads about DIY, HO, etc. doing unlicensed electrical work. There are laws broken every day where the penalty is great and it doesn't seem to stop anybody! So, what's the penalty for doing unlicensed electrical work? Any cases?
 

jrannis

Senior Member
Somehow all of the houses got piped in around here up until the 70s.
I didn't install any Romex as an apprentice.
All of the Journeymen I worked with used to pipe houses, have the wire pulled and slipstick over the screwholes and start the next one all in the same day:roll:
 

active1

Senior Member
Location
Las Vegas
A building code will never stop some people.

Finding a NM cable(s) makes it easier to find the vilolations.
Some don't care and will use NM cable or BX. More often metal boxes. Depending on the home center and location some don't have much for plastic boxes. While others don't know any better and most likely stock the same coast to coast.

Some HO or unskilled contractors will use pipe but use prebent 1/2" 90's, and cast 90 fittings. Many times the pipes not reamed, set screws are loose, and nothing is secured. Some times the stanngest wire collors are used like blue with yellow neutrals. Maybe the colors used in another country? Never an equipment ground which dose not bother me except for the pipe is a questionable path as installed.

They would have problems finding the right fitting. I've seen every posability used as a connector for EMT and flex. If it fits too loose in the connector then they will wrap some electricians tape around the pipe or flex so it will clamp into the fitting. I guess they figure the tape is for wire nuts and insulating the fittings.

On the plus side onced finished sometimes I can pull out the old and repull it correctly. But if the pipe work is so bad or boxes are burried then it's not much better then NM.
 

Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
any one here that can quotes the Chicago code that says HO are not permitted to do Electricla work or or am I imagineing that there is a code. Mybe I need to change my Brand of whacky tobacy:grin::grin::D:grin:
 

wirenut1972

Member
Location
chicago
I'm heading out to "slapstick over the screwholes" right now. If I hurry I'll miss traffic. Gotta love those Mondays it's all about the slapstick & screwholes. My back is kinda sore, but if get going early I can go home early. Remember there is more than one way to slapstick over the screwholes. Every day that I slapstick over the srewholes I try to do it better than the last day, learn something new every time I do it. Day I stop learning is the day I stop slap'n stick over the screwholes.
 

Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
See post #6.


Sorry I did not See you first post with the code article.
how does Chicago enforce this ?

since the home improvement stores sell electrical wiring how would Chicago enforce the code prohibiting home owners from doing there own electrical.
I wish they would remove the use of NM cable form the code. this might help and make it so you have to show proof of being licensed to purchase Electrical from the home improvement stores.
 

wirenut1972

Member
Location
chicago
this is how.........kinda..but not really

this is how.........kinda..but not really

City plumbing inspector busts himself.

ANOTHER SCANDAL | City plumbing inspector who nails others for working without permits accused of doing same thing

James Kendrick is a city plumbing inspector assigned to a task force that busts people for doing work without permits.

On Sunday, Kendrick could have busted himself

Sources said the $85,068-a-year inspector was working a side job installing a flood-control system in the 3500 block of North Octavia -- with no permit and none of the required city licenses -- when he inadvertently broke the water pipe leading to the home.

Kendrick dialed 311 to report the break. When investigators arrived on the scene, he identified himself as a city inspector and asked them for city-owned parts -- lead packs and copper -- to repair the broken pipe, sources said. YES YES YES THATS HOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-?

Little did he know that one of the responding investigators was Pat McDonough, who helped blow the whistle on the Hired Truck scandal.

"He told me he works for the city and knows people [in high places]. He wanted me to give him all the plumbing parts," McDonough said Monday.

"In the old days, if you wanted a guy to come out and bring you parts for a side job, you'd call the leak desk even if there was no leak. They'd come with the parts and you'd give the guy 30 to 50 bucks to keep his mouth shut. This time, there actually was a leak. But when he said, 'I need some lead packs and copper,' I called the desk and told them to call the police."

When Chicago Police officers arrived on the scene, Kendrick initially refused to produce his city ID, only to cough it up under threat of arrest, McDonough said. He was cited for doing work without a permit and without the required city licenses. A stop-work order was also issued.

The fact that Kendrick did not attempt to bribe McDonough for the parts was no consolation for the notorious City Hall whistleblower.

"He had no permit. There are two or three different licenses needed to do this work. He had none of them," McDonough said.

"He's assigned to a special task force to bust people for doing the exact same thing he was doing. He was breaking the law he's sworn to protect."

Kendrick could not be reached for comment.

Buildings Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey would only say that the department was "conducting an investigation into a report of an employee completing work without a permit." He refused to identify Kendrick by name, citing personnel rules.

Sunday's citation is the latest in a string of embarrassments for the city's scandal-plagued Department of Buildings.

Operation Crooked Code -- targeting corruption in the departments of Buildings and Zoning -- has already netted 23 people, including 15 city employees, on charges that cash bribes and lucrative gifts were paid to ignore building code violations or speed up paperwork.

Earlier this year, building inspector Richard Kus was slapped with a $7,640 overdue water bill after building a new home with a hot tub more than five years ago without installing a water meter.

Kus is the brother of Chicago's former zoning administrator. He has spent nearly six months reassigned to clerical duty pending the outcome of an investigation by Inspector General David Hoffman.

Kus had a water meter installed in January after the inspector general's office requested inspection and billing records.
 

wirenut1972

Member
Location
chicago
The above was written in the Chicago Sun Times.

To sum it up, the guy ?James? the plumbing inspector was doing a side job.

He broke the water main before the main shut off.

James was too lazy to go to ?orange cheepo? and get the supplies he needed to fix the break.

So ?James? call 311, that?s a city service line( it?s like 911 lite). Asked for a city employee to bring him the necessary supplies. That?s the funny part, cuz he was doing a side job, get it. It wasn?t a city job. Ya mmmmm, that?s NICE?
 
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