Concrete encased electrode

Status
Not open for further replies.
iwire said:
Here in MA if it is a new footing that has rebar in it you must use it.

If the GC went ahead and allowed the pour without getting an EC to make GEC connection and have it inspected the GC will have to break some concrete.

That makes sense, since with the proper coordination, the electrode would have been available without having to break concrete.

It seems like the general contractor tends to call the electricians after the foundation is already poured. For fellow engineers, I think its a good idea to try to get a note about the CCE on the structural drawings.
 
steve66 said:
It seems like the general contractor tends to call the electricians after the foundation is already poured.

That was often the case at the jobs I worked on. The handout I saw from the state addressed that by explaining the GC would have to hire an EC to make the CCE connection. But they also noted that the EC making the connection need not be the one that ends up with the entire job.
 
iwire said:
That was often the case at the jobs I worked on. The handout I saw from the state addressed that by explaining the GC would have to hire an EC to make the CCE connection. But they also noted that the EC making the connection need not be the one that ends up with the entire job.

I am a combo inspector, so in my area it is relatively easy to ensure that a connection is made to the rebar in the footings. At the footing inspection I verify that the connection is made and note it and the location on the report.

Chris
 
iwire said:
No such inspector exists in my area ... well at least that I have ever run into.

The EI must sign the building card for each inspection. :smile:

This is one of the few pluses to being a combo inspector.:)

Chris
 
steve66 said:
?"All grounding electrodes as described in 250.52A1 through A6 that are present at each building or structure served shall be bonded together to form the grounding electorde system."

So if it has rebar that works for a CCE, then it must be connected to the grounding system.

See the exception to 250.50 for existing buildings.

Steve

The rebar is simply structural steel and not an electrode unless it is a full 20? at or near the bottom of the footing. So if an electrode is a rebar and turns up out of the footing it will have to be long enough to include a full 20? at the bottom of the footing plus the rise up through the footing, keep in mind the GEC begins at the electrode so if you?re connection is in the footing it has to remain unbroken to its destination. If there is no rebar 20? long at the bottom of the footing there is no electrode.

If the rebar does not qualify as an electrode then it does not have to be included in the electrode system. One could install the #4 cu 20? long at or near the bottom of the footing and it does not even have to connect to the rebar, but might as well. If 20? of #4 cu is at or near the bottom of a footing it is the electrode and the GEC can begin at its emergence from the footing if needed to lengthen.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top