Four floor motel

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quogueelectric, you are welcome to do what you want, and if bidding an NM project with MC is what you want to do, then go for it and loose the job.

The rest would bid the job per the contract dicuments and applicable codes which in this case allows the NM to be used even for a high rise project.

Roger
 
I feel like I should weigh in on this thread with the benefits of emt but the fact is I don't care if they wire hotels in NM as long as it's code compliant. The only NM installation that bothered me a LOT was where the electrician had cut the ground wire and bent it back through the clamp. Unfortunately some had lost contact and lost the grounding system with it. Here the problem wasn't the NM but the installation. I also had an instance where an emt connector screw wasn't tightened, the emt pulled away and the circuit lost ground. Any system can become unsafe if not installed properly.

Dave
 
In my opinion NM should be limited to woodframe construction. I think steel studs have to many opportunities to damage NM. I don't see a real problem with combustibles inside the wall. By the time sheetrock fails everything is creating poisonous gas. But like others have said I build to spec : )
 
I'm a proponent of using NM where ever it's permitted to be used. I think the mindset of "Bigger is better" comes in to play, somehow, and it gets rationalized that "Well, this is a BIG building, so the wiring method has to be BETTER, so this all must mean no NM."

Buildings reaching the height being discussed in this thread are generally sprinkled and many have standpipe systems as well. They also have full-blown fire alarm systems that report out to central stations. The buildings are usually "smart" because people aren't too "smart" in emergency situations.

There are many people looking out for safety.....although I will admit the "romex lobby" is a very strong and persistent lobby spending countless hours and dollars to discourage the stigma attached to romex over the years. But if the wiring method is installed properly...where is the evidence of problems? :confused: :smile:
 
iwire said:
Mark, in a dwelling unit that will always be loaded with poisonous combustibles out in the open how will NM in the walls make the building less safe.

The furniture, the plastics, the paper will in a fire disable the occupants long before the NM will be effected.

JMO, Bob
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Is there a place and time where you think NM would NOT be appropriate? :rolleyes:
 
cgodfrey said:
In a four floor motel can you use nm cable?
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It would depend on the Building Code that is in effect within the jurisdiction the motel is situated. Most building codes only permit an R-1 tansient occupancy to be three stories in height and only when they're type 5A, meaning there is a 1 hour FRR required. Adding a sprinkler system will give the designer the 4th floor, typically.
There is nothing that specifically prohibits roping a 4 story type 5A building with NM. But the building would have to be type 5A and would be required to be sprinklered.:smile:
 
So are theaters and hospitals out of the question? Places of assembely? Those should be OK too?

IMO there are die hards on the issue and every time we have these threads (once a week it seems) there are those who don't see any place where NM should not be. It's troublesome.....

IMO as I said before it has it place(s) and in some it should not be acceptable....
 
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e57 said:
So are theaters and hospitals out of the question? Places of assembely? Those should be OK too?
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Submit a proposal.

Roger
 
I see some responses from areas near salt water. Isn't the use of NM mandatory due to the salt water proximity? [Not sure what that word means, but saw it on a Bob Villa video]
 
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