how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

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Re: how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

Originally posted by TimWA:
Sure enough, we were tagged by the Seattle City Light inspector for the exposed NMB above 8 feet in the carport. His comment was "NMB is not an approved surface-wiring method". Period. It's interesting that after a little further discussion he added that even UF would not have been approved (exposed).
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Luckily for you, isn't Washington State one of the few that spells out exactly what installation areas they considered "subject to physical damage"? I seem to remember something about Washington's code additions making it pretty clear that they don't want romex on the surface anywhere.
 
Re: how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

The City of Seattle has its own wiring code, as does the state of washington.
 
Re: how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

The city of New York for years had their own specific code they just adopted the 02 NEC but with so many addendums and deletions it is as hard to read as their own code was.I left there 22 years ago and Some of the stupid requirements at that time were mind boggling.3 #12 in 1/2 in. emt 5 in 3/4 in. and no more than 7 in any sized conduit stuck in my head.Also NM was taboo in city limits.
This came from a city where if a hole in an overhead roadway opened they just bolted a piece of 3/4 steel down on the road way and life went on.
I saw things while working for their subway system that were down right scary.$ 600 volt traction motors interconnected with an air brake system where if a subway car in the morning had not enough motor power to leave the yard due to burnt resister shunts,coffee can a pair of snips and bailing wire was the quick fix to get that train out to make schedule.It will come back in the barn after service and get fixed.I worked a job that had me in the yard 2 days and in the bussiest station 3 days during rush hour.1 train / sec went threu the 4 levels during rush hour.
After a coffee can repair exploded under me with 2500 passengers on the train and I was suspended for a week for putting myself in danger for leading the passengers to an emergency exit and then going back to put the fire out and was overcome by smoke and was hospitalized for a week and a supervisor came in the burn unit to get me to sign the reprimand I was done.Transit workers unit did nothing to stop it :D
 
Re: how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

I think Article 334 is intentionally vague in order to essentially leave a lot of leaway for interpretation by an AHJ.

334.15(B) can be interpreted from either extreme. You could say it means that it has to be protected from microbial fungus at one extreme. What? that's not physical damage. And you could also figure that it has to be protected from asteroids and metorites, cause it could happen.

So if the AHJ comes up with some goofy figure like 8', I think 334.15(B) was written so they can.
 
Re: how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

Originally posted by physis:
I think Article 334 is intentionally vague in order to essentially leave a lot of leaway for interpretation by an AHJ.
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Which is absolutely fine with me, as long as everyone understands what is and what isn't considered 'subject to physical damage' for that locality ahead of time.
 
Re: how high NMB permitted exposed in unfinished carport?

Yep. I agree.

I don't know how many of us bother to be informed about local amendmants and ordinances and whatever else (I'm sure the EC's do). I know that it was something important enough to me that I decided years ago to get all this stuff from the municipalities I work in. And I still plan to.

We have to do our part too and make sure we're up to speed. That way when a code is arbitrarily enforced we'll know that the inspector has the inlaws over.
 
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