Inspector rejects NM in open studs.

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Where passing through a floor,
the cable shall be enclosed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate
metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC
conduit, Type RTRC marked with the suffix -XW, or other
approved means extending at least 150 mm (6 in.) above the
floor.
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So does that mean if you fish a wire from the crawlspace up through the floor you are supposed to sleeve it?
 
if exposed to 'physical damage'* , an example of how the NEC would choose to protect any given NM conductor Sierra.


*Just where the code ends and the subjective/objectivity begins on that is a 90.4, to which i have had many a conversation with my ahj , ironically in places that the state would do well to issue flack jackets and flea collars for them :) ~RJ~
 
MattS87 said:
Did a similar job last year and had same issue. Inspector said all they required is to place 2x4s horizontally along the walls where the wiring was so if something fell between stud bays the wiring would be protected. Ask you inspector if he/she would accept this.
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Had the same situation and was permitted to use 1x4 furring across studs in front of the NM.

$20 fix.
 
Craigv said:
Had the same situation and was permitted to use 1x4 furring across studs in front of the NM.
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Craigv said:
$20 fix.
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Yesterday I talked to the inspector and he totally rejected protecting the wire with anything less than fully drywalling any stud cell that contained wire up to the ceiling. He did however say if I could talk to the chief electrical inspector if I didn't like that answer. The chief was much more reasonable and said I could cover any horizontal wires with a 1x4 board. He said the vertical sections required no further protection. He wasn't willing to allow anything flimsier than 1x4 like paneling or strips of wallboard.

Today I had another rough inspection and showed the inspector the 1x4's I had installed. He insisted I cover the vertical sections as well. He disagreed that his boss said the verticals required no further protection. One of us is right. I'll find out tomorrow when I call the chief again to confirm.

I sensed the inspector was PO'ed at me, but oh well.

Much more than a $20 fix by the way. 80 board feet of 1x4 and screws marked up to cover shopping trip, and 90 minutes installation labor.
 
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Coppersmith said:


Yesterday I talked to the inspector and he totally rejected protecting the wire with anything less than fully drywalling any stud cell that contained wire up to the ceiling. He did however say if I could talk to the chief electrical inspector if I didn't like that answer. The chief was much more reasonable and said I could cover any horizontal wires with a 1x4 board. He said the vertical sections required no further protection. He wasn't willing to allow anything flimsier than 1x4 like paneling or strips of wallboard.

Today I had another rough inspection and showed the inspector the 1x4's I had installed. He insisted I cover the vertical sections as well. He disagreed that his boss said the verticals required no further protection. One of us is right. I'll find out tomorrow when I call the chief again to confirm.

I sensed the inspector was PO'ed at me, but oh well.

Much more than a $20 fix by the way. 80 board feet of 1x4 and screws marked up to cover shopping trip, and 90 minutes installation labor.
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"call my boss if you don't like my answer", shows up and sees he was over-ruled :rant:
But at least you made money on the fix
 
Coppersmith said:


Yesterday I talked to the inspector and he totally rejected protecting the wire with anything less than fully drywalling any stud cell that contained wire up to the ceiling. He did however say if I could talk to the chief electrical inspector if I didn't like that answer. The chief was much more reasonable and said I could cover any horizontal wires with a 1x4 board. He said the vertical sections required no further protection. He wasn't willing to allow anything flimsier than 1x4 like paneling or strips of wallboard.

Today I had another rough inspection and showed the inspector the 1x4's I had installed. He insisted I cover the vertical sections as well. He disagreed that his boss said the verticals required no further protection. One of us is right. I'll find out tomorrow when I call the chief again to confirm.

I sensed the inspector was PO'ed at me, but oh well.

Much more than a $20 fix by the way. 80 board feet of 1x4 and screws marked up to cover shopping trip, and 90 minutes installation labor.
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Eighty board-feet of 1x4 is 120 feet of 'em. Either way, I used furring...same dimensional size but not pretty, and much cheaper. And I didn't need to cover anywhere near 80 or 120 feet of wall.

Looks as as if you made a buddy of that inspector. He was unreasonable and got his shorts twisted, deservedly so. Bet you'll prevail. Good luck!
 
It all comes down to interpretation of what is subject to physical abuse.

I find it funny that nothing less than a 1x4 is what was asked for, or drywall the entire wall. When it comes to physical abuse that drywall is lesser protection than the 1x4 typically would be. Typical garage won't see the kind of activity that requires that kind of protection. If it is expected to see that sort of activity on regular basis then maybe it should have solid concrete walls or something more extreme.
 
kwired said:
It all comes down to interpretation of what is subject to physical abuse.

I find it funny that nothing less than a 1x4 is what was asked for, or drywall the entire wall. When it comes to physical abuse that drywall is lesser protection than the 1x4 typically would be. Typical garage won't see the kind of activity that requires that kind of protection. If it is expected to see that sort of activity on regular basis then maybe it should have solid concrete walls or something more extreme.
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If it's going to see significant abuse, it should be in MC/AC, EMT or RMC, depending.
 
kwired said:
It all comes down to interpretation of what is subject to physical abuse.

I find it funny that nothing less than a 1x4 is what was asked for, or drywall the entire wall. When it comes to physical abuse that drywall is lesser protection than the 1x4 typically would be. Typical garage won't see the kind of activity that requires that kind of protection. If it is expected to see that sort of activity on regular basis then maybe it should have solid concrete walls or something more extreme.
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Indeed, this is a case of Inspectors Gone Wild. He was treating this as if the NM was made of butterfly wings.
 
gadfly56 said:
If it's going to see significant abuse, it should be in MC/AC, EMT or RMC, depending.
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Right. But unless there is some known out of ordinary activity definitely going to happen there, most dwelling garages aren't going to be considered to see that significant of abuse.

I try to at least not place wiring in a manner it will get used to hang things from, but if something occasionally lays against wiring is that justification for calling it physical abuse? I trust that condition more than I trust rodents that happen to get into a wall with NM cable installed that had been sheetrocked.
 
Craigv said:
Indeed, this is a case of Inspectors Gone Wild. He was treating this as if the NM was made of butterfly wings.
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+1
there's always a few nuts on the fruit tree :lol:
 
Coppersmith said:


Yesterday I talked to the inspector and he totally rejected protecting the wire with anything less than fully drywalling any stud cell that contained wire up to the ceiling. He did however say if I could talk to the chief electrical inspector if I didn't like that answer. The chief was much more reasonable and said I could cover any horizontal wires with a 1x4 board. He said the vertical sections required no further protection. He wasn't willing to allow anything flimsier than 1x4 like paneling or strips of wallboard.

Today I had another rough inspection and showed the inspector the 1x4's I had installed. He insisted I cover the vertical sections as well. He disagreed that his boss said the verticals required no further protection. One of us is right. I'll find out tomorrow when I call the chief again to confirm.

I sensed the inspector was PO'ed at me, but oh well.

Much more than a $20 fix by the way. 80 board feet of 1x4 and screws marked up to cover shopping trip, and 90 minutes installation labor.
Click to expand...

Personally (My Opinion) as a former "chief" for a large jurisdiction in VA, I would say call the supervisor or chief out for a discussion. I would have no problem letting someone put bands of gypsum board up to cover all places where the Type NM-B was exposed. In fact, I would also recommend nailing plywood strips that could be nailed up around the room to cover it as a sturdier option if the chief is leaning close to your side of the fence.

I used to encourage my guys to call me out anytime there was a dispute in order to remove them from the equation and put the blame squarely on my shoulders in the decision process. I think you should consider making that call.
 
MasterTheNEC said:
Personally (My Opinion) as a former "chief" for a large jurisdiction in VA, I would say call the supervisor or chief out for a discussion. I would have no problem letting someone put bands of gypsum board up to cover all places where the Type NM-B was exposed. In fact, I would also recommend nailing plywood strips that could be nailed up around the room to cover it as a sturdier option if the chief is leaning close to your side of the fence.

I used to encourage my guys to call me out anytime there was a dispute in order to remove them from the equation and put the blame squarely on my shoulders in the decision process. I think you should consider making that call.
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He already did. The inspector refused to believe his supervisor gave the answer the OP is claiming.
 
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