panel clearances

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daniel morrison

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Recently a condo built in 1969 has a 40 year recirtification. Panel clearances in the units are an issue. my question is in dade county, fl in 1969 did the code address panel clearances as i have seen many buildings that when built did not comply, ie counter tops , washers ect in front of the unit panels. If this was not in the code then i would assume their locations would be grandfathered in
 
This is a call for Ken. I would expect there was an NEC code on clearance. What it was I am not sure. If things were added since the creation of the setup that changed the clearances then I would think your inspector could rightfully call you on this.
 
I can’t speak for any local codes applicable to that area. But in the 1965 NEC, the working clearance requirements appeared in article 110.16. The distance from the front of a panel that had to be kept clear was only 2.5 feet, and there was no statement of the left-to-right space that had to be kept clear (i.e., what today is specified as a minimum of 30 inches).

As to an old installation being “grandfathered in,” there is no “grandfather rule” per se anymore. The rule that used to be called by that name has been moved to the annex, and is therefore not enforceable. But it would not have allowed an installation to remain, if the AHJ believes it to represent a hazard. Check out the wording of 80.9(B), in Annex H.

Welcome to the forum.
 
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