panel height

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

russellroberts

Senior Member
Location
Georgia
I got red-tagged today for having a 200a mb panel "too high" in an antique car showroom.

The main breaker handle is 6' aff. The top of the panel,I'm not sure about the height of.

All I can find is 404.8 which allows 6'7" to the highest breaker.

Am I missing something?

Russell

[ January 23, 2004, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: russellroberts ]
 
Re: panel height

Hello Russell, you aren't missing anything, you are right 6'7" is the rule.

The breaker or switch handle is the only issue.

We mount cans the are 90 + inches to the top, but that doesn't have any bearing on anything.

Roger
 
Re: panel height

If that was the only item on the tag i would call the inspector.He may very well sign it off and if not he will site what code he thinks you broke.
 
Re: panel height

The tag just said "panel too high" Jim.

And yes,that was the only thing on the list.

I just wanted to be sure I could show him a code refrence Monday.

Russell
 
Re: panel height

You're welcome Russell.

Jim doesn't get real inspections, just "fast walk thru's" by inspectors not doing their job, so he's used to seeing all kind of things on a tag. :D

Roger
 
Re: panel height

Jim you and I have many of the same inspectors,I have yet to see one that would do a quick walk through on an inspection...... Actually they spend allot more time than needed.Coming up with violations like paint on the neutral bar so replace panel interior,or a hallway that is actually a 3 ft. by 4 ft. area that enters bedrooms from a family room so a light and switch is required even though there is no door to enter this area and there was a recessed can 2 ft.outside the archway.How about a 2 ft. wall in a kitchen requiring a receptacle,I know that code says 2 ft wall but in a kitchen ???? So Jim send these fast walking non measuring inspectors my way that would make my days allot easier
 
Re: panel height

"Where can I find one of these fast walking inspectors?"

Here.

Seriously, in a "track" home a trained eye can do an inspection for a rough in 15 to 20 minutes. A finish inspection is now 10 to 15 minutes longer than before due to the addition of AFCI's.

What makes inspections long are violations.

When my work is inspected the inspections do not take long because all my wires are squared-off (easier to see if catwalks are needed), wires in the boxes are neatly installed (easier to see eqc's made-up and re-id wires),majority of holes are in the center of studs (protection plates), all wires are neatly stapled (it shows workmanship-- this does impress inspectors),and I never have problems.

The inspectors in the Columbus area are some of the toughest around, that said I have always found them willing to take the time to explain why something is a violation.

Mike P.
 
Re: panel height

Mike using your figures we would average 1/2 hour total per house.Inspectors usually are in there office for at least the first half hour of a day.
Now assuming half of the inspections are rough and half final @15 min per home would come to about 30 in a day.Out of that 15 min they must also drive.So at best you might get 10 minutes per inspection.They do seem to get the jobs done and tags do get wrote.Most violations are caught.
Workmanship is a biggy.If it looks neat and stapled properly,and panel looks like someone cared then they don't look as hard.When i finish a job i try to put the inspectors hat on.And often i find small things.Fix them and usually they pass.

ALLEN yes we do meet the same inspectors.I won't use names here but have walked with them (i try to be there on all inspections)Usually we spend about a minute per room (assuming no problems).Most small homes are finished in 10 minutes.Have very few tags on my jobs.
 
Re: panel height

I apologize if I'm jacking the thread, but I have a quick question: Do the Florida inspectors inspect just electrical, or building, plumbing and HVAC as well?
 
Re: panel height

Ryan, a few are grandfathered in.The rest meet requirements such as an EC license,and passing an inspectors test.
The one thing this board has showed me is that things very a lot from place to place.From what i read i could wire homes in some places with no license or inspections,now that is scary
 
Re: panel height

Jim are you asking how long to rough or check the roughin mans work? If I was roughing a 1750 sq. ft home alone.....MMMM about a day and a half to complete it.To Walk it and I do all the homes I have charge of about 20 min/house with a box of kickplates there and a ladder.Jim don`t take offense but you made it seem that the inspectors here just do a drive by inspection and that is not the case look at my previous posts and some of the responses that there have been.....I have worked in N.Y.C.,Colorado,Texas and I have never seen inspectors like we have had here.I cringe when some of them show up.These guys have nothing better to do but pick obscure articles in the code and exploit them like the post about 1/4 in. set back on a panel,That set us back almost $1,000.00 in back charges from the drywall company.For what a 1/8 of an inch of drywall to much between a panel and the cover ????We did 2,000 homes last year and expect 2,750 this year,so I expect the same thing with the AHJ`S
but at least now I have their utmost respect and trust.I have gone to the chefs many times and most now know that I will fight when I am right.If there is a legit beef then well it`s all good.But to say that these guys just drive by.NO WAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Re: panel height

Allen what i was asking is how long the county inspectors spend at the house.Im not saying they don't inspect but seldom see them take more than 10 minutes.Why they are giving you problems i do not know.I do basically what your saying you do and that is inspect my own job first.I know they are being far more picky in resent year because people are sueing them.I ask my new (ex)employer about that bundling issue and they had plenty of them on a job i seen.His answer is they don't bother him about that.That was in brandon.The violations i seen were beyond words and somehow he is passing.Up to 4 rows of wire on a 2x4.Plastic box's with all the openings opened wide,even if only one wire in them.Junction boxes that will be covered by sofit and not accesable.I thought it best to depart early.I need a job but im not being a part of that kind of workmanship

[ January 24, 2004, 07:17 PM: Message edited by: jimwalker ]
 
Re: panel height

10 minutes simply is not enough time, regardless of how big or small.

Joe Tedesco asked me to video a service only inspection on a new house, which I did. The video turned out to be about 6 1/2 minutes long...again, only the exterior and interior panels, plus the grounding electrode system.


Sometimes as an inspector, you walk away from a building knowing perfectly well that you did not inspect it as well as you would have liked. For example, I inspected a house on Friday that had a 7 car garage and was 11,000 square feet. Inspecting a house of this size is incredibly difficult, as it is nearly impossible to trace the wiring, such as bathroom circuits.

When I interviewed for the job I have right now, one of the questions I asked the interviewer was "how many inspections do you do per day"? If I wouldn't have gotten an answer that I was comfortable with...I wouldn't have taken the job...its that simple.
 
Re: panel height

If the panel front is lined up using a piece of scrap rock during the rough, it comes out perfect every time :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top