Under cabinet lights

Status
Not open for further replies.
nice pics! well of course it wasn't okay, but it is possible to argue your way out of a job. i tried to explain why it was wrong; he didn't care. $$$$$$$. just added it to the list of reasons for starting my own business. and it was a valuable lesson for me at least in that i saw exactly why you don't guess when submitting a bid.
 
Yes, it is possible to argue yourself out of a job ~ I've done that numerous times :D ...both when working for "the man" and out on my own w/clients.

I'm glad you liked the picture
jester.gif
 
peter d said:
All I'm saying is that it's easy to be here on the forum and be an "NEC thumper." But then when we get out into the real world sometimes we will have to do something like put an undercounter ;) light
Click to expand...


Son of a.......


I'm with Peter 100 %. Anyone that says they have never knowingly violated the NEC is flat out full of it. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
 
Last edited:
electricmanscott said:
Anyone that says they have never knowingly violated the NEC is flat out full of it. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I say that being a professional means we know how to break the rules properly. ;)
 
LarryFine said:
I say that being a professional means we know how to break the rules properly. ;)
Click to expand...

Larry-- you must take that statement and put it in your signature. That's as worthy as a Mark Twain quote.
 
I'm with Larry. However you guys are missing the big picture. When you cheat the undercountercabinet:rolleyes: light onto the SABC and you crank on the blender with the ice and stuff the undercountercabinet lights dim..... and not off a dimmer I sold em...:mad: I hate that worse than the cheating.
 
andinator said:
I'm with Larry. However you guys are missing the big picture. When you cheat the undercountercabinet:rolleyes: light onto the SABC and you crank on the blender with the ice and stuff the undercountercabinet lights dim..... and not off a dimmer I sold em...:mad: I hate that worse than the cheating.
Click to expand...


At least they solved the fuzzy tv picture while the mixer was running... ;)
 
The whole reason we're not supplosed to combine lighting and appliances is so a malfunctioning appliance doesn't plunge us into darkness, especially with heated or motorized equipment nearby, waiting to devour unsuspecting fingers.
 
Same thing happens if you just plug in the light, and that's legal. Some people will only pay the bare minimum (or less if they can). I don'tseek these people out but they somehow find me anyway. Sometimes I tell them to get someone else and other times I'm just in the mood to violate the NEC as much as I can and get the cash, drive to the bar, get drunk and call for a ride home.
 
I agree with Celtic and George S on this . Once you decide to cut corners on a job you are married to that mistake for a long time and this can cost you in the long run ( insurence,licence...). IMO I do the job by code and I charge them for that job. If thay don't want the work , I walk.
 
electricmanscott said:
Anyone that says they have never knowingly violated the NEC is flat out full of it. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying I've never violated the NEC knowlingly. I just feel that it's a slippery slope, and I personally feel that I have to make a point to refrain from violating the code, because for me I can see how it could lead to being an unnecessary habit.

I figure your bar is actually probably higher than mine, from what I know about you. You also have the luxury of self-employment, which means you call your own shots.

Sometimes, IMO, peons are forced to commit code violations. As long as I've said something and been overruled, I sleep at night.
 
I don't make a habit or regularly violating the code intentionally. Occasionally, it happens, but only after all other options are considered. Putting a U/C light on a SABC is a very trivial violation, in my opinion. I said it before, and I will say it again, some code rules have some wiggle room, others do not.

Bottom line, no one does 100% code compliant work 100% of the time. If you did, you would be perfect. And guess what? No one is perfect.
 
peter d said:
Bottom line, no one does 100% code compliant work 100% of the time. If you did, you would be perfect. And guess what? No one is perfect.
Click to expand...


Don't beat yourself up, someday you will be like us... :grin: sorry, I just could not resist...
 
It makes no diferance whether you are self empoyed or working for some one.
there are times when you violate the code but yet still maintian a safe installtion.
I think there are some codes with a little room to fudge. I myself being a 1 man shop try to make sure my installations are up to code or better but some times there are little things that are non code compliance but still safe

I agree with you George in context that the code was written to make us safer but I do not feel that the code making commite tkaes every thing into consideration when wiritng the code such as residentail remodels or add ons


you would not belive some of the wiring in track homes that I have worked in but have passed inspection. Track house Electricians are the worse of the offenders when it comes to code violations
 
It needs to be said that many code rules (esp residential) have nothing to do with electrical safety. This thread deals with one of them; others are bath & laundry circuits...... For example; if I were to go to an existing home and the HO wants to add an outlet in a hallway and the only source of power nearby is the very convenient laundry outlet on the other side of the wall, I have a choice. I can try to sell the $650.00 do it the right way job ("OK we'll think about it and let you know") Or I can sell the $120.00 'git er dun' job and be down the road with a check in hand in 45 minutes. I'm nuts about safety and NEC compliance normally but there are times when my 34 years of doin' it has to account for something. I use the NEC, reson, experiece, common sense, greed, paranoia, fear...to make my decisions.
 
If you staple a piece of romex 13" from the box, is it unsafe? Code compliant?

If you travel 56 in a 55 MPH speed limit, unsafe? Within the speed limits?

I bet none of the "NEC thumpers" (I like that Peter) would travel 56 in a 55, because it's against the rules. Hardwiring the light (not code compliant) verses pluging it in (code compliant) seems to be the same as going 56 in a 55.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top