When was NM cable adopted as not allowed in commercial buildings?

Status
Not open for further replies.
MikeyinLA said:
I'm new here (first post) and I found this site while looking for a date when romex was not allowed to be installed in a commercial building.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Maybe sometime in the future, stay tuned. :)

Roger
 
I didn't know that romex was even allowed in commercial buildings until I read it on the internet.

Those crazy East coast folks apparently rope grocery stores :roll:



Locally (AZ), commercial work has been conduit and wire for just about ever.

I've seen some stock NM wiring in a few small commercial buildings circa 1950.
 
Here in Kalifornia, we haven't used "rope" (romex) in any commercial building since I got started in 1981. And the local inspectors have echoed this. Yet I have never asked for a code section as it was just the way it is.

Time to see a few inspectors, casually of course :D
 
iwire said:
Yeah, new ideas are slow to get out west. :grin:
Click to expand...

yea but it's got to get past us Midwest folks first.:grin:
Just were not to good at passing things on, we keep it all to our selves:grin:


I have never understood the mentality behind not allowing a wiring method in a place where more then likely you will be awake all day if even there was a problem like a fire, but at home where we will be asleep, its ok to use it:confused

I'm not talking about what the NEC says, because it allows NM in commercial buildings, but over the years I have been told the same thing as the OP was told, in the last 25 years I couldn't count or remember to count how many commercial buildings I have done in rope, many Holiday Expresses, Hampton Inn, Super 8, and many more, but it was a big upset for many of the inspectors around here as when they tried to stop them from being roped, and the state AHJ went after these inspectors.
 
Last edited:
hurk27 said:
I have never understood the mentality behind not allowing a wiring method in a place where more then likely you will be awake all day if even there was a problem like a fire,
Click to expand...

and there will be fire escapes and fire alarm systems and sprinklers and ....:cool:
 
iwire said:
and there will be fire escapes and fire alarm systems and sprinklers and ....:cool:
Click to expand...

ya they get fire alarms we get smoke alarms:roll:

they ge fire hoses on every floor, sprinklers, we get to run out and try to get the garden hose hooked up or grab pots and pans.:roll:
they get conduit and we get rope:roll:
they have to stay awake, we get to sleep:roll: fair trade:D
 
Just for the record for the op, NEC- it was not allowed in building that had more than three floors above grade, or was it just not allowed above the third floor above grade? Seems so long ago now I hardly remember........that was like what? 5 years ago now? I'm getting foggy.
027669_27.jpg


I'm coming to join you Elizabeth.....
 
No such rule for Kalifornia, Just a rule for most big cities. Rural areas have allowed it for years here in Kalifornia.
 
Hendrix said:
It all has to do with the type of construction.
Click to expand...


And big concern based on the number of people in the occupancy. More people, and people less familar with the surroundings (they are not at home) makes it more difficult to evacuate the building. Therefore the fire may be burning for a longer amount of time while the occupants are evacuating, leaving them exposed to the fumes from the burning cable...
 
Pierre C Belarge said:
And big concern based on the number of people in the occupancy. More people, and people less familar with the surroundings (they are not at home) makes it more difficult to evacuate the building. Therefore the fire may be burning for a longer amount of time while the occupants are evacuating, leaving them exposed to the fumes from the burning cable...
Click to expand...

Nice to see you Pierre, it almost makes me feel bad to ask what you mean?:)

Other than places of assembly NM can be used in buildings with 100s of people inside.
 
At one time around here the city inspectors were enforcing a no Romex rule even in residences. But it was never an adopted rule by the city and eventually some non-union contractors made a big stink about it and they stopped enforcing the non-existent rule.

Personally, I can't see any reason why most buildings, can't be Romex. It's a perfectly decent wiring method and has been proven safe over many years. It's not perfect, and one could argue that there is a slightly greater chance of a fire from romex over pipe, but its small.

I am not sure there is enough benefit to make it worthwhile to mandate banning Romex. But Chicago and a lot of nearby suburbs have done so, mostly to make the EC's happy. It's all about money.
 
iwire said:
Nice to see you Pierre, it almost makes me feel bad to ask what you mean?:)

Other than places of assembly NM can be used in buildings with 100s of people inside.
Click to expand...

Thanks! it feels good to be back....I think :)

I did not write this to mean it cannot be used for buildings with many people occupying it.

What I tried to convey is the idea that there were discussions during the years that the larger occupied buildings were took longer to evacuate during fires, etc... the longer time was a concern due to the lethal fumes from burning NM cable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top