Why we need permits and inspections

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tom baker

tom baker

First Chief Moderator & NEC Expert
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Location
Bremerton, Washington
Occupation
Master Electrician
This is our Washington Labor and Industry "Ugly Picture of the Month" for January, in our monthly electrical newsletter
Here is the commentary...
One of our inspectors was at a residence inspecting a new air conditioner unit. When he asked to see the electrical panel where the circuit originated, the homeowner got very nervous and the inspector discovered this very dangerous installation to a generator transfer
panel. The inspector followed up using the department’s process to ensure a permit was purchased and repairs were made.
 

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MAC702 said:
I'm impressed the panel cover has its screw.
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Not just a screw but the factory original screw!
The sad part of these kinds of things found in the wild are not that rare. Sad commentary on our trade and for that matter all the trades today.
 
I could post 100's of similar debaucheries.

Nice that your state has some 'teeth' in the matter Tom...

~RJ~
 
I don't know that I would put it into the "very dangerous" category. It isn't to code. Would not be real hard to make it code by just extending the EMT to the panelboard.
 
petersonra said:
I don't know that I would put it into the "very dangerous" category. It isn't to code. Would not be real hard to make it code by just extending the EMT to the panelboard.
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I dunno; do they make round-to-rectangular connectors for panels?? :lol:
 
Fulthrotl said:
i always run a couple feeders thru the panel cover.
that way, the pipes hold the cover on without screws.

making that up musta been fun.
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LOL.

and I would class the install as very dangerous. Kids, pets, vibration, etc. could rub those wires against the sharp cut metal of the door and cause a fire that would not be contained by a box or conduit, or cause a nasty shock or electrocution to said kids or pets.

And unless they used a red or black for ground, the unit doesnt appear grounded to the service. No fault pathway.... not good x 2.
 
Our states attorney general recently sent a questionnaire out to any license holder about such installs.

Seems they've had the litigant radish fielding all the maintenance and home improvement contractors , none of whom are required to have any certification at all here.

Because we are agricultural and tourist based economy , our laws are that anything goes on farms and single fam dwellings.

This has resulted in a LOT of similar work shown in the OP, where the state is powerless, 'fly by nights' rule, and any bona fide tradesman in business is always caught in the middle.

For example. No certification is required for an HI

That's not to say they are ALL bad, we've anything from retired GC's to engineering level inspection companies , but one never knows what one will get.

So an EC like myself gets a HI report, said report details the usual '2 wires under a breaker', and/or open junction box , while walking right on by the bigger $$$ items

Six months later, after the buyer/seller dispute festers into pre-court drama , i'm getting calls from lawyers

"Did you address the HI report at Mr & Mrs Pissedoff's?"

"Who"?

"Mr & Mrs Pissedoff's on trunkslammer road, Dec 7th, your invoice states what work was done by your company"

" Oh, ahhh, yeah....."

"Well we have a serious problem there, in that items F, G, H, and I went unaddressed and uniformed, resulting in the suit against the realtors"

"Well what does that have to do with me, those items were not on the report!"

"The report was forwarded by an uncertified, unlicensed and uninsured entity"

" So.....?"

" So you're the last entity in/out of Mr & Mrs Pissedoff's residence that possess these qualifiers"

" So.....?"

"Son, you need to understand liability rests upon those WITH credentials, not those W/O them"

"Uhmmmm.....Eruhmmmm....."

~RJ~
 
romex jockey said:
I could post 100's of similar debaucheries.
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I'm sure you could as could I but did you ever think about the thought process it took to do a job like this ? It took a lot more effort to cut a hole in the panel cover than it would have to cut out the sheetrock and have the wiring enter through the bottom of the cabinet. And I thought I was the king of "not thinking out of the box".:p
 
goldstar said:
I'm sure you could as could I but did you ever think about the thought process it took to do a job like this ? It took a lot more effort to cut a hole in the panel cover than it would have to cut out the sheetrock and have the wiring enter through the bottom of the cabinet. And I thought I was the king of "not thinking out of the box".:p
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There is a sheet of plywood surrounding the panel which does appear to be recessed in the wall. If you look at the very bottom of the picture where the plywood stops, it appears that the wall is concrete or cinder block. It might not have been trivial to get into the box. Clarification from the OP might help.
 
petersonra said:
I don't know that I would put it into the "very dangerous" category. It isn't to code. Would not be real hard to make it code by just extending the EMT to the panelboard.
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goldstar said:
I'm sure you could as could I but did you ever think about the thought process it took to do a job like this ? It took a lot more effort to cut a hole in the panel cover than it would have to cut out the sheetrock and have the wiring enter through the bottom of the cabinet. And I thought I was the king of "not thinking out of the box".:p
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simplest would have been to adapt to flexible conduit and drill the cover for the flex connector:D
 
from a purely "wire science" view, funny looking wire layouts are not that risky. but as we all know, having a std is a better way, but even std's start to look like patch-work when you have US std, Can std, UK std, and the many other std's around the world.


2B163EFA00000578-3185040-image-m-13_1438699467524.jpg
 
Someone on this site, once asked why we even needed inspectors. I said you would be surprised at the stuff I see when they know I'm coming out. Could you imagine what they would do if they thought no one was going to check on them?
 
romex jockey said:
Seems they've had the litigant radish fielding all the maintenance and home improvement contractors , none of whom are required to have any certification at all here.
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I don't think that litigant radishes or any other root vegetables threatening to sue should be fielding contractors. :D
 
FionaZuppa said:
from a purely "wire science" view, funny looking wire layouts are not that risky. but as we all know, having a std is a better way, but even std's start to look like patch-work when you have US std, Can std, UK std, and the many other std's around the world.


2B163EFA00000578-3185040-image-m-13_1438699467524.jpg
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That looks almost "workman-like" compared to some photos I've seen posted.
 
I would just take the cover off and feed straight to the breakers, saves wire, so money in the bank!
 
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