Your most observed code violation?

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rebar steel cannot be tured out into the ground. Building code violation in Fla. the rebar here is truned up into the block wall and the connection is made in the block void. a 2 gang mud ring is attached to the block for a permiment ufr access.
 
Hi Cavie,

In Lee county do you require a UFER with a Monolithic slab construction? It seems to me I heard electricians who work in both counties say you do and Collier does not.

Andrew
 
Yes ufer required. Some say it is useless because of the vaper barrier. Truth is, the plastic barrier does not go up the outside of the slab therefore leaving 16" of concrete exposed to the earth all the way around the slab. the rebar is brought up in the block at the service location and a 2 gang mud ring is attached to the block for access. Collier county will have no choice with 2005 it states "When present". 2002 is worded "When availible".
 
One I fight with is someone installing --part of a new service- then call for a service release. He says,"I only installed the cable from the meter up to the top of building" the rest is "existing" Existing, greatly overused!
Then, I look at the grounding sys. which I find, undersized, ground clamp badly corroded, conductor not secured, etc. Then I look for the ground rod, where I find it cut off by the lawn mower. The panel has missing k.o.'s, the mounting board falling off the wall, missing connectors on the cables entering the panel.
Meanwhile, behind me are 3 little kids, ages 4,5,6, with a metal rod curious "what would happen if"? all kids without shoes on.
Contractor argues that it is safe. Existing! Release for power or I will cry like a baby to someone in state gov.
Guys, If you touch part of a service, check it all for the above points. There is no such thing as a partial service entrance inspection. Old panels are ok, make sure to check for the above points. Old cable is ok, if it is not damaged or freyed. Install a ground rod and clamp a few inches below grade, leave a shovel load of dirt off to the side. A ground clamp is $2, install it. A ko seal is a $1, do you see a pattern here? A reinspection fee is??? Secure everything!!!! You will pass inspection for those old services. Remember, your family might be spending the night in that building. Bless those with safety, god workmanship.
 
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Most observed code violation

Most frequent violation
Main bonding screw not tight on about 25% of all of the main panels that I inspect. It's not going to return several hundred amps of fault current to the transformer neutral if it's only caught by a couple threads.

Most dangerous of the commonly seen violations
Three ( or 4 wire) HRs not landed on the correctly phased breakers. This comes up in about a third of panels with minis. When the hots aren't phased properly you can double the current on the unprotected neutral.

David
 
Cavie said:
rebar steel cannot be tured out into the ground. Building code violation in Fla. the rebar here is truned up into the block wall and the connection is made in the block void. a 2 gang mud ring is attached to the block for a permiment ufr access.
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Well there are 1000`s upon 1000`s of homes where the ufer steel was set under the form boards and upturned on the outside of the home and cut below grade,if not cut then it would fail on final for ufer not below grade.
 
violation ???

violation ???

Inspecting in an jurisdiction which allows "homeowner" DIY wiring, there are so many violations that the "most common" are difficult to pick sometimes, however, I'm still a bit dumbfounded by the licensed folks who use the following:
"I knew it was wrong, but I thought maybe you would overlook it"
and, my favorite:
"I knew that, but, I didn't have _____________ in my truck"
 
How about this one;

You're walking the jobsite with the electrical foreman and as you find a violation they might say something like..... "I told Larry,Tom, John, Dennis, Ralph, INSERT ANY NAME YOU WANT, to take care of that."

If it were already a known violation wouldn't it be a logical thought to verify that it had been corrected prior to scheduling an inspection? I'm not saying that it couldn't be true at times, but I sure do hear that a lot.

Or maybe this one..... "Your the only inspector I know that enforces that section in the NEC." Again, admitting that they know it's a violation but because, possibly, no-one else has enforced it that somehow the inspector is wrong.

I suppose I'm fairly lucky though, most to all of the electrician's work that I inspect are very professional and do care about what they install.

Pete
 
bill@nkapc said:
Then I look for the ground rod, where I find it cut off by the lawn mower.
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That's one mother of a lawnmower! Mine always loses the fight.

"I fought the rod, and the rod won."
 
LarryFine said:
That's one mother of a lawnmower! Mine always loses the fight.

"I fought the rod, and the rod won."
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Ahh, but where one lawn mower has failed, another may prevail.

The HO probably just thought it was another rock.
 
Don't get mad at this response

Don't get mad at this response

In defense of some of the contractors out there, some of the violations they receive could be due to the inconsistancy of inspections from different inspectors in the areas the contractor works.
I have come across some violations, and I contact the contractor... he will say the other inspector told him to do it.

This is something I see more than before, and it comes down to poorly trained inspectors being hired by the company/jurisdiction they work for.
A part of that also is that in some areas, inspectors are paid very poorly... because of this who is really attracted to the job???
 
Where I live there is a contractor that used to install a 200a service on the house and he would install two 100a main breaker panels in the basement, he would feed these panels with 2/3 SEU... what a joke...
 
stickboy1375 said:
Where I live there is a contractor that used to install a 200a service on the house and he would install two 100a main breaker panels in the basement, he would feed these panels with 2/3 SEU... what a joke...
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I fail to see the problem. That's the same way a 400 amp service is normally built.
 
stickboy1375 said:
check out the smallest size wire you can parallel....
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They're not in parallel. They are just two service cables on the load side of the meter. The is no different than if you have a 200 amp se cable serving a double gang meter socket with a 100 amp panel hung off each socket. In your case, you have only one meter. Big deal. I'd want to look into how the two 100 amp se cables originate (double lugged, tapped in a gutter, etc.) to examine that for compliance. Other than that, you describe a very compliant installation.
 
I think the #1 violation was already posted (box fill).
A common one I see is conduits being supported by other conduits (with wire in them).
How about sub-panels not identifying where they are fed from, etc.
 
"5.) Make Sure There Are Not Any Electrical Items Entering A Stair Enclosure That Do Not Specifically Feed The Stair Enclosure.{Per 1996 BOCA 1014.11.2}"

This is not a NEC rule, so how can the AHJ get you on this?
 
pierre said:
17 months as an inspector, here is the absolute number 1 violation - heads and shoulders above the rest.

"5. A neutral to ground connection is not allowed downstream of the service disconnect?check for green screws in subpanels. [250.24(A)(5)]."
(from Ryan's list)

The next closest is panel labeling...excuse me lack of panel labeling :)
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This is a sad commentary on our industry.

Anyway, our Washington State inspectors say that NEC 110.3(B) is one of the most written violations.
 
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