Electrical Code issues for basement

[WayneW]

Can i just get the romex and slide it through the conduit to 'protect' it?

No, this is not allowed anyplace that I am aware of. I have been told that the issue is overheating. Romex is rated for free air cooling. When it gets enclosed in a conduit, the wires are now double insulated and will run hotted than expected. Conduit has rules for how many of what size of wire can be used. which is all based on the ambient temperature around the wire and how well the wire can cool itself.

 

[judge_l]

In my addition, I did all the wiring myself. I found when dealing with the inspector, neatness was the easiest way to impress him. Having everything looking nice and easy for him to figure out saved me lots of rework, I believe. He did have a few things for me to change which were painless. He also found things that I did that were not typically how a pro would do it, but the only harm was to the budget. He also said he had never seen so much LV wire run, but I got that disease after discovering CT.

 

[SnyperBob]

He did say that for anything like this you need a permit and an inspection. I thought for small additions no permit or inspection was required? Can somebody clarify this? I thought if you're doing work on your own premises you don't need to be a licensed sparky right?

You don't have to be a licensed electrician to work on your home. But that is why they usually require an inspection regardless of if an electrician did it or you did it. They want to make sure you don't cut corners and they want to make sure that you are safe.

I'm not sure about permits, I would think you wouldn't need one for a small job like that, but I'm sure you're supposed to get an inspection regardless. If you ever do have a fire, they may question who did the electrical additions and check to see if you ever had an inspection or permit.

Now, that doesn't mean everyone does this or follows the rule. I finished my whole basement without any permits or inspections. I don't really care, and I know the job was done right, so I'm not concerned about safety.

usually basements hold the laundry room (newer homes are changing this layout). So one reason they don't want romex in the basement is for the idiots that like the air dry their clothes. They hang the metal hangars off the romex and damage the wires over time. Also, I think basements are usually holes in the ground. I know yours is a little different, but typically holes can fill with water Not sure why they set up your electrical the way they did (romex into panel, other circuits piped up to ceiling, etc)

 

[jokah]

N mn they used to have city county then sate codes. They adopted the ne outright. Armored cablE was needed for finishd basements with wiring exposed. Garages. Etc.

If your city has requirements they almost always have them on. Website. Usually with permit costs and convenient online pay me now options

 

[felixrosbergen]

snypez:

In my case the basement is a walkout and it's pretty hard for it to flood unless the doors are completely watertight. I live towards the top of a hill. The basement doesn't have a sump pump or anything but there is a footing drain that is gracit based and daylights down the hill somewhere. Humidty in my basement is 60% without doing anything special. It's partially underground and the underground portion are concrete, the other half is framing/siding.

I don't mind the inspections, all i want to figure out is how to get the permit if i need one.

 

[dfeller]

Since we are talking about basments. I have a GFI question.. I know the plug off to the side of the panel should / has to be GFI'd (Anybody know why ??) do all plugs in a basement need to be GFI'd ??? And what about the 220 volt dryer ,, I don't think I've ever seen a 220 volt GFI.. I ask because it apppears that I have a GFI that don't like the humid weather we were having it would randomly trip. The odd thing I moved the UPS that was pluged into it and it don't appear to trip any more. I have not moved it back to insure it was some thing with the humidity. I ask because I would like to remove the GFI on that plug. If I don't need a GFI on all plugs in the basement how close to the panel can I get before it is required ?? Would it be legal to have a GFI'd outlet on the lower left hand side of the panel and have a non-GFI'd higher up on the right side of the panel ??? What if it is clearly marked "NON GFI" ??

GFCI can be done at the outlet or you can also get GFCI or Arc Fault breakers and just use normal outlets. GFCI is required for wet locations and in most local requirements, AFCI for bedrooms and all basement circuits. I'm not aware of GFCI requirements near a breaker box - unless your breaker box is in a potentially wet location. Also GFCI can be strung - meaning that you can put a GFCI and then downstream outlets can be protected by the same GFCI circuit - so one may "look" GFCI and the next also in a wet location may be a regular outlet but both are protected - usually you put a sticker on the regular looking ones that says GFCI protected.

David

 

[mdesmarais]

220 volt GFCI breakers are out there. . . had one for a hot tub.

 

[86turbodsl]

In my addition, I did all the wiring myself. I found when dealing with the inspector, neatness was the easiest way to impress him. Having everything looking nice and easy for him to figure out saved me lots of rework, I believe. He did have a few things for me to change which were painless. He also found things that I did that were not typically how a pro would do it, but the only harm was to the budget. He also said he had never seen so much LV wire run, but I got that disease after discovering CT.

I had the same experience. I ran ALL wiring in my new house, and made it a point to carefully route everything. When I got to the main panel, all lines were tightly controlled in straight lines and the inspector just took one look at it, said "wow, nice job" and moved on. That falls under the workmanship code, and that says a lot about the person doing the work. they tend to let you slide on little stuff because they don't suspect you trying to hide anything.