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Electrical
Advice From an Experienced
Professional |
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Common
Mistakes made by Non-Professional
Electricians |
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| Not
reading or consulting the newest
edition of the "National Electrical
Code" (NFPA 70). It is
imperative that electrical wiring be
installed in a safe manner. The
NEC is published and updated every
three years to stay on top of the ever
changing needs of the consumer and
industry while providing the latest
rules and guidelines for safe
electrical installations.
Please
be advised that in addition to the
"National Electrical Code"
some towns, cities and states have
their own electrical codes that must
be followed. It is a
good idea to contact your local
building department to see what codes
are in effect. In many cases
other codes may be applicable to
electrical installations such as a fire code, energy code,
sound code, building code etc.
Top
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| Not
getting an electrical permit or having
your electrical installation
inspected. There are a few
arguments for NOT getting a permit or
having an inspection performed such as
government infringing on the rights of
individuals or refusing to pay the
cost of the permit and inspection.
SAFETY is paramount and quashes all
arguments against permits. If
you are a non-professional doing an
electrical installation in your home,
you need confirmation that the work is
done in a safe and workmanlike manner.
The safety and well being of you, your
family, and your home are at stake.
Also some things to consider: If
you wire up a part of your house
yourself and it causes a fire at some
time
in the future, your insurance company
may not pay for the damages because it
wasn't a professional installation.
If you had a permit and record of a
passed inspection, you could argue
against this. If you have a mortgage on your
home you are not
actually the owner of the property;
The bank is. That means that you are
actually doing work on someone else's
property and could be held liable for
any damages or destruction.
Doing the job right includes a permit
and inspection by your local building
department or whatever authority has
jurisdiction on home improvement.
Sometimes owners in a community have an
additional authority such as a
homeowners association or management company that
must be consulted before any work is
performed. Top |
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| Using
undersized electrical boxes to
accommodate an abundance of wires.
As described in the NEC, a certain
volume of space is required in
electrical boxes for each electrical
conductor. The required amount
varies according to the size wire
being used and if any wiring devices
such as switches and outlets are
installed in the box as well.
Consult article 314 and table
314.16(A) in the 2008 edition of the
"National Electrical Code"
for more information on this
subject. Top |
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| Calling
an electrician to install wiring AFTER
you have painted and decorated.
Wiring needs to be installed inside of
the walls and ceilings. Sometimes
holes need to be made in the walls and
ceiling to install wiring for
receptacles, switches and light
fixtures. Call an electrician
BEFORE you do any painting and
decorating if you plan to have lighting,
outlets and switches
installed. Top |
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| Cutting
the wires in outlet, switch and
junction boxes too short. Conductors
should be long enough to extend past
the outside edge of the box at least
three inches. Read article
300.14. Longer conductors
make it easier to work on them.
If there is not enough room to push
the wires into the box comfortably
then you may need a bigger box.
See the previous paragraph.
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| Not
grounding metal boxes properly.
Anything metal that carries electrical
conductors or contains wiring devices
must be grounded. If you are
using type NM-B cable it contains a
separate bare copper grounding
conductor. This must be secured
to a metal box using a separate
machine screw. A cover screw or
a screw that secures the box to a wall
or ceiling cannot be used. All
metal boxes have a tapped hole for a
10/32 screw (#10 machine screw with 32
threads per inch). Use that hole and a
green grounding screw to ground the
box. Read section VI in Article
250. Top |
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| Not
locating underground utilities before
you dig. Call 811 to
arrange to have a mark down of all of
your underground utilities for FREE
before you dig anywhere on your
property. 811 is a national hot
line that will contact all of your
local utility companies and arrange
for them to come out and locate and
mark where your water, gas, electric,
telephone and cable TV services are
located. Top |
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| Using
an extension cord for permanent
wiring. Different types of
wires and cables are approved for
various purposes. Cords that are
approved for portable and temporary
use are not to be used as permanently
installed wiring. The insulation
has different properties and
characteristics that make it
unsuitable for long term installed
use. In some instances the
insulation will eventually dry out and
break off exposing the bare copper
conductors. Read articles
310, 400.7 and 400.8
Top |
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| Using
NM-B cable underground. You must
use cable and wire rated and labeled
for underground use even if it is in
conduit. Moisture still
condenses inside of a pipe and can
cause problems leading to failure of
the cable. Do not use NM-B in
the ground directly or in a conduit
buried in the ground. Use
type UF cable for direct burial
underground wiring or THWN conductors
inside of a conduit that is buried
underground. Article 334
covers NM-B cable and UF cable is
under Article 340.
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You are on http://www.MrElectrician.tv/commonmistakes.html
Updated December 28, 2009
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