Turned in my plans to the town to replace my Al wire with copper.
The inspector called me today and said I may need to completely remove the Al wire. He was going to check on it so it is not that he is trying to gove me a hard time.
Anyone know if the NEC addresses abandoned wires behind finished drywall?
My plan was to pull all that I could out and where staples prevented it cut the wires so they could not be reached.
Hi, I lived in a house built in the mid-70's which had Al wires. Lived there for almost 20 yars before I built and moved into this house. Never had any Al wire trouble while I was living there.
See Question 4 at
I think you're OK -- NEC seems to address abandoned cable only in commercial buildings, not dwellings.
Note that it doesn't matter much what the NEC says. The inspector wants it all out.
That makes too much sense.
Ditto here. I lived in an early 70s house for 38 years. I did pigtail all of the aluminum at the outlets instead of daisy chaining. Never had a problem other than noticing a bit more voltage drop on those circuit when starting a motor, etc.
Generally speaking, they only want you to remove all the wire you can get to without disturbing the building finish beyond what it took to get the new wire in. Basically if you can see it and pull it out, do it.
Good news! The inspector just called me back and said when I'm removing the old Al wire just cut it off where accessible.
As long as none of the ends are exposed where it could be used again I'm good to go.
re: "As long as none of the ends are exposed where it could be used again I'm good to go."
Why is it that I'm picturing the *next* homeowner cursing you as he tries to extend the wires to a switch or receptacle?
"D*mn Him! Why did he cut these friggin' wires so far back? He could have left me just a little more to work with!"
;-)
That's rare now days. A government employee who makes sense?
AFAIK code explicitly permits what you suggest unless it is a new revision and/or a local addendum.
I just got a new copy of the NEC but haven't even cracked it open yet so I may not know something.
nate
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message news:hpiq8h$965$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org...
Years ago, our home's garage floor was 36" below the house floor level, while the ceilings were the same. I had constructed a new garage, and wanted to convert part of the old one to a game room. I went the permit route, rather than just going ahead on my own. The width of the new room was 14'. To keep the flooring level, I built a knee wall 7' out from the foundation and raised the floor using 2 X 10's set 16" OC and bridged.
The inspector who looked at my framing told me I had to remove the
2 X 10's and replace them with 2 X 8's, (possibly 2 X 6's- it was a long time ago) since I was actually only spanning about 7' with the joists. Needless to say, logic eventually prevailed."Stormin Mormon" wrote in message news:hpiq8h$965$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org...
Speaking of inspectors, I once "rewired" a modest home with concrete block interior and exterior walls. The fellow who had initially wired the home did it by laying 18ga. extension cord in the mortar joint. Later, he became the wiring inspector for the town.
Nonsense. Most of the ones I've dealt with make great sense. Every inspector has been great. The "tank and boiler inspector" that came out and tested the spare used air compressor tank I bought was spectacular.
I get so tired of the bitching about government employees. I've dealt with far worse in private businesses I've dealt with. Try getting a useful answer at Home Depot, for instance.
Bob, I respectfully disagree. The government employees I have encountered in almost all contact with the government at any level are folk too dumb or too lazy to make a living in any other field. This is even worse when it comes to elected office.
From the other side of The Pond, but that's my experience too, over here.
Leave it to the government to make a job ten times harder and more costly. I would have not even contacted them, jsut done the job.
I deal with a few inspectors on a regular basis. Some are a PITA, some I really like. Even most of the PITA ones seem to be conscientious and care about things being done right.
Maybe I live in a unique area...
nate
Or maybe you can just really see reality.
I can agree with the elected officials. As for others, it is unfair to paint them all with the same brush. I've worked with some that have been great. Very helpful, very smart, doing a fair day's work too. Sure a few are idiots as every other line of work has too.
Every town hall has a few incompetent drones, but I can tell you stories of various inspectors and highway department workers do a great job.
You want to work with Transport Canada (not).
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