Electrical Artist
We already explain how Wes, our electrician, is an artist. And he is also a strategist.
We needed to upgrade our 100 Amp Box (which was a nightmare of crossed wires) to a clean, compliant 200 Amp Box for future power needs.
But there was a problem. The room that had been stapled, I mean, BUILT on to the back of the house in the 1950's? 60's? was blocking access to where the wires would need to go. The old meter was attached to this room (which is falling off of the house...no lie! You can roll tennis balls down the floor it is tilting so badly).
The above door swings out INTO the room at the top of the slope. Now you can see why we are nervous about this room. This room will eventually be taken off of the back of the house, but not very soon because of how our budget is allocated.
So Wes proposes that we think ahead, move the meter from the flimsy room to the PERMANENT outside wall and mount our breaker box in the new location in the basement.
THEN, because the wires to the powerlines have to be code compliant in the meantime, he and his crew ran a vent pipe (tower?) up the outside of the house, neatly cutting a small hole in the wide bungalow eaves, running the wires up through it, then fastening the wires to the outside of the FLIMSY room that stood between the main power supply and our house.
This allows us to comply with the code, plan for the future and someday rip off that back room so that the wire will be free to run high above the roof line and straight to the electrical power supply in the alley.
Whew. Now I have to go grade papers, prepare a presentation, write a quiz and a final for my class to take, update grades and organize a change initiative. And do the dishes and laundry. A's upstairs beginning the dismanteling of the front room. More later.
(3)
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Comments
Wow, amazing that's code compliant! My friends just got nailed by building code inspectors for a similar setup in bringing power from the street. Rhode Island is really cracking down on fire code and the state legislature recently adopted some of the most stringent laws in the country after the horrific nightclub fire in February that killed 100. Now all bets are off, even on things that previously were grandfathered in - such as their wiring from the street - for businesses and multi-family houses like theirs. But anyway ... go Wes!! You've found a gem!
Posted by: Kristen | November 17, 2003 12:09 AM
Oh, no. I am so sorry about the nightclub fire.
I think the code compliance issues here have to do with the type of wiring he used, its run up the house and how that was attached, the grounding system he used, the run out to the edge of the house to the power supply beyond, his elegant and neat treatment of the new breaker box in the basement...those kinds of things.
Sorry about your pals. Code is a funny thing. And this guy can quote it chapter and verse, There are a few things we'd like to do internally, specifically for placement of light fixtures in a bath that he's advised us against (code) and suggested alternatives.
And the wiring job he had to fix to properly run the new box? What a mess! We call him the "miracle worker", though in his humble way, he perfers "Wes" :)
Take care!
Posted by: jmo | November 17, 2003 1:04 AM
You'd be surprised at how codes differ from one side of the street to the other...
My house changed counties in 1997, when the powers that be decided that our side of the street was in the wrong county all these years. Prior to that time, it was in a county more geared to rural communities with little to no code requirements or enforcement. Pretty much every single "improvement" made to the house prior to 1997 was not done according to code. Hence, I spend about two out of three days that I work on my place attempting to bring things in compliance with some code or another. Doing so on a budget, with my own work, and on a hectic sparse schedule is really difficult. Hence, I think you all have done well finding Wes. There is no one like him in my area that would take on my wreck, so congrats!
Regarding electrical codes and Chicago...I am under the impression that Chicago has some of the most stringent and aggressively enforced electrical codes in the country, so double congrats on finding someone who knows them well.
Cheers,
Tim
Posted by: Tim C. | November 17, 2003 9:18 AM