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electrical contractors q:

bobski
im refinishing my basement into a den. im installing outlets. im doing all my own work.
what is the code?
the way i understood it, outlets cant be lower than 4' off the ground in an in ground basement and must be wired in 1/2" or 3/4" pipe...to protect against flooding.


q: can i put them down near the baseboards? if so, what is the secret to passing code?
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Comments

17 comments

Date Votes
  • dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    what is the secret to passing code?


    To hell with the code, do it how you want. Code is for wussies. Don
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  • pitbud5
    quote:Originally posted by dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    what is the secret to passing code?


    To hell with the code, do it how you want. Code is for wussies. Don


    [:D][:D][:D]
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  • Cubslover
    I want to say that the bottom of the outlet box has to be 18" off the ground, no need for pipe or conduit as the outlets themselves have openings.
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  • bobski
    pitbud...you obviously never pumped out a flooded celler before....with power hot because an outlet is shorting underwater in 3 feet of water.....because you cant get the circuit breaker....in the basement.[8][;)][:I][:D]
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  • dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    pitbud...you obviously never pumped out a flooded celler before....with power hot because an outlet is shorting underwater in 3 feet of water.....because you cant get the circuit breaker....in the basement.[8][;)][:I][:D]


    You obviously do not understand that if the outlet is under water it will have already tripped the breaker. Don
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  • dongizmo
    Bob,
    Your best bet is to check with your local building department, code can vary quite a bit from city to city.
    Don
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  • ljwrench
    Our basement outlets all are GFI. They are under water about 2 times a year. Wear hip boots.
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  • bobski
    not true. i use to be aux fire dept crew called out during floods and we use to drop test set leads in the basement water first before entering to check for current. more than once, it would be a hot pool.
    especially in old homes with weird curcuits and solid wires.

    and if new homes have gfi rating, what happens if for some reason it decides to not be gfi while youre in it?
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  • dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    not true. i use to be aux fire dept crew called out during floods and we use to drop test set leads in the basement water first before entering to check for current. more than once, it would be a hot pool.
    especially in old homes with weird curcuits and solid wires.

    and if new homes have gfi rating, what happens if for some reason it decides to not be gfi while youre in it?


    Those were the old fused units, mostly over the limit. Don
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  • bobski
    my house is 100 years old.
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  • dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    my house is 100 years old.


    Well Happy Birthday! Don
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  • bobski
    [:D] pass the lead paint cake!
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  • victorlvlb
    Just check the water marks on the walls. If the water marks on the walls are just two inchs of the floor, your good to go.
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  • dheffley
    Codes are both state and local. You need to check with someone local rather than here. You could get a South Dakota answer to a Texas code that doesn't apply.
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  • oldemagics
    quote:Originally posted by dcon12
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    not true. i use to be aux fire dept crew called out during floods and we use to drop test set leads in the basement water first before entering to check for current. more than once, it would be a hot pool.
    especially in old homes with weird curcuits and solid wires.

    and if new homes have gfi rating, what happens if for some reason it decides to not be gfi while youre in it?

    last bad flood in our basement the old crotch got quite a tickle from the 220 for the dryer. and yess it is all newer circuit breakers here

    Those were the old fused units, mostly over the limit. Don
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  • chuck
    go to you local court house that deals with permits and ask them, they usually have a printed up form for what you want to do.
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  • Cubslover
    quote:Originally posted by bobski
    not true. i use to be aux fire dept crew called out during floods and we use to drop test set leads in the basement water first before entering to check for current. more than once, it would be a hot pool.
    especially in old homes with weird curcuits and solid wires.

    and if new homes have gfi rating, what happens if for some reason it decides to not be gfi while youre in it?


    Bob, you are testing it in that case because you never know who the idiot was who wired it up. You could find a 110V outlet wired direct, or to a 100amp breaker. Chances are (depending on the water or amount of it) it may have not kicked the breaker. If it is wired to code, you'd never have to worry about it. That breaker would have snapped in a split second.
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