4 ms·
Ignoring the type of conduit, there’s NM-B and CM (hopefully) in the same conduit. NM-B is not allowed outdoors (in “wet locations”) [0], and running your Ethe
by amluto 5y ago
Ignoring the type of conduit, there’s NM-B and CM (hopefully) in the same conduit.
NM-B is not allowed outdoors (in “wet locations”) [0], and running your Ethernet cable and your power in the same conduit is no good. (Look up the code for feeders supplying structures — this is not even close to how it’s done. Maybe you can squeak by and consider this a structure supplied by a branch circuit, but there are still code requirements to pay attention to.)
Also, that weather resistant barrier…. Imagine you are a drop of rainwater on the outside of that WRB, following gravity. Where do you go? Straight to the exposed OSB sticking out at the bottom. The sheathing is toast in heavy rain.
[0] NM-B has paper running through it. Good old-fashioned water-wicking brown paper. If it gets a bit wet in a flooded conduit (hint: every outdoor conduit can be assumed to flood eventually), it will wick along the cable and never dry.
edit: there is absolutely no requirement that buried conduit be metal. In my experience, despite code allowing various types of galvanized steel conduit to be buried, they tend to corrode severely long before whatever wires are in them are safely disconnected, creating a hazardous situation. You can use PVC, HDPE, etc.
- unethical_ban 5y agoWhat is NM-B? What is CM? What is WRB? What is OSB? If your point is to educate those without knowledge, a link or spelling some things out is helpful.
- alex_sf 5y agoThat's not the point. The point is that if you don't recognize the acronyms for non-metallic cable, comm multi, water resistant barrier, or oriented strand board, you should not be building a structure in a dense residential area.
- unethical_ban 5y agoOn one hand, I know there are good reasons for safety codes. On the other, it's my property and I want a covered workshop with a power outlet.
- alex_sf 5y agoI mean the solution is straightforward: do what you want, just do it to (at least) minimum code. Hire someone if you’re not interested in taking the time to learn what minimum code is. It’s not particularly complex and is generally intuitive, but every line is written in blood. If you are interested, just start with each component. Building a powered workshop is not fundamentally different from building a house, and that’s not recommended for a first project. Tackle one subsystem at a time. Replace some flooring, some siding, add a receptacle, etc. Each one will let you learn best practices and minimum code for each part, and put you on the right path.
- amluto 5y agoThe electrical code is surprisingly readable, and building a small shed with power, to code, is not substantially more expensive or time consuming than building it not to code. UF-B and plain THWN-2 wire are not very expensive, especially for a short run. A second conduit is cheap. Ground rods are cheap, although installing them can be annoying. A disconnect switch is maybe $150 and is an extremely polite thing to have if a firefighter shows up and wants to disconnect a structure. Moldy Romex wire in a flooded conduit next to some random intended-for-indoor use Cat 6 cable with insulation that may degrade when wet is asking for trouble. 50mA leakage into that Cat 6 cable will kill you 100% dead under the wrong circumstances but will not trip a conventional breaker.