service drop clearance

[relliott]

Sorry for the poor photo but I was wondering about any clearance issues involving this drop attachment which is clearly within reach of the back upper deck area.
Is it still the 3 foot rule as relates to windows or something else.?

[Scott Schultz]

a child, or anyone for that matter, can just reach through or over the railing and grab those wires. No way is that good. At least that's how I am interpreting that from the pic. What was that setup like? Why would they run the service wires along the side of the house? I assume the deck was put there afterwards but still wondering why the wires weren't ran over the roof?

[Speedy Petey]

IMO that would fall under 225.19(D)(2) which states the same clearance must be met in 225.18. They treat that deck the same as ground level.

This would be 10' from that platform.

[Speedy Petey]

Also, the porcelain spool is missing from the point of attachment.

[relliott]

Thanks ..this is a new back porch ,with know way to meet 10 foot clearance requirements,however I have noticed other buildings in the area do protect by blocking the questioned area.Remember this is the city where we jam everything together.It is only a condo inspection but will include this.

[Marc D. Shunk]

Originally Posted by Speedy Petey

Also, the porcelain spool is missing from the point of attachment.

Indeed. That particular attachment insulator is often called either a "fork bolt" or a "one-point rack". This is how they're supposed to look:

[Greg Fretwell]

If this is below the deck it is 3' from the edge of the deck.

[relliott]

I would say that cable attachment is 6 inches from the top of the handrail.
Not 3 feet as you may be seeing the photo wrong.

[Paul W. Abernathy]

I think what Greg is saying Robert is it "HAS" to be 3' from the edge of the deck and it is not....so he is just bringing attention to that fact is all.

[Thomas H. Dietrich]

3' horizontal(if they can't go out, then up requires 10 feet up[from even top of rail I believe, have to check again]). Or made such that unreachable. I've seen permanent lattice walls installed to meet requirements.

The older houses I help refurbish, originally allowed for row houses to get service feeds across other peoples properties. This meant houses could be feed on an angle. Today, only your property can be crossed, so we've 'walled' sides of patios to 'fix' things.

tom

[David P. Valley]

Robert,

That installation is a definite RED FLAG.

If I can touch it, it gets written up...Period

If you're looking for minimum clearances of the SE, it's 3-feet.

"Click to Enlarge"
Attachment 11959
Attachment 11960

[Paul W. Abernathy]

David,

Interesting you should bring that up because I have been preaching in semianars for some time now that use this example...

If the Service Drop is over the window...above it then the NEC is ok with it....However in my opinion if the top portion of the window opens or swings down then it indeed becomes a situation where it could be reached....

So while the minimum safety standards of the NEC apply in most all cases, in this case it is a more enhanced safety situation to call out a service entrance drop that lets say is above a window...and allowed by the NEC ....BUT could be reached by the consumer if the top portion of the window is down....now if the top is fixed...no worries...

[jkogel]

[quote=Marc D. Shunk]Indeed. That particular attachment insulator is often called either a "fork bolt" or a "one-point rack". This is how they're supposed to look:


"Emily knobs".

[Speedy Petey]

Emily's what?!

[Paul W. Abernathy]

ok..lets not gripe about Emily now....Emily can do who she wishes...