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Electrical & Water lines Proxiamety? (Real Estate & Property Law)

Fri, 14 May 2004 14:08:00 GMT

I am posting from Southern Ontario Canada.
I am just starting a bathroom in my basement and I have run into a situation I am not sure what the 'rules' are.
The bathroom is roughed in and the previous owner built a room beside the bathroom as an office. They ran the power lines through the "wet wall" and I am now concerned about running plumbing lines through the same wall. The water and electrical lines will be in pretty close proxiamety as well as a few outlets for the other room. There is a GFI outlet on the run though.
Is this a major problem?

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  • Fri, 14 May 2004 18:38:00 GMT(1)
  • Plus that you are not asking for legal advice but rather a building code question. The GFI outlet only protects the plugs not the lights. Hire a licensed electrical contractor and make sure you have a building permit. Oh, that only applies in the US.
  • Fri, 14 May 2004 14:12:00 GMT(2)
  • Questions about U.S. law ONLY.
    But your answer lies in the NEC. Oh, that only applies to AMERICA!
  • Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:28:00 GMT(3)
  • [quote=Peety]Even though it is an NEC code question ......
    There is no problem with proximity ..... no code states a required separation of plumbing and electrical inside walls.
    **A: that can't be true since under that premise it would be ok to wrap Romex around a copper supply pipe.
  • Mon, 05 Jul 2004 21:20:00 GMT(4)
  • Done by pro's or not, still proximity makes no difference inside the walls as long as the wires, pipes etc are not damaged in the process. They are designed not to leak or short-circuit under extreme situations. What's done on the outside of the walls, where the openings are, is what matters. That's the reason for GFCI Circuit-Breakers and GFCI Outlets.
  • Sat, 12 Jun 2004 11:48:00 GMT(5)
  • Quote:

    Originally Posted by HomeGuru

    Plus that you are not asking for legal advice but rather a building code question. The GFI outlet only protects the plugs not the lights. Hire a licensed electrical contractor and make sure you have a building permit. Oh, that only applies in the US.

    Even though it is an NEC code question ......
    There is no problem with proximity ..... no code states a required separation of plumbing and electrical inside walls. There is a stipulation that any electrical outlets (switches also?) within 6 feet of a water source (sink, tub, shower, toilet, etc.) must be GFCI protected; but all that is outside the walls. This is to protect people from "the old hair-dryer in the tub" scenario.
    Also: if a light is on the circuit after the GFCI outlet, then it is also protected by that outlet ..... to see, just press the "test" button on the GFCI outlet. Does the light go out ?
  • Tue, 15 Jun 2004 20:23:00 GMT(6)
  • .... romex has multiple wires that are individually insulated, and then again encased together in another plastic insulating sleave. There is insulation around each wire (except the ground wire) but your pipes are supposed to be grounded anyway. It would take years, soaking in water, for wires inside romex to get damaged. Water doesn't damage plastic (composition of the romex insulation). The water pipes surely wouldn't get hurt by the romex.
    From the Electricians point of view: The way an electrician "pulls rope" (as it's termed by many) it would slow him down considerably to stop half way through a pull, and wrap it around a water pipe (& why?) and then start a new pull. What would happen if he measured or guessed wrong, he'd have to unpull the last half, unwrap the pipe, pull more on the first half, re-wrap the pipe (& why?), and then repull the second half again.
    From the Plumbers point of view: Do you really expect the water in my pipes to be leaking all over the place, or as you seem to think, especially and exclusively on electrical wires?
    From the General Contractors point of view: Even if the pipes did leak, I'd say the framing, flooring, drywall, and the insulation under the floor would be compromised much sooner that the double insulated wires would (and if so, I ought to find a better plumber). Those metal staples that the electrician uses to secure the romex pose a greater threat for short-circuit than any smooth, round, water pipes in the wall do. But the main reason for short-circuits is drywall screws/nails and the nails/screws used to hang cabinets ...... not water (or for that matter gas) pipes. Gas pipes shouldn't leak gas either.
    What about electric water heaters; Are they dangerous ?
    So now I pose a question to you ..... Why would a professional tradesman waste his time wraping a length of romex around a water pipe anyway ?
    Quite a blast huh ? Sorry. It's all true though.
  • Fri, 18 Jun 2004 12:15:00 GMT(7)
  • Quote:

    Originally Posted by Peety

    .... romex has multiple wires that are individually insulated, and then again encased together in another plastic insulating sleave. There is insulation around each wire (except the ground wire) but your pipes are supposed to be grounded anyway. It would take years, soaking in water, for wires inside romex to get damaged. Water doesn't damage plastic (composition of the romex insulation). The water pipes surely wouldn't get hurt by the romex.
    From the Electricians point of view: The way an electrician "pulls rope" (as it's termed by many) it would slow him down considerably to stop half way through a pull, and wrap it around a water pipe (& why?) and then start a new pull. What would happen if he measured or guessed wrong, he'd have to unpull the last half, unwrap the pipe, pull more on the first half, re-wrap the pipe (& why?), and then repull the second half again.
    From the Plumbers point of view: Do you really expect the water in my pipes to be leaking all over the place, or as you seem to think, especially and exclusively on electrical wires?
    From the General Contractors point of view: Even if the pipes did leak, I'd say the framing, flooring, drywall, and the insulation under the floor would be compromised much sooner that the double insulated wires would (and if so, I ought to find a better plumber). Those metal staples that the electrician uses to secure the romex pose a greater threat for short-circuit than any smooth, round, water pipes in the wall do. But the main reason for short-circuits is drywall screws/nails and the nails/screws used to hang cabinets ...... not water (or for that matter gas) pipes. Gas pipes shouldn't leak gas either.
    What about electric water heaters; Are they dangerous ?
    So now I pose a question to you ..... Why would a professional tradesman waste his time wraping a length of romex around a water pipe anyway ?
    Quite a blast huh ? Sorry. It's all true though.

    **A: very interesting. Now do you think all jobs are done by licensed professionals? Ask some home inspectors what they see on some inspections.
  • Tue, 06 Jul 2004 00:00:00 GMT(8)
  • Quote:

    Originally Posted by Peety

    Done by pro's or not, still proximity makes no difference inside the walls as long as the wires, pipes etc are not damaged in the process. They are designed not to leak or short-circuit under extreme situations. What's done on the outside of the walls, where the openings are, is what matters. That's the reason for GFCI Circuit-Breakers and GFCI Outlets.

    **A: too funny. I guess you were not around when the first pb piping started leaking.
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