Builder didn't follow electrical code?

[eljefino]

I read a study where fished wire did better with nail penetration (from siding, roofing, etc) than stapled wire, as the stapled wire couldn't get out of its own way.

Fishing wire behind drywall etc is legal most places because the drywall is already up, and the nailing process is done.

 

[weebl]

The ceiling in the garage is a bit unusual if I think about it, but not unlike some I've seen in other houses around here. The room above is part of a sort of split level (a lower section), but that doesn't correspond to what the garage roof does. Nor does the few feet of garage jutting out from the rest of the house correspond to the ceilings.

From the header towards the house, which starts at about where the garage door stops when fully opened is standard drywall ceiling. Forward of the header, the ceiling is about 20" higher, and that section is done in OSB. My rack is basically going to be concealed by a fully opened garage door, and accessible only with the door closed, as what is going there will be rarely accessed.

This OSB section is where the potential wiring issues lay. Either tonight, or first thing tomorrow morning, I'll be removing that board to see if my suspicions are correct. If not, I'll have a far greater task ahead in trying to figure out why the power is cut to the room.

 

[grampi]

I know the electrical system in our home isn't up to code...whomever wired it has the dishwasher on the same breaker with all the outlets in our living room...each kitchen appliance is supposed to be on it's own breaker...

 

[Cutehumor]

Kind of off topic. My house built in 2001 original water heater. The plumber came to fix a pressure valve leak. He screamed up and down that our water heater is not built to code. He said our gas water heater is dangereous. It was not vented correctly. He said air from outside can blow out pilot light or cause flame surge and blow the tank. I checked the tank. Its original to the house. I figured he might be exaggerating. He was from home warranty company. Now way a brand new home built like this.

 

[weebl]

Okay, so I finally got around to taking the OSB board off, which thankfully wasn't a full sheet.

Now the bad news. No wiring up there. None whatsoever. Turns out this is the section that is entirely under the extended roof portion, though from the inside perspective, it didn't appear to line up like that.

Now the troubleshooting. Breaker appears fine, and feels okay going from on to off and vice versa. On this circuit, are overhead lights, original fixtures in all locations, controlled by three different switches. There is the TV electrical outlet over the fireplace, powering all the AV stuff. I have temporarily brought in my 15 amp extension cord to run that off another circuit to keep the wife and kids happy.

Several other wall outlets as well, but of note, one powered the laptop's power supply, another powered a table lamp and cordless phone base, and another powered the wireless router, cable modem and printer. All these devices have been in use for years with no issues.

I got a non-contact tester and so far checked a couple of outlets. They are oriented so that the ground is at the bottom and the wide blade to the left.

Here, I've found something interesting. On the bottom outlet of one of several receptacles I tried, the tester is detecting power in the right blade. A lamp plugged in still doesn't work there. On the top outlet, both blades are showing power. Definitely not correct here.

My next step is to take receptacle covers off to locate any visually obvious problems, but if that turns up nothing, I am not sure where to go from there other than call an electrician.

 

[weebl]

Correction: all 4 blades per receptacle shows power.

 

[Michael_P]

Have you used on of these? They are cheap at Harbor Freight.

 

[Mr Nice]

^^^

That's my recommendation.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: weebl
Correction: all 4 blades per receptacle shows power.


If you have hot shorted to neutral than yes all 4 blades will show power relative to ground. Those "sniffer" things aren't 100% perfect and will "false positive" at times.

But it sounds like you need an electrician.

 

[datech]

If the whole room went off I would suspect the source, starting to look at the breaker box. If the breaker doesn't trip but you have no power it has to be some kind of disconnect.

It's useful if you have all of the breakers marked with a complete notation of all the outlets served by each breaker. If there are other rooms on this breaker it could be one of those outlets was disturbed somehow.

If you call an electrician in on this he will have to figure all of this out, unless he happens to be the guy that wired your house.