# where exposed to physical damage



## joebeadg (Oct 7, 2008)

ENT, greenfield, PVC are permitted to be exposed, but not subject to physical damage. This always baffles me, like I'm afraid to use it almost. I see it all over, even in new buildings. I used a 3' piece of ENT the other day in a residential garage feeding a subpanel. Now I'm wondering if its legal. Where do you draw the line on subject to physical damage?


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

It's the AHJ's call. Typically anything outside, or around motor vehicles and under 8' AFF.


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## joebeadg (Oct 7, 2008)

whats AFF?


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## joebeadg (Oct 7, 2008)

I wish there were more clear guidelines in the book


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

joebeadg said:


> I wish there were more clear guidelines in the book


The last thing we need is more codes.


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## joebeadg (Oct 7, 2008)

Oh hell no! no more rules please, I just meant some examples of what might be considered exposed or subject to physical damage. And for some reason, they use both those terms . Maybe the next code will have subject to physcological damage!


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## AK_sparky (Aug 13, 2013)

joebeadg said:


> whats AFF?



AFF= Above Fininshed Floor


It's a measurement up from whatever you are walking on after all the flooring is finished.


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## L J (Sep 28, 2018)

I know what you mean. For example... around here you will see LFNC between countless A/C condenser units and their disconnects and it’s good to go. But if you run a #4 GEC strapped directly to the building for the main disconnect, you will fail because of 250.64(B) “subject to physical damage”. 

And in some cases I’m talking about these two examples being on the SAME exterior wall.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

L J said:


> I know what you mean. For example... around here you will see LFNC between countless A/C condenser units and their disconnects and it’s good to go. But if you run a #4 GEC strapped directly to the building for the main disconnect, you will fail because of 250.64(B) “subject to physical damage”.
> 
> And in some cases I’m talking about these two examples being on the SAME exterior wall.


The physical damage = meth heads. :devil3:

THAT'S the problem. Get it?


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Physical Damage is when carpenters from California move to Hawaii to surf and somebody hires em off Craigslist to install a sliding glass door in place of a window. So they drag out a sawsall and cut thru the base board and chop the receptacle outlet circuit in half because in older single wall houses here , that is always where the receptacle outlet wiring is found .. I get these rescue calls twice a year at least. Another one is installing a skylight in the hallway on old houses. The guy named Joe Pau who built ten thousand or so the them always had the electricians run the wiring across the planking on the roof before Brie was rolled over that and tarred in place. So they cut the hole for the skylight , and now none of the lights work anymore cause they cut the branch feed ...........


Whoop Whoop, I charge large.


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## volleyball (Sep 14, 2011)

I loved those single wall homes. No roach condos like block walls. I lived in both when I lived there.


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## fungi020 (Apr 2, 2009)

I often have the similar concerns. I was just talking to my inspector about an unfinished basement rewire job I have coming up in a few weeks with 7 foot tall cealing. I asked him if he wanted me to drill out the cealing joists and run romex. Use firing strips and run the wire across there or run everything in EMT. He tells me to put everything in PVC and use backer boards when it goes down to wall to secure it to. Typically if its going to be a larger job I just ask the inspector what they want and then I never have any problems. For garages I always use EMT.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I favor a "reasonable man" approach to what is subject to physical damage rather than actual rules. If it you foresee that it will likely be damaged during the course of normal use (like weed eaters/mowers, stored materials, machine tool chips, traffic, etc), then it's subject to physical damage. Just because you can touch it or see it doesn't make it subject to physical damage. Imagining roving bands of claw hammer wielding meth heads or meteorites falling from thy sky doesn't make it subject to physical damage. At my current workplace, they just want to make it easy on us and just have a flat rule that anything within 10 feet of the deck has to be RMC, which seems like a very reasonable rule in a manufactory.


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