2012 Electrical code compliance

[75gmck25]

This is a long post for relatively simple question.

I framed and insulated part of my basement exterior walls, and as part of the work I added recessed lighting and quite a few additional wall receptacles because I plan to use it as a hobby/work area. Even the city permit office noticed that I had lot more receptacles than they usually see in that amount of floor space, but I think they just decided to give me a break and not ask questions.

I have my permit, and I'm required to comply with the 2012 Virginia electrical code. The city site refers me to the 2012 International Code Council (ICC), and I've read through the material there. However, its an online site (cannot print it) and its relatively hard to find the areas that apply to a small project like mine.

Can anyone suggest a site that has a simple checklist for electrical items that will be inspected for the 2012 residential code when installing new lighting, light switches and receptacles? I think I know the key requirements and I believe would pass inspection, but I want to make all the final checks before I call for inspection.

Just to provide some additional background on the work.

I also have a "build" permit, since I insulated the walls with foam board, framed them with 2x4s and filled the cavity with Roxul. I used spray foam for fire blocking at the top and to seal holes drilled for wiring through the top plate, and the finished surface will be sheetrock. The bottom plate is pressure treated, and I put a thin foam vapor barrier under it before I attached it to the floor with with power-actuated gun. The walls are not load bearing.

I have the romex wire stapled within about 6 inches of each box, protective plates nailed on studs where I bored holes, etc. Everything is wired with 12/2 romex with plastic boxes and standard receptacles and switches. There are two 20 amp circuits, one dedicated and one shared with the lights. The recessed light cans are standard IC-rated 6" halo fixtures.

Thanks for any input/suggestions.

Bruce

 

[justsam]

I would put a GFI at the head end of each of the circuits if you have not already. Line powered smoke detector if there is not already one in the basement. Make sure receptacles are tamper proof.

Any chance this could be construed as a bedroom, may require arc fault breaker? A "finished" basement will also require it.

 

[grizz_660]

Depending on the inspector, I have seem them get picky about having lighting shared on a 20A cct. You would have to make sure your light switch is 20A rated as well as all the wiring between the lights.

Make sure you do a load calculation and you do not have too many devices per circuit.

When inspectors look into home owner wiring they are looking for obvious mistakes most of the time. To help you out with the inspector, make sure your wiring is neat and tidy. Stapled, straight lines, etc. Just looks good on you.

Since you are on 20A breakers, also ensure your receptacles are 20A rated ( a T slot is an obvious give away )

I do not see the need for any GFI circuit protection here???

Also have not heard of a finished basement needing an Arc Fault breaker - i would check on this, not code here.

 

[ishiboo]

Depending on the inspector, I have seem them get picky about having lighting shared on a 20A cct. You would have to make sure your light switch is 20A rated as well as all the wiring between the lights.

Make sure you do a load calculation and you do not have too many devices per circuit.

When inspectors look into home owner wiring they are looking for obvious mistakes most of the time. To help you out with the inspector, make sure your wiring is neat and tidy. Stapled, straight lines, etc. Just looks good on you.

Since you are on 20A breakers, also ensure your receptacles are 20A rated ( a T slot is an obvious give away )

I do not see the need for any GFI circuit protection here???

Also have not heard of a finished basement needing an Arc Fault breaker - i would check on this, not code here.

>1 15A receptacle is fine on a 20A breaker.

AFCIs are required in living areas like dens, bedrooms, etc. Doesnt matter if ya the basement or not.

 

[carcruse]

"Since you are on 20A breakers, also ensure your receptacles are 20A rated ( a T slot is an obvious give away )"

I thought 15A duplex receptacles were permitted on a 20A circuit, at least in USA.

 

[75gmck25]

Thanks for all the input.

Because the ceiling height is low my permit defines all of the area as storage space, and even if the height was tall enough to be a bedroom I don't want to spend money on installing egress windows.

I plan to use the room for a media server and other computer equipment, and I will probably have a large desk or workbench for other electronics projects. I have a lot of receptacles because I don't want extension cords, but the actual load will not be very high. I have one circuit separate from the lighting because that is the one I will use for the media server and other computer equipment.

I don't see that AFCI would be required by code in my "storage space," but if I can get a Square D QO AFCI breaker for a reasonable price I might use it. I also didn't see any real need for GFCI, but its not a bad idea considering the protection factor if I had a plumbing leak in the kitchen above. The basement is unheated, but already dry, and the humidity should go down now that the concrete walls are insulated.

Bruce

 

[bacr619]

Arc fault is required in bedrooms in CA. 20 amp breaker 20 amp outlets. Look in the NEC National electric code also known as NFPA70 codes concerning electrical installations are based on this. 20 amp breaker with #12 AWG wire 15 amp outlet fire hazard.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Arc fault is required in bedrooms in CA. 20 amp breaker 20 amp outlets. Look in the NEC National electric code also known as NFPA70 codes concerning electrical installations are based on this. 20 amp breaker with #12 AWG wire 15 amp outlet fire hazard.

News to me,As long as theres more than 1 15a outlet on the 20a circuit its always been legal.
Unless its a california only thing.

 

[Norcal]

Arc fault is required in bedrooms in CA. 20 amp breaker 20 amp outlets. Look in the NEC National electric code also known as NFPA70 codes concerning electrical installations are based on this. 20 amp breaker with #12 AWG wire 15 amp outlet fire hazard.

The text in bold underline is not correct.


A 15A receptacle is permitted on 20A circuits, only a SINGLE 15A receptacle is not permitted on a 20A circuit

News to me,As long as theres more than 1 15a outlet on the 20a circuit its always been legal.
Unless its a california only thing.

Not a California thing.

 

[checkthisout]

Is there a 2012 NEC?? It goes from 2011 to 2014 to 2015 doesn't it?

Which code year has your area adopted? You probably need arc faults and tamper-proofs.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

The text in bold underline is not correct.


A 15A receptacle is permitted on 20A circuits, only a SINGLE 15A receptacle is not permitted on a 20A circuit




Not a California thing.

Maybe its only in that special part of the state where he lives?

 

[matt_i]

I would call the inspector's office, usually one person specializes in electrical. Just ask them what the basic changes are for that year of NEC updates, they will tell you.

 

[MushCreek]

The last inspection I had, the inspector said that 'everything' now had to be AFI. I skated by because my permit was grandfathered in to NEC 2008. I'm curious about the GFI issue in an unfinished basement. I'm going to build a bedroom in my basement, but since it won't be heated, it's not counted as living space. To me, that would mean it needs GFI, like any basement outlet. I'm also curious as to whether I would be required to follow the outlet spacing guidelines, as it won't technically be living space. Right now, I'm only required to have one outlet for the entire basement.

Most people around here don't pull permits to finish their basements, but I'm going to go 'full legal' because people sometimes have issues with resale or insurance claims when unpermitted work is involved.

 

[justsam]

What is acceptable and what is not is really up to the AHJ and to the individual doing the inspection. Should be, but not always consistent with codes.

As I mentioned in post#2, they will certainly look for things such as smoke detectors. They must be on every level, regardless of habitable.

Since it sounds like you may have both finished and unfinished portions of the basement it can be up to inspector. Unfinished requires GFI, finished does not. Easy enough to just make it all GFI and be done with it.

AFCI is required in practically every room now, far beyond just bedrooms. Put it in and be done with it.

Not sure if your state has anything like California Title 24 for energy conservation. Since you are putting in lights anyway, make them LED so you are on the right side of the issue.

 

[tlmartin84]

Tamper proof receptacles????

 

[justsam]

Tamper proof receptacles????

Mentioned in posts #2 and post#10.

 

[MushCreek]

Technically, tamper resistant. They have annoying little shutters so only a two pronged plug will go in. That way, kid's can't learn the hard way not to stick objects in the receptacles. They ****. Certain plugs are very hard to plug in. My wife's computer is almost impossible to plug in. I had to use them everywhere. Still not sure if they are required in my detached barn.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Is there a 2012 NEC?? It goes from 2011 to 2014 to 2015 doesn't it?

Virginia is using the 2011 NEC, the most recent NEC revision is 2014. http://www.mikeholt.com/necadoptionlist.php

 

[Norcal]

Since CA was brought up the 2011 NEC is the current edition I think the 2014 will be adopted in Jan 2017.

 

[Git]

Can anyone suggest a site that has a simple checklist for electrical items that will be inspected for the 2012 residential code when installing new lighting, light switches and receptacles? I think I know the key requirements and I believe would pass inspection, but I want to make all the final checks before I call for inspection.

When I was doing a lot of stuff around my house - I bought these "Code Check" books from Amazon. They use laminated pages with a lot if illustrations - really came in handy and they were not that expensive

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1600857752/?tag=atomicindus08-20

http://www.codecheck.com/cc/illustrations.html

 

[Git]

Can anyone suggest a site that has a simple checklist for electrical items that will be inspected for the 2012 residential code when installing new lighting, light switches and receptacles? I think I know the key requirements and I believe would pass inspection, but I want to make all the final checks before I call for inspection.

When I was doing a lot of stuff around my house - I bought these "Code Check" books from Amazon. They use laminated pages with a lot if illustrations - really came in handy and they were not that expensive

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1600857752/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Here is an example from their website
http://www.codecheck.com/cc/ccimages/PDFs/CCE7-Sample-Pages.pdf

 

[alfredeneuman]

I have my permit, and I'm required to comply with the 2012 Virginia electrical code. The city site refers me to the 2012 International Code Council (ICC)

That was the original post:

All this talk about the NEC is unnecessary ....... he's subject to the International Residential Code (IRC), and there IS a 2012 Edition.

 

[Stuff]

I am jealous that VA only requires AFCIs for bedrooms.

Here is their state codes:
http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/VA/2012_VA_Residential_HTML/Chapter 39.html

 

[Cmreschke]

I'm curious about the GFI issue in an unfinished basement. I'm going to build a bedroom in my basement, but since it won't be heated, it's not counted as living space. To me, that would mean it needs GFI, like any basement outlet. I'm also curious as to whether I would be required to follow the outlet spacing guidelines, as it won't technically be living space. Right now, I'm only required to have one outlet for the entire basement.

In michigan at least, I've had inspectors define finished basement by flooring. If concrete floor, not finished, and only requires 1 gfi per unfinished space. Have a utility room, needs a gfi if it's seperated by a door. Any space seperated by a door is considered a seperate unfinished or finished space, depending on the floor.

If you put down a floor finish of some sort then the standard wiring of 6'/12' rule applies and gfci might be required, as well as afci.

It's not as simple as 1 gfi covers the whole basement.

 

[pattenp]

I am jealous that VA only requires AFCIs for bedrooms.

Here is their state codes:
http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/VA/2012_VA_Residential_HTML/Chapter 39.html

Yeah... but the NEC is also adopted by many jurisdictions in VA which includes AFCI almost in every living area. The VA IRC is used in combination with the NEC. Where I live in VA we are on the 2011 NEC.

 

[mjbasford]

Yeah... but the NEC is also adopted by many jurisdictions in VA which includes AFCI almost in every living area. The VA IRC is used in combination with the NEC. Where I live in VA we are on the 2011 NEC.

There is no local code amendments allowed in VA. The 2012 VA USBC however references the 2011 NEC as its electrical portion, with some statewide addendums (ARC faults, stapling of romex to bottom of joists in crawlspace etc)