Service panel between commercial girts???

[Jimmy.CZ]

Hi everyone. As a brief introduction before my question, I'm a sorta retired diesel fleet mechanic in the very early planning stages of erecting a 30x30x12-4:12 pole barn to use as a hobby auto/fabrication/tinkering shop.

This won't be my first pole barn build but the other was only built for storing equipment(dirt floor/no power). I'm a bit stumped on how I'm going to manage one very particular aspect of the electrical work. My current plans are to use commercial girts and OSB sheathing(probably Zip-R) rather than traditional girts and a metal skin. My reasoning is the OSB will quiet the shop and the commercial girts will also double as framing for interior walls. The problem is that I have no idea how to fit a 200 amp service panel into the 24" vertical space between girts. I fear my only option may be to mount the panel proud of the wall and run conduit to everywhere power is needed.

Before anyone asks, yes I am going to hire a licensed electrician to do all the wiring as I will need to have that inspected before power can be hooked up. I will be doing the planning and construction of the building itself though. Accessory buildings under 1000sf on a one family lot are exempt from the UCC where I live in PA and pole barns ain't rocket science. I do need a $200 zoning permit but my township's only restrictions are minimum setbacks(half building dimensions), maximum height(25') and impermeable surface area(20% max). Where the building will be going, the dimensions I chose and 1.8 acres with only a 1200sf house make none of those a problem.

So, has anyone installed a flush mount service panel in a pole barn with commercial girts? If so, how did you frame around it(photos greatly appreciated)? If you've run all your circuits through exposed conduit, do you feel it was an advantage?

 

[dcg9381]

Before anyone asks, yes I am going to hire a licensed electrician to do all the wiring as I will need to have that inspected before power can be hooked up.

I think you've got the wrong forum. You're not going to get in trouble for that here. After all, we're all licensed electricians.
That's a lie. Some of are. But you can still get help here. Posting a photo and you'll get the best electrical inspection of your life at a budget price of $0.

So, has anyone installed a flush mount service panel in a pole barn with commercial girts? If so, how did you frame around it(photos greatly appreciated)? If you've run all your circuits through exposed conduit, do you feel it was an advantage?

Many of us have steel buildings. There seems (to me) to be two means of wood framing a steel building - one is flush with the gurts and the other comes out from the gurts. In either case (for me) - I treat a flush mount panel no different from a traditionally stick and brick panel. That is, I frame it in with wood and offset it for the thickness of whatever is going inside. I tend to put my electrical in PVC as I like it protected. But there are other ways to do it.

Building needs it's own grounding, BTW. Some places it's easier to do that when you pour.

 

[Jimmy.CZ]

I think you've got the wrong forum. You're not going to get in trouble for that here.

It's not so much the legal aspect. I've added circuits to an existing service panel before but it's not something I like to do. I'd rather leave that stuff up to someone that does it daily.

Building needs it's own grounding, BTW. Some places it's easier to do that when you pour.

That was also part of why I wanted to run circuits inside the walls. The building is going to get done bit by bit. Once the building is dried in I will have time to get the electrical installed and inspected before I pour the slab or install insulation/interior walls. Due to several factors the building will be on it's own meter anyway so dedicated grounding was already expected.

 

[larry_g]

in posts 10 and 13 of my build, linked below, you can see what I did . Having a divided shop I put the panel in the dividing wall and from there It was easy runs to either side of the shop or upstairs. You can also see that I used a combination of both commercial and flat girts.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Jimmy.CZ]

I put the panel in the dividing wall and from there It was easy runs to either side of the shop or upstairs

Thanks. That's something I'll look into as I was planning to divide of a portion of my building as well. Going a similar route as you did would at the very least shorten most of the 220 runs for heavy loads like my compressor and welder.

I will have to check on the max distance between the meter and service panel though. I think, but I'm not sure, if the meter socket has a service disconnect I could get away with it.

 

[mike93lx]

Thanks. That's something I'll look into as I was planning to divide of a portion of my building as well. Going a similar route as you did would at the very least shorten most of the 220 runs for heavy loads like my compressor and welder.

I will have to check on the max distance between the meter and service panel though. I think, but I'm not sure, if the meter socket has a service disconnect I could get away with it.

You can always add one. Just need to make sure that any panel after that point has a 4 wire feed with unbounded neutral bars. The grounding requirements apply to each building too, regardless of where the service is. Two rods per.