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Hot take: Watch out for those new apartment building utility rooms they are a trap
I was out in Fayetteville last week doing a bulk install in one of those new five over ones. The utility room looked clean and modern but I noticed something off right away. The builder had run all the conduit tight against the fire sprinkler pipes with zero room for pulling cable. I had to fight for 20 minutes just to get a fishtape through one section because the sweep was basically a kink. Then I saw the grounding bar was bolted to a painted wall with no bonding to the rebar in the slab. That is a code issue waiting to bite someone hard. If you are working new builds do yourself a favor and check those rooms before you start or you will be reaming out conduit for two days like I did. Anyone else run into this in the newer complexes?
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leobrown21d ago
Honestly I walked into one of those utility rooms in a complex off College Avenue and the first thing I did was drop my 200 foot tape measure down an open floor drain. Took me 45 minutes to fish it out with a coat hanger and some duct tape. Ngl the whole setup seemed designed to punish anyone who actually needs to pull wires through it. I swear those sweeps are tighter than my ex's budget.
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sandra69321d agoTop Commenter
Used to think those rooms were fine but nah, you're totally right.
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Why do builders think we all work with magic wands now that can bend conduit around sprinkler pipes like it's nothing? I swear those utility rooms are designed by someone who's never actually had to pull a cable in their life. That grounding bar bolted to painted drywall without bonding is just asking for a lawsuit down the road too. And those tight sweeps? Yeah, I've spent a whole afternoon fighting with a fishtape in one of those "modern" setups before I gave up and just cut the whole run out. They look clean and pretty but they're a nightmare waiting to mess up your whole day. I bet the architect got a bonus for making it look nice while making it impossible to work on.
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