Electrical violations! (Where's Waldo in Reverse)

JD

Well-Known Member
Have a fall gig coming up at this wonderful place.
The band sent me this photo of the location. (yikes! It will remain nameless.)
I've spent most of the afternoon counting the problems I see in this picture.
Thought it might be fun to post!
(Char, this place makes your pics look they are from UL labs!)
I have until October to try to figure out how to make a show look good there.
(Maybe it won't be there by then! ;) )

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I'm having trouble finding anything there that IS up to code!

It would be a shame for a fire to destroy that Kurzweil keyboard!
 
This is why we can't have nice things.
 
Does the city HAVE a fire marshal? Dude that's pushing the point I would seriously consider saying "No thanks I want to live". I mean that seriously. Remember that post Logos had from down under a while back about the theater with catwalks so dangerous he refused to do the high work and was debating whether he should turn them in or not? Well the same is true for this joint. What if it goes up in flames in a month or a year from now and one person is killed? How would you feel? Considering what happened at "The Station" only one being killed is very unlikely. I think I would take a recon mission to the place to see if I felt safe working there and possibly turn them in if it's REALLY as bad as those pics look.
 
Does the city HAVE a fire marshal? Dude that's pushing the point I would seriously consider saying "No thanks I want to live". I mean that seriously. Remember that post Logos had from down under a while back about the theater with catwalks so dangerous he refused to do the high work and was debating whether he should turn them in or not? Well the same is true for this joint. What if it goes up in flames in a month or a year from now and one person is killed? How would you feel? Considering what happened at "The Station" only one being killed is very unlikely. I think I would take a recon mission to the place to see if I felt safe working there and possibly turn them in if it's REALLY as bad as those pics look.

Agreed! That is a catastrophy just waiting to happen.
 
Does the city HAVE a fire marshal? Dude that's pushing the point I would seriously consider saying "No thanks I want to live". I mean that seriously. Remember that post Logos had from down under a while back about the theater with catwalks so dangerous he refused to do the high work and was debating whether he should turn them in or not? Well the same is true for this joint. What if it goes up in flames in a month or a year from now and one person is killed? How would you feel? Considering what happened at "The Station" only one being killed is very unlikely. I think I would take a recon mission to the place to see if I felt safe working there and possibly turn them in if it's REALLY as bad as those pics look.

The other thing to remember is that if something goes wrong while you're there or shortly after you've been working there you become liable.

Walk the **** away.
 
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The other thing to remember is that if something goes wrong while you're there or shortly after you've been working there you become libel.
Walk the **** away.


There's your safety, others safety, your legal liability, and then there is your ability to sleep at night knowing you could have prevented something. No matter how you look at it, it's not good.
 
My favorite is the dangling quad box in the upper left hand corner-suspended with romex? and two of those monitors must sound really good.....
 
My own favorite is a tie between the "Company Switch" location of dead center in the middle of the stage, and the apparent use of zip ties to route the bx cables. Other highlights include what appear to be two prong plugs in said quad box, up-side-down par cans with plastic wire and the extensive harnessing of sound cable to light cables. Not sure what belongs to the band and what belongs to the house, but judging by the layer of dust on the pars, they look like the house. Not promising! I'll have to take a drive down there someday and look at the place first hand. BTW, it is in Philadelphia. You would think they would be a little tighter with their inspections. (And I found out the club has THIS picture posted on their website!!!)
 
Here I spent an entire weekend wiring up basement lighting to a house my parents have with conduit. Bx (AC) is against code in that town for lenghts over three feet and enclosed and I wouldn't use it anyway. A few weeks later a licenced electrician working on the floor above kitchen comes in, for a day and adds to in tying off my work in the basement in feeding the kitchen with romex. Like running an extension cord as opposed to doing conduit around pipes and joists. I could see using it especially in not inturrupting walls as much but support of it I'm not so sure of without inturrupting walls. Not that I ain't done it before in running my own. Still I spent hours with conduit and got frustraited in seeing the Romex used in a place that's exposed but might not qualify for a primary exposure given its a basement.

Still:
Fugley yes which is against code in a done in a professional manner type of thing. But other than the various dimmer boxes mounted to the walls, for a 28 day wonder “temporary install,” for entertainment purposes in a place of assembly, other than for it other than done in a proper workmen like way failing in a big way, and the dimmers I can’t see anything really wrong with it beyond being very wrong in a good workmenship type of thing.

From my observation, there is a company switch which I assumed is fused or elsewhere breakered. This is possibly feeding the “temporary sub-panel” which assuming strain relief is feeding as a temporary power source itself various temporary patch in products.

Know I’m going to catch a lot of heat for this and I don’t like what I see either but if of “temporary install” which this sub panel could as a source to temporary install stuff into off the switch panel might qualify for, it could be a loop hole in tying directly into.

Now everything else on the walls etc, they are of question, noope the outlet box below, nor the swtich, dimmer and switches legit or up to code. All them brackets to hold the wire, nope they don’t qualify either but for the building itself, given sub-panel as a means to tie into temporary...

Na, scrap all that, remember something about extension cords not tying directly into the breaker, much less rules about means of disconnect by way of plug within arms reach of the power source which the panel might be argued being but by no way did the NEC intend cords directly terminating into a breaker panel without disconnect by way of plug. Plus all them cable straps mean you get one show, if after the next show the cable is still in the same place, than you get your write up. Switch especially at an angle is a write up etc.

Than after all that, we verify the flame treating certification of the un-treated lumber shown on set.

Boy that’s a mess. In some small way it might be within some concept of a temporary install but in no way does this seem temporary, much less it’s not done very skillfully. Bye bye on closing down the place if my choice.

If its romex instead of cables than it's a big mess that's not professionally run thus never inspected or permitted.
 
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Whoa! The Fire Marshall for this establishment must be a religious man, because only god could keep this place from burning to the ground in a few months' time. I wonder, do they have a personal safety waver for you to sign at the door when you come in, or is it printed on the admission slips...?
 
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Actually I would be less worried about this sytem then some others that i have seen hidden in the walls, at least what you can see is a step forward. Its what you don't see that tends to get you
Sharyn
 
For now, I only have the picture to go on as well. Was reading what Ship was saying, and thought I would try to give it a "fair" look as compared to my prior "jaded" look. I see what looks like an audio stage box mounted on the wall (Keyboard Player's knee) and I am now wondering how much of what is on the wall is audio snake. Specifically, the red, blue, and gray cables that are zip tied to what looks like a black painted conduit feeding the disconnect. The lines feeding the lights switch box do appear to be strapped to the wall, and from the bend curve appear to be BX. Not sure what Philly codes are on bx, but I see tons of it in most of the buildings around here, and way over 3 feet. I am told this place has a "house" sound and light system, so I am suspecting that may be why the snake box is mounted. Not sure about the fat black cables that come out of the floor are.. suspicious! The "house" lighting system concerns me the most. There are words to describe it, but I can not post them here! You're right, that "pink" gel appears to once have been blue. If I do go ahead with the gig, I will require them to have that system disconnected and capped prior to the show date (a one nighter) and not reconnected until after we have left. That ceiling looks like **** but as has been said, its usually the "hidden" stuff that gets you. I am going to have to drive down and take a first hand look at this one. (to say nothing of how the heck we can put a system in there!)
 

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