"Pete C." wrote in message
t...

wrote:

On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:17:11 -0400, "RBM" wrote:


"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
rs.com...
I swear, there must be a vow that all licensed electricians take before
setting out to work on their own. I believe it could be summed up thus:

XXXIV. Thou shalt never affix identifying labels to any
household breaker panels.

What is it with these guys? Yesterday I saw a new client, looked at
their
panel in the garage to try to figure out which one the back-porch
light
was on, and, sure 'nuf, not a SINGLE MARKING anywhere to disturb the
pristine beauty of the blank box.

I guess it just isn't macho enough to actually let the poor *******
who
owns the house know which breaker goes where.

(On the other hand, another client is the ultimate counter-example:
both
of their breaker boxes have envelopes taped to their doors, inside of
which is a complete list of breakers and devices on each. But I
suspect
that's because one of their sons did a lot of remodeling work for
their
parents.)


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

The NEC requires the panel to be labeled, but it's doubtful that any
electrician is going to make up charts showing each light and outlet in
a
dwelling. Typically you'll get general labels like first floor lighting
,
bedroom outlets, etc.


The electrician that wired my house made a computer printed label that
lists everything. Of course I was that electrician. I used a paint
program and made lines to look like the breakers, then filled in the
data.

Similar here, when I replaced my panel I mapped every circuit and made a
CAD print of the whole house with every fixture and receptacle marked
with circuit number. When you do the work yourself, you can take the
time to do every detail perfectly.

Agreed, and it certainly isn't rocket science to label a panel, but it can
get costly if you want a licensed electrician to do what you did. Just last
week a customer of mine had me map and label his service panels, which I did
using a table in MS Word. I only charged for my time on the job ringing out
the circuits and it cost over $400