Had a retired electrician tear into me about my panel location once

I was installing a system in this older house over near Springfield, guy must have been 75 or 80 years old. He watched me run wires for about ten minutes, then just started shaking his head. He pointed at the panel I was mounting in the hallway and said 'son, that's gonna get bumped every time somebody carries a couch through.' I laughed it off at first, but he was right. The homeowner came by two months later and told me a moving crew had cracked the panel face wide open. I learned to think about foot traffic and furniture paths way more after that. You ever have a homeowner or a bystander point out something obvious that you completely missed?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.blake27d ago

Honestly that old guy was overreacting. You mount panels where the code and layout demand it, not based on some random moving crew's clumsiness. A cracked plastic face is a cheap replacement, but rerouting a service entrance because a couch might bump it is a waste of time and money.

black.mark27d ago

@sanchez.blake I think you're forgetting that code says panels can't be in certain spots like closets or bathrooms.