See pic below – existing subpanel in a room in my basement that I am finishing. Most of the basement was already finished and this panel was existing. I framed around it to hide the conduit which feeds an outbuilding.
I know code says you can’t put a sub in a clothes closet, but am I allowed to put a cabinet door over this subpanel which will be recessed?
Thanks,
Tony
Replies
I think so, I am pretty sure you can. But perhaps of even more importance, who will ever know. Clearly there is no danger in it. The point about the closet is that the box could easily and very likely would get buried. In an emergency it would be difficlult to get to it.
A cabinet door or a picture hung over the box would not present the same problem.
Afterall, the box has a metal door and that does not prevent quick acess, why not a wooden door dressing on top of teh steel.
We've done it many times, but check with your local inspector or building department to make sure.
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
The main thing is to not make it "attractive" for storing stuff. The cabinet should be as shallow as possible, so that no one will be tempted to add shelves, etc.
Thanks everyone! That is what I wanted to hear. I will be having it inspected, so I will let everyone know what he says.
Make sure your access door extends down below the j box under the subpanel.
You don't want the j box buried in the wall.
The destination is not the point. The completion is not the point. Enjoy today. If you can't enjoy today, then what is the point ?
You mean there's something wrong about hiding j-boxes inside a wall?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
BuwahahahahaI just gave the advice, you ain't dragging me into that one !;o)
The destination is not the point. The completion is not the point. Enjoy today. If you can't enjoy today, then what is the point ?
Yep, good call Luka. I do have that planned. I will definitely oversize it in order to allow for access for future expansion. I'll probably run a few smurf tubes to the area before I close up the walls too.
-Tony
what it is, you got to have 3 feet open space in front of panel so a person can work at the panel without bending over or moving items.
you cant hide a panel
Edited 5/17/2006 3:20 pm by brownbagg
Attached are pictures of how we typicaly deal with the same situation. In this instance we had to add a sub-panel next to the main panel, Because the sub-panel was smaller then the main we were also able to re-locate the control box for the exterior low-voltage lighting inside.
We simply made a face frame and doors to match the wet bar cabinets in the basement and finished them to match. The face frame mounted directly to framing & blocking we installed for that purpose.
Tony - A couple of other things caught my attention that you may want to look at.
Is it just me, but it looks like you cut all the studs in half to run the lines. And is the electrical box flush with the studs? How is that going to work with the finished wall?
Will there be an access panel for the pull box?
Dean
Healey - yes, you are correct, the studs are cut and notched to fit over the conduit. There was a pre-exisiting wall there before the conduit, these new studs are just to bump out the wall to as to hide the conduit. It isn't structural and should hold drywall just fine.
As to the pull box in the LB, yes, my plan is to make the door a rectangle that extends down a foot beyond the bottom of the LB for access.