Post inspection repair- electrical conduit on roof?


  #1  
Old 10-03-16, 10:53 AM
R
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Post inspection repair- electrical conduit on roof?

Hello folks!
I'm hoping I can get some insights from the community for a repair related to a house I'm currently in escrow for. The home inspector pointed out that there's a 'rusted pipe with electrical cabling' on the roof that will need to be replaced (pictures attached).
Does anyone know what this would be? It does not look like the electrical mast to me, and I'm trying to understand if:
- this can be a DIY project for someone who has decent electrical knowledge
- whether I need a professional and/or the utility company to look at it (can't say for sure whether it comes from the main line and where it goes)
- how much I'd be looking at for the full repair?

I've called a number of electricians to come have a look but no one is really available until I need to lift my inspection contingency... any insights you guys could share would be greatly appreciated! And I completely understand it's not easy when simply looking at tiny pictures...

Thanks all!Name:  Screen Shot 2016-10-03 at 10.49.28 AM.jpg
Views: 714
Size:  31.6 KB
 
  #2  
Old 10-03-16, 12:58 PM
I
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Near Lansing, Michigan
Posts: 9,785
Upvotes: 0
Received 45 Upvotes on 43 Posts
My guess is that someone wanted to run a circuit from one side of the house to the other and chose this bizarre path instead of running through the attic.

I guess by electrical code it's not technically wrong to run conduit across the rooftop, but there are some special requirements for temperature rating of the wiring. Even still the conduit is not fastened correctly or securely.

The rustiness of the conduit certainly makes it look end-of-life in any case.

What state are you in?
 
  #3  
Old 10-03-16, 01:04 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
The member is in Los Angeles, Ca.

That conduit may be feeding a rooftop packaged A/C system.
If you don't have an A/C blower inside the house.... it may be on the roof.
 
  #4  
Old 10-03-16, 04:15 PM
ray2047's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 29,711
Upvotes: 0
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
Normally only done commercial here and in those cases a roof jack not a just a "patched hole" is use for penetration. I'd worry about a roof leak (but I'm not a roofer).
 
  #5  
Old 10-03-16, 07:13 PM
CasualJoe's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 9,871
Received 185 Upvotes on 166 Posts
Like Ray mentioned, you need a roof jack (proper roof flashing). In my area only heavywall threaded conduit can be used on a roof. Any other type of conduit can be easily damaged if someone would step on it.
 
  #6  
Old 10-06-16, 07:56 PM
R
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Guys - thank you very much for your replies... there certainly are oddities with this house... and the electrical work is one of them. Based on your posts - and what I can see around the house, this path was chosen to run from the original part of the house (1949), to an extension that was built 10 years ago or so. Clearly somewhat of a shortcut... and not sure why it wasn't run through the attic, or through the crawlspace (though I'm not sure what is code-compliant).

So as far as I'm concerned, that's something I'm definitely outsourcing... too much involved for a DIY project if I want to change the path of the wiring so it's no longer visible, and then some roofing repairs... now onto finding a reliable electrician...

Thanks again folks - all very helpful.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: