zmVault/timestamped/2025-11-10_11-14-00.md

id, title, tags, daily

id	title	tags	daily
2025-11-10T11:14:00-0500	2025-11-10 11:14:??	occupational/takeoff original-format/digital-text	2025-11-10

2025-11-10 11:14:??

I was updating my notes, filling in gaps in scripts based on joel-jansen's, when I noticed a strange paragraph:

[!quote] OneNote/Joel Take-off/Misc. Notes Drop Down Ceilings vs. GWB (Gypsum Wall Boards)

Drop down ceiling is technically "Exposed" (the real term should be accessable), so Romex and SER is not permited. Will need to use MC.

[!image]

334.12 Uses Not Permitted.

334.12(A) Types NM and NMC.

Types NM and NMC cables shall not be permitted as follows:

1. In any dwelling or structure not specifically permitted in 334.10(1), (2), (3)

2. ==Exposed in dropped or suspended ceilings== in other than one- and two-family and multifamily dwellings

This analysis of 334.12(A)(2) is flawed.

Based on the nfpa-70_100_definitions definitions of nfpa-70_100_definitions#Exposed (as applied to wiring methods). and nfpa-70_100_definitions#Dwelling, Multifamily., 334.12(A)(2) can be paraphrased as follows:

[!cite] nfpa-70_334_nm-cable#334.12(A) Types NM and NMC., pp. Types NM and NMC cable are not permitted to be installed in accessible spaces above suspended ceilings, except in buildings containing one or more dwelling units.

The prohibition of 334.12(A)(2) never applies to apartments or condos, And only applies to hotels and dormitories on a basis of AHJ interpretation (See multi-family-dwellings#Are Hotels Multifamily Dwellings?).

It's unclear to me if this a genuine misunderstanding or just a heuristics to cover the case that guestrooms are not interpreted to be dwelling units. If it's the latter, I believe it's far too conservative to be used whole-cloth on all estimates.