Roofing and Electrical Wires

Twice in all of my years of business, while my men were nailing from above, without warning, a nail would penetrate through the underlying substrate, and actually cut in to a hidden electrical wire.

How can this happen?

Well, it shouldn’t. The fact is, there are building codes for pretty much every aspect of building; plumbing, roofing, electrical, etc. If all work is performed to comply with the various codes, the likelihood of a problem such as the electrical one described above, is greatly reduced.

In both cases in which a problem occurred, the electric lines were installed high up, through the rafters, and touching the underside of the roof sheeting. When a shingle or length of rolled roofing is nailed, from the top, of course, the code requires that the nail be driven a minimum of 3/4″ into the sheeting, or to actually penetrate it, if the sheeting is not thick enough to accommodate the 3/4″. Because, in both instances, the wiring was run too high, the nail, having to penetrate the sheeting, actually cut the wire, causing it to short out.

Because this happened while the roof was being installed, the homeowner naturally assumed that the roofer made a dumb mistake. It is important to recognize though, that the roof is installed from the topside, and the roofer, assuming, out of necessity, that any prior work has been done to comply with building codes, went ahead with his normal installation method, the same method he has used on countless jobs, and the result was less than desirable.

My advice? Use licensed, bonded, and insured contractors for work to be performed. When you follow that guideline, and if a problem should occur, at least recourse will be available to you.