Cut studs on new construction

[Jim_Port]

@escanlan

You’re fixating on 1 1/4" distance which is the distance a bored hole must be from the surface of a member where the surface treatment will be applied. That is specified in NEC 300.4(A)(1) which deals with “Bored Holes”. What you are failing to see is NEC 300.4(A)(2) which deals with “Notches In Wood” and does not care about how far back the cable has been pushed and instead cares that the opening is closed with an appropriate protection plate so there is no chance the cable can be struck. This provision does not care about any specific distance from the face of the member.

If you do not own a copy of NFPA 70 (NEC) then you can view it for free here http://www.nfpa.org/nec/about-the-nec/free-online-access-to-the-nec-and-other-electrical-standards . Of course any Inspector that wants to quote the codes, and has any ability to do so, already owns a copy of NFPA 70.

The bored hole is in the original stud, not the scabbed piece that was installed to keep the stud straight after the relief cut. The cable is not going to move. To say a plate is required on the notched scab but not the bored hole is idiotic.

No one would cut a notch that would be deep enough to satisfy the code required setback to run a cable in a structural member. The minimum depth for the cable would be cut to preserve strength and a plate installed. That is why it says in notches.