electrical construction laws

mastersrom

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Does anyone know if there is a location online to view the electrical requirements for new construction here? If not where can I get it?
 
Feb 7, 2007
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I don't think there is any "norm" like a regulation, law, etc. as people are used to in Europe, etc. But I may be wrong. I have seen people to just call the electrician, who lays the pipes and the wires.
 

Castellamonte

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Does anyone know if there is a location online to view the electrical requirements for new construction here? If not where can I get it?

Assuming this is a personal dwelling I think if you wire it according to North American or European standards you'll be very far ahead of the game. Retain a local electrician to do the work as they know how to do it...but get good references first!

When I arrived here eight years ago I was amazed to discover that electricians, plumbers and even builders are not licensed trades. I asked someone how to qualify these people since the government didn't do it.

He answered that if someone takes two wires, twists them together and the light comes on...they are an electrician. Baffled, I asked what happened if the light didn't come on. "Oh," he said, "then they are a plumber". Straight faced.

Just make sure you get very good references. Keep an eye on the work so no short cuts are taken and you'll be happy.
 

J D Sauser

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Assuming this is a personal dwelling I think if you wire it according to North American or European standards you'll be very far ahead of the game. Retain a local electrician to do the work as they know how to do it...but get good references first!

When I arrived here eight years ago I was amazed to discover that electricians, plumbers and even builders are not licensed trades. I asked someone how to qualify these people since the government didn't do it.

He answered that if someone takes two wires, twists them together and the light comes on...they are an electrician. Baffled, I asked what happened if the light didn't come on. "Oh," he said, "then they are a plumber". Straight faced.

Just make sure you get very good references. Keep an eye on the work so no short cuts are taken and you'll be happy.

I don't know if there would be a code. There may. Santo Domingo city HAS a published building code which is quite detailed, to mention an example.
There seems to be no colegio which regulates electricians only (I could find, at least).
But maybe CODIA-Colegion Dominicano De Ingenieros, Arquitectos Y Agrimensores may be has some "authority" over that trade.

Otherwise, I'd be inclined to join in on Castellamonte's suggestion.
Get a book from the US about proper home wiring and follow the US code... you'd be ahead of most.
I got one I picked up at HomeDepot (others are available online) and was amazed to find ALL the instructions to build a home's electrical wiring in it.
The European system is very different to the US system. It's not just limited to the higher voltage. But boxes, breakers and generally available parts are quite different. The US system, properly installed also puts quite some emphasis on how outlets are connected to the "hot" and the "neutral" which the European system does not so much, as EU countries are much more centered on grounding. Likewise, it is code in most US states to have ALL outlets in "water" rooms (like kitchens, washing rooms and bath rooms) equipped with their own GFI. Not so in Europe as they have a different approach on the overall wiring. And no, I haven't seen many homes here in the DR equipped with GFI outlets either... but it's a good thing to have.
Use thick quality wires! Homes catch fire in the States, mostly because wires get too hot in older homes. The Ampere drain of some now common appliances can get them "boiling" quite easily. Over time that kills the insulation and one gets short cuts, sparks and booom...
Do some reading about proper grounding. Again, size matters. And better two than just one ground rod. Proper grounding helps effectively using surge protectors on your valuable electronics too.



... J-D.
 

Hillbilly

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All the Codia does is provide surity that the ENGINEERS are graduates and have exercised their professions a certain number of years.
Electro-mechanical engineers or electrical engineers are "supposed" to sign off on all construction plans that are to be submitted to the municipality and the Public Works Ministry previous to construction.

However, the real work is done by Haitian day laborers or Dominican day labor with the direction of some Maestro....who may or may not know what's up. This is why there is seldom any grounding and why such sloppy work is so often done.

When my sons were in this line of work, they used the NEC code from the US and gave 20 year guarantees on workmanship, but they
worked in the Free Zones for mostly American companies who understood the value of this work...

HB
 

Castellamonte

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Maybe EdeNorte/EdeSur? Aren't they supposed to check a new home's wiring before they agree to sell their service to it? :bunny:


... J-D.

Nope. Their responsibility ends at the transformer and often before the transformer. Edenorte, for example, is only granted the monopoly for energy distribution along the north coast. They have very lax rules for hookup. So long as they can generate an invoice, they will plug their transformer into a cow.
 

cobraboy

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I'm sure I'm not the only one who has seen some unbelievable home wiring jobs in the DR. I mean, staggering...
 

Olly

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NEC Code versa European Standards in DR

I was recently asked by a friend to design,supervise,install and test wiring in a rebuilt house to North American Standards( NEC code) including dual kitchen circuit, surge protection (on power, cable and telephone) and grounding. Final testing was also included.
As I am a retired electrical engineer this was an interesting diversion but the installation was hard work. The outcome was very satisfactory and I would agree with Castlemonte that if you do it to North American Standards you will have little trouble with the electrics.
JD - there are in fact a variety of European Standards depending which country you are in but the IET Wiring regulations 17th Edition BS7671 are the UK standards. Personally I would not recommend using UK/European Standards here. The predominance of 120VAC and higher amp loads are not well suited to the UK type house wiring.
As to the standards used here I have seen and reviewed engineers electrical designs and they were quite good and in general to NEC. In some respects an overkill. But as one poster said getting that installed per the design is difficult unless you use the more expensive Electrical Engineering companies here.

HTH

Olly
 

J D Sauser

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I was recently asked by a friend to design,supervise,install and test wiring in a rebuilt house to North American Standards( NEC code) including dual kitchen circuit, surge protection (on power, cable and telephone) and grounding. Final testing was also included.
As I am a retired electrical engineer this was an interesting diversion but the installation was hard work. The outcome was very satisfactory and I would agree with Castlemonte that if you do it to North American Standards you will have little trouble with the electrics.
JD - there are in fact a variety of European Standards depending which country you are in but the IET Wiring regulations 17th Edition BS7671 are the UK standards. Personally I would not recommend using UK/European Standards here. The predominance of 120VAC and higher amp loads are not well suited to the UK type house wiring.
As to the standards used here I have seen and reviewed engineers electrical designs and they were quite good and in general to NEC. In some respects an overkill. But as one poster said getting that installed per the design is difficult unless you use the more expensive Electrical Engineering companies here.

HTH

Olly

I agree, Olly... I too recommend using US code and technology here in the DR.
-The European system is very different to the US system. It's not just limited to the higher voltage. But boxes, breakers and generally available parts are quite different. The US system, properly installed also puts quite some emphasis on how outlets are connected to the "hot" and the "neutral" which the European system does not so much, as EU countries are much more centered on grounding. Likewise, it is code in most US states to have ALL outlets in "water" rooms (like kitchens, washing rooms and bath rooms) equipped with their own GFI. Not so in Europe as they have a different approach on the overall wiring.-


As I mentioned, there are step by step do it yourself books available in the US (HomeDepot, Amazon) for $20.oo to $30.oo which can help most everybody handy with a screw driver and with basic understanding of the physical laws of electricity wire up a home better than many "electricista" here ever would.
Planning is of essence.
I had a Romanian worker in Spain who'd draw his schematics right on the walls throughout the homes we build. At first, I would had preferred to be presented with plans I could check in my office. But then, after he had successfully wired up the first home without a bzzt, fffrt or zap... I let him proceed. Actually, I came to find it a quite acceptable way to proceed. :)

Glad to hear somebody's got a zap-free home here. :)

... J-D.
 

cobraboy

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Our current house had non-grounded outlets 2" above the kitchen sink....:paranoid:

HAD.