Questions on new garage wiring quality

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good weekend. An electrician just finished wiring my detached garage (new construction). I have a few concerns that I consider red flags but I'm not familiar enough with electrical work to know if these are nice-to-have wishes or if these are 100% real concerns.

The first is a switch box where the romex sheath doesn't extend all the way inside the box. I plan to insulate and sheetrock and am wondering if this gap is typical or not good at all.

The second photo shows the inside of that same box and how the electrician used three mismatch switches. Probably not a huge deal but kind of annoyed me and I'm unsure if that's unsafe to mix switches like that.

The third photo is my bigger concern: it's a 10 gauge wire for a 220 outlet and the staple clip is pinching the wire sheath pretty hard. Again, on a scale of "that's fine" to "that will catch on fire", where should my level of concern be?

Lastly, I don't have a photo to show it but one 15 amp breaker in the new panel is sort of wiggly, like it has some play in it. Not a lot but enough to be noticeable compared to the other breakers, which don't move at all. Is that normal?

As always, thanks for your time!

 

The two left switches are single pole and the right one is three way.
It's possible to get the left two to match (same part) but the right switch will always be different.

The sheath is a little short on that #14 cable.
Can you pull any extra down the wall ?

The #10 cable pinch should be checked.
At least pull the staple out to inspect the cable.

 

Is that 10 gauge going into the switch box? If so what is it powering - just curious.

 

I don't think the 10 gauge is going to the switch box - there's only room for the three switch devices and their wiring. I think it just kind of looks like the 10 gauge may be going into the switch box because there is no separation space between the two images, one image directly on top of the other image.

 

Is this getting inspected?

The cable sheath is required to be at least 1/4" inside the box.
I would also remove the staple and inspect the cable jacket.
The loose breaker is likely not a big deal. Breakers tend to wiggle a little. As long as the connection to the bus bars is good it will be fine.

 

The staple is too tight and the insulation may have been compromised.
The clamps on the box are for one cable, not two as installed.

The sheath should extend into the box at least 1/4" past the clamp.

 

I believe two cables entering a push tab is okay for single gang boxes, but not in multi-gang boxes. I'm a little surprised he didn't just use one of the other available tabs instead of doubling-up in that one tab.

He was a too careless not to notice the sheath was too short when he wired that center switch. Hopefully he won't have to drive very far to pull the Romex cable down a few inches.

I can't tell if those cable push tabs are still attached to the box or broken off...

 

The first and second photo are not the same electrical box or were taken at different times because the first photo show 4 cables entering while the second photo shows 2/3 cables entering. Please explain.

 

I believe the OP as being same box. The photo angle is blocking the view of the cables.

 

It doesn't make a difference if this is the same box.
There are two distinct questions that don't rely on it being the same box.

 

Thanks for all the replies! Good questions all around, more details:

- The first and second photos are of the same box taken on the same day. Maybe the second photo didn't capture the best angle but I can confirm it is the same box.
- The 10 gauge wire is totally separate going to its own L6-30 receptacle. Sorry for not clarifying that, the photos were meant to show separate concerns.
- I see a few mentions of push tabs and am not familiar with what those are. Is this something I should ask the electrician about?
- This garage was "rough inspected" meaning the code officer gave the OK for the power company to come next and hook up from the street, then he wants to come back for a final inspection.

I was also checking the 100 amp line into the garage today where it exits the back of the meter box through the wall and found this nick in the sheath. The photos make it look bigger than it is, the actual nick is about 1cm and does not appear to have gone into any of the inner cables. Is this fixable with a few wraps of good electrical tape, or is the only right fix to replace the entire line? I'm planning to call the inspector back tomorrow to show him all these concerns. Thanks again for everyone's feedback here.

 

Again, likely not a big deal but with all these items I would say the installer is not being very conscientious of their work.

 

If you look inside the box you will see clamps or tabs that hold the cable in the box. They should be pressing against the sheath and not broken out.

 

That explains all the little blue square plastic pieces I found on the garage floor. Yep, they're broken out. Of all the concerns mentioned so far in this thread, which are big enough that I should definitely ask the electrician to redo?

 

The plastic box's cable push tabs serve the purpose of essentially clamping the cable's sheath tight enough where the cable cannot move, or be removed unintentionally. It acts much like a Chinese handcuff in that the cable would become more tightly pinched if the cable is pulled in a perverse attempt to remove the cable. Those push tabs should not have been removed. A qualified electrician and/or trained helper would know that.

The inspector should catch this for sure. Leave the blue square plastic pieces you found on the garage floor for the inspector to see.

 

I would suggest having the electrician fix these items. None are 'going to catch on fire' problems, but definitely poor workmanship.

I would not suggest calling the building/electrical inspector back. I don't think you gain anything from getting them to fail your inspection, and having to come back again to pass it. While their job is to ensure installations meet code, they typically don't check everything and can miss issues.

I also think the electrician will be more annoyed (and less likely to work with you) if you call the inspector back.

Just my $0.02.


Oh - though you didn't ask... usually devices (switches) are not installed until after the drywall is up. Those switches will need to be removed before drywall so the cutouts aren't too big.

 

Thanks everyone, very much appreciate the education, learned more here than I could've Googled on my own. I'll follow up if anything interesting happens on the next meetings with the electrician.