Rough-In Electrical
CSI Division 26, Electrical
The conduit, wiring, and box installation performed inside walls, floors, and ceilings before they're closed up with drywall or flooring, installed and inspected while it's still visible, the electrical equivalent of plumbing and HVAC rough-in happening in the same building at the same time.
Why it matters
Electrical rough-in that's covered before inspection creates the same kind of hidden risk as uninspected plumbing, except with electrical work the consequence of a hidden defect can be a fire rather than a leak, which is why code requires electrical rough-in inspection before it's ever covered.
On a real project
An electrician installs conduit and pulls wire through a floor's framed walls, then has the completed rough-in inspected against the electrical drawings and code before drywall closes over it.
Who this matters most to
An Electrician installs rough-in wiring to the electrical drawings and the National Electrical Code, coordinating box and conduit placement with other trades roughing in the same walls. A Superintendent sequences drywall and ceiling closure around the electrical inspection, since no wall can close until that inspection clears.
Where this goes wrong
An electrical crew completes rough-in work on a floor, but the required inspection gets scheduled late and drywall crews, working to their own schedule, close up the walls before the inspector arrives. The inspection has to happen through spot-opened sections of the finished wall instead, an expensive and avoidable consequence of covering work before it was cleared.