Wiring placement?

I have an older home with wiring that has no ground wire. As I slowly remodel the home I'll be replacing the wiring and run it through the attic. Is it acceptable to fastened the wires to the underside of the rafters? I was going to be adding insulation later and didn't like the idea of having just laying the wires on top of or under the insulation like it is now. Just thought it would be better to have it up, out of the way, and easy to get to in the future if the need comes up.

Reply to
mgarvie
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I am not an electrician, but I was a part time housebuilder, and I never saw electricians attaching wire to rafter or other framing faces. Check with your local electrical inspector to see if it meets code. You may have to protect the wire with conduit. Besides, what if you decided to sheet rock or panel the rafters some time in the future?. Run the new wiring through the old holes and cut the insulation halfway through at that point so that the wiring will be inside the insulation.

Reply to
Willshak

DISCLAIMER: Not a how to, just guessing from your information, always follow alll building, electrical codes by referencing them, not this post.

Reguardless of the code, you need to wire like you mean it. Meaning, if you suspect your wiring will need later expansion access, then plan for this. Route wires to accessible junction boxes, not just leave the wire exposed. If you question your ablity to wire, and are preparing for later 'fixes' you need a qualified electriction to do the work.

As for mounting wire under the rafters, even though the NEC might allow for this, if the attic is not normally accessible, in certain areas. I don't do it. Home owners moving around in the attic might use the wire as clothing racks, and handles for walking around.

Why do you want to keep the wires accessible?

later,

tom @

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Reply to
Tom The Great

I'll most likely never go up in the attic after everything is done and it's too small an area to do anything with.. I guess my main concern was just laying them over or under the insulation like they are now even though every other house here is that way. I just know when I get up there and insulate later on I'll snag one on my foot and cause a bigger problem. Figured it would be safer and look better to just fastened them to the underside of the rafters.

Reply to
mgarvie

I'm an amateur too. I stapled romex to rafters, but only when the project was logically related to the top of the space: the power to the "ceiling" light, to the roof fan, the take off from there to the light on the side of my house. Even then, I would have to run the romex down a strut to get to the floor. What are you going to do if you want to put a light in the middle of a bedroom ceiling? How will you get from the rafter to that place?

Are you thinking of putting a floor in part of the attic? You don't want the romex between the floor and the what-do-you-call the horizontal members, joists in this case too?

How will you snag a foot. Won't the stuff be stapled in place, and if it is just running over sheet rock, then why is your foot there in the first place. You'll fall through the ceiling, like someone I know. (He only went half-way through.)

Reply to
mm

You bring up a good point. I never go up in my attic for the same reason, it is not a storage or habitable place. I did, however, run a series of boards down the center to walk on. You never know when you have to run a wire, seal a duct, check a vent, etc. Better to have a walk than rely on stepping from joist to joist. Lots of people have fallen through, or at least put a foot through a ceiling.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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