Checkmate wrote:

Line voltage run exposed with no conduit? I don't know of any place in
my neck of the woods (Southern California) where you could legally get
away with that.

The Peoples Republic of Kalifornia is notorious for some of its laws so
I'm not surprised.

Here the plastic sheathed wire is fine if placed at or above five feet
from the floor. (I wired our house and my garage/shop and had no
problem with the toughest inspector in the valley.)

Ted