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.

mgarvie wrote:
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.



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.


--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 06:05:04 -0500, "mgarvie"
wrote:

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.



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 @ www.NoCostAds.com

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.

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:53:58 -0500, "mgarvie"
wrote:

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.

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.)

"mm" wrote in message

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.)

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.