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Default How Not-To-NEC is this?

A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.

Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:

In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through
which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.

All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.

Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.

Your thoughts?

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Default How Not-To-NEC is this?

In article . com, DerbyDad03 wrote:
A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.

Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:

In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through


Through what? Romex may be fished through air voids inside a block wall, but
if it goes *through* a block wall, it must be protected by conduit. It's not
clear from your description whether this cable is coming through the block
foundation wall (in which case it's a violation) or through a stud wall (in
which case it's probably not).

which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.

All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.

Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.

Your thoughts?


Romex is permitted to be installed either concealed or exposed.


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Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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Default How Not-To-NEC is this?

DerbyDad03 wrote:

A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.

Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:

In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through
which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.

All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.

Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.

Your thoughts?


So he:

Fished romex through an existing wiring space - legit
Protected the romex where exposed to damage in the garage with an
approved raceway (wiremold) - legit
Ran the romex into the wall cavity where needed to service an outlet -
legit

I'd have probably used EMT in the garage, and a squirt of fire stop goop
at each garage wall penetration would be good, but I don't see anything
really wrong with what he did.
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Default How Not-To-NEC is this?


"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
ups.com...
A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.

Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:

In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through
which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.

All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.

Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.

It sounds like it is protected from damage. And if it is protected from
damage, what is your problem with it?


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Default How Not-To-NEC is this?

DerbyDad03 wrote:
A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.

Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:

In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through
which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.

All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.

Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.

Your thoughts?


Didn't think I'd _ever_ agree w/ Toller, but ...

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In article , "Pete C." wrote:

So he:

Fished romex through an existing wiring space - legit


Yes, assuming that the existing wiring space was legit....

It's not clear from the OP's description whether the existing hole pierces the
block wall foundation, or a stud wall above it.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
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On Oct 25, 7:42?pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , "Pete C." wrote:
So he:


Fished romex through an existing wiring space - legit


Yes, assuming that the existing wiring space was legit....

It's not clear from the OP's description whether the existing hole pierces the
block wall foundation, or a stud wall above it.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.


doorbell low voltage wires arent supposed to be run with romex cables.
not a electrician but I believe thats not permitted, as a cross
connection could produce line voltage at a doorbell button.

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On Oct 25, 3:03 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article . com, DerbyDad03 wrote:

A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.


Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:


In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through


Through what? Romex may be fished through air voids inside a block wall, but
if it goes *through* a block wall, it must be protected by conduit. It's not
clear from your description whether this cable is coming through the block
foundation wall (in which case it's a violation) or through a stud wall (in
which case it's probably not).

which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.


All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.


Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.


Your thoughts?


Romex is permitted to be installed either concealed or exposed.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.


Thanks. The Romex enters the garage through a stud so that's OK.

BTW, I don't really have a "problem" with the installation. It is just
that the look of the wiring seems out of place - you can see where the
Romex makes a right angle out of the end of the wire mold and
disappears into the wall about 4' feet off the ground. For some
reason, it's just not an aesthetically pleasing installation to me, so
that's what made me wonder about the "workmanship like manner" issue.
However, based on what you guys have said, it's fine.

Thanks again.

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On Oct 25, 1:51 pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
A neighbor added an outlet on the first floor stair landing for a fish
tank. The wall in question is the wall between the house and the
attached garage.

Since this wall sits on top of the block foundation wall and there is
a bunch of ductwork in the basement just below it, he wasn't able to
(easily) fish the wire up through the wall, so here's what he did:

In the upper front corner of the basement was an existing hole through
which ran the wires to the outlets in the garage, the doorbell wires,
etc. He ran a length of Romex thorugh this hole into the garage, then
into a 6' strip of wiremold attached to the garage wall and came back
into the house through a hole drilled in the garage wall opposite from
where outlet was installed.

All the other Romex in the garage is exposed; he just felt that he
should protect this length of Romex because it runs horizontally
across the only finished wall in the garage, about 4 feet off the
slab, and looked very vulnerable.

Maybe it's legal, but in terms "workmanship-like manner" it looks
pretty iffy.

Your thoughts?


Around here all Romex is bad unless it's an UF application. I'm
continually cringed by Romex posts in general because it's so foreign
here and seems dangerous any way you use it.


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In article . com, RickH wrote:

Around here all Romex is bad unless it's an UF application. I'm
continually cringed by Romex posts in general because it's so foreign
here and seems dangerous any way you use it.


Most of the rest of the world doesn't see it that way. Where is "around here"?
Chicago?

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Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.


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On 26 Oct, 07:36, (Calvin Henry-
Cotnam) wrote:
) said...



doorbell low voltage wires arent supposed to be run with romex cables.
not a electrician but I believe thats not permitted, as a cross
connection could produce line voltage at a doorbell button.


They are not allowed to enter into the same space within a box or panel,
but you can certainly run them next to them through and along studs and
joists.

The one thing that no one else has mentioned here is what was done with
the hole that the cable goes through? Attached garages are supposed to
be gas-tight from the living space, and drilling a hole in the wall
violates that. Once the cable is in place, the hole should be caulked
with acoustic sealant (an icky black substance that never hardens).

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- Paul Martin - April 30, 2003
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OP here...

Neither the hole where the wires enter the garage nor return into the
wall are caulked. Of course, I doubt the wood door into the house is
gas tight either. His house was built by the same builder as mine back
in the 50's when I doubt (but don't know) if the "gas-tight" codes
were in effect. We have the same door into the house and I'm sure it's
not gas tight.

Neither of us currently park in the garage (too much other stuff) but
obviously situations could change.

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Calvin Henry-Cotnam wrote:
....
....Attached garages are supposed to
be gas-tight from the living space, ...


Where did this come from? I've never yet seen an attached garage that
had an airlock between it and the entry door, an entry door that was
anything near "gas-tight", etc., etc., etc., ...

What about basement garages which have interior stairs up?

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On 26 Oct, 14:45, wrote:
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:17:16 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

As for gas tight, that is certainly not the case, the common walls,
doors, etc. between a garage and house should be fire rated, not gas
tight, and the fire rated standards are lower than those for commercial
spaces.


All you need is a "15 minute finish". That can be cheap panelling or
1/2" drywall plugged with drywall mud. (hollow core doors etc)
True "fire rated assemblies" start at 1 hour. You need 1 hour above a
garage if there is habitable space above the garage. That is typically
5/8" "fire code" drywall.


Assuming the existing wall is a 15 minute finish, would drilling a
single hole for a piece of Romex compromise the integrity to such an
extend that it is no longer "safe"?


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