How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

I have unfinished attic space that I used for storage. I have a plywood floor up there, and there's romex running along the floor.

I want to protect the romex from people walking on it / stuff leaning or rubbing on it/ etc.

Does anybody have any suggestions about what to use? It needs to be something that I put right over it, and staple down to the plywood so conduit it not going to work. I thought about using some wire moulding but it's kinda expensive and I need about 30 feet of it.

Is there some rubber product that would work in this application?

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

On Sunday, August 24, 2014 8:58:42 AM UTC-4, FTR wrote:
I have unfinished attic space that I used for storage. I have a plywood floor up there, and there's romex running along the floor.



I want to protect the romex from people walking on it / stuff leaning or rubbing on it/ etc.



Does anybody have any suggestions about what to use? It needs to be something that I put right over it, and staple down to the plywood so conduit it not going to work. I thought about using some wire moulding but it's kinda expensive and I need about 30 feet of it.



Is there some rubber product that would work in this application?

From a code standpoint, just wood stips, eg furring strips, higher than
the cable is all that's required. That's cheap, but they would also be
easy to trip over, depending on where they are located. I can't think of
anything that has the profile you likely want, except products made specifically
to cover up cords, etc so that you can walk over them.

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

On 08/24/2014 7:58 AM, FTR wrote:
I have unfinished attic space that I used for storage. I have a plywood floor up there, and there's romex running along the floor.

I want to protect the romex from people walking on it / stuff leaning or rubbing on it/ etc.

Does anybody have any suggestions about what to use? It needs to be something that I put right over it, and staple down to the plywood so conduit it not going to work. I thought about using some wire moulding but it's kinda expensive and I need about 30 feet of it.

Is there some rubber product that would work in this application?

Cut a channel in the ply for it to lay in

--

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

On 8/24/2014 8:13 AM, trader_4 wrote:
On Sunday, August 24, 2014 8:58:42 AM UTC-4, FTR wrote:
Is there some rubber product that would work in this application?

From a code standpoint, just wood stips, eg furring strips, higher than
the cable is all that's required. That's cheap, but they would also be
easy to trip over, depending on where they are located. I can't think of
anything that has the profile you likely want, except products made specifically
to cover up cords, etc so that you can walk over them.


I was going to suggest the "homemade cover" as you suggested. If
tripping on the raised furring cover is a concern, why not "go low."

If the Romex is running perpendicular to the joists (which would seem
likely in this scenario - else why run the Romex above the joists and on
top of the floor), why not just move the Romex out of the way and cut
out a strip of the plywood just wide enough to lay the Romex back in it
and tack it down where it crosses over each joist?

I'm thinking that 1½" max ought to do the trick.

Not knowing the exact circumstances that FTR is looking at it's
difficult to come up with THE best solution.

I'm sure that there is a solution that will work but the "Pick Two Rule"
(as always) comes into play.

"Cheap, Fast, Correct! Pick two, because that's all you get!"

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

If you're using the attic enough to be concerned then
the only right way to do it is to put the wire under the floor,
through the joists or stapled. Either way it should be
as close to mid-joist as possible. (It's apparently legal
to run it on top of the ceiling below, under the joists, but
that's not really safe. Someone might decide to hang
something from that ceiling.)
It shouldn't be covered in a way that hides the romex but
still allows a nail or sharp object to go through and pierce it.
A rubber cover that can be stepped on can also allow for
rubbing. That's not a big risk, but I remember one case some
years ago in Cambridge, MA. A handyman ran romex under a
carpet. The romex wore through. The house burned down.
People died. The handyman was charged with manslaughter.

Another method would be pipe conduit. It's not terribly
expensive. I expect you'd pay more for a thick piece or
rubber. But you might need to add one or more junction boxes,
depending on where the end o the wire is.

"FTR" wrote in message
...
I have unfinished attic space that I used for storage. I have a plywood
floor up there, and there's romex running along the floor.

I want to protect the romex from people walking on it / stuff leaning or
rubbing on it/ etc.

Does anybody have any suggestions about what to use? It needs to be
something that I put right over it, and staple down to the plywood so
conduit it not going to work. I thought about using some wire moulding but
it's kinda expensive and I need about 30 feet of it.

Is there some rubber product that would work in this application?

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 05:58:42 -0700 (PDT), FTR
wrote:

I have unfinished attic space that I used for storage. I have a plywood floor up there, and there's romex running along the floor.

I want to protect the romex from people walking on it / stuff leaning or rubbing on it/ etc.

Does anybody have any suggestions about what to use? It needs to be something that I put right over it, and staple down to the plywood so conduit it not going to work. I thought about using some wire moulding but it's kinda expensive and I need about 30 feet of it.

Is there some rubber product that would work in this application?


Perhaps you can put a couple of 1 x 2 along each side, then of you
need more protection, put a 1 x 6 (or strips of plywood or hardboard)
across the top of them for form a channel.

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

On Sunday, August 24, 2014 10:03:29 AM UTC-4, Mayayana wrote:
If you're using the attic enough to be concerned then

the only right way to do it is to put the wire under the floor,

through the joists or stapled. Either way it should be

as close to mid-joist as possible. (It's apparently legal

to run it on top of the ceiling below, under the joists, but

that's not really safe. Someone might decide to hang

something from that ceiling.)

It's not legal, ie code compliant either. Nor can I imagine why
anyone would even think about running it between the bottom of
the joists and the ceiling sheetrock. There is no room for it there
to begin with.

How To Cover Romex in the Attic
 

cover floor with furrying strips then add plywood floor over entire area. good time to insulate too...