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Another electrical question. I know that Romex is supposed to be clamped every 4 feet or so. I’m doing a retrofit. I have a single story house with a full basement. The wiring in the basement is all in conduit. Most of my retrofitting involves running a short piece of romex out of a box, through the bottom plate of a wall, and from there to a switch or outlet. So the clamping rules aren’t an issue because everything is less than 4 feet between boxes. In some cases I need to run Romex all the way up into the attic (for overhead lighting, etc.). In that case the Romex would be clamped at the box in the basement, and stapled as soon as it gets to the attic, but there would be 10 or 11 feet of unclamped Romex. Does that work? I would hate to have to break into the wall (plaster) just to staple the Romex. My plastering and painting skills are largely undeveloped.
Thanks
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Chris-
I had a similar situation where I needed additional romex run from the basement to the attic. The best thing to do is just call your local state electrical inspector and ask. I would guess if you can't get at, it isn't gonna get stapled. An electrican hired by the previous owner of my house did it and nobody seemed to care. Which isn't to say its right, but the best thing is to ask the inspector...
Good luck!
*All romex must be stapled within 8" of the box or switch. Thats code, Chris. So you are already violating it. Might as well go for it, since you have already breached the rules. Hope you are using 12 guage, not the thin 14 ga stuff.
*Romex is supposed to be clamped or stapled every 4.5 ft., and within 12 inches of boxes. But the NEC contains an exception for concealed work in finished bulldings where stapling would be impractical. See Sec. 36-18, Exception No. 1.
*Thanks Barry - that sounds like what I'm looking for. It also seems to address Scooter's concern. If there wasn't such an exception, it seems like it would be impossible to ever use retrofit boxes without removing a substantial portion of the wall so that you could put a staple in. Thanks Scooter: I think Barry addressed your stapling concern. And yes - I only use 12 ga. Plus - this is permitted work so I will have to pass an inspection.
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Another electrical question. I know that Romex is supposed to be clamped every 4 feet or so. I'm doing a retrofit. I have a single story house with a full basement. The wiring in the basement is all in conduit. Most of my retrofitting involves running a short piece of romex out of a box, through the bottom plate of a wall, and from there to a switch or outlet. So the clamping rules aren't an issue because everything is less than 4 feet between boxes. In some cases I need to run Romex all the way up into the attic (for overhead lighting, etc.). In that case the Romex would be clamped at the box in the basement, and stapled as soon as it gets to the attic, but there would be 10 or 11 feet of unclamped Romex. Does that work? I would hate to have to break into the wall (plaster) just to staple the Romex. My plastering and painting skills are largely undeveloped.
Thanks