Electrical cables transition from finished wall to unfinished ceiling through notch in drywall
The garage in our house has drywall on the walls but the ceiling/attic is all open. This large cable which feeds a subpanel from the main panel goes up inside the wall and then comes out through a notch in the drywall right below the top plate (see attached photo). The cable then runs across a joist and continues to the subpanel.
Normally, for normal sized electrical wires, I would think it should go up through the top plate through a hole, but I’m guessing either this cable was too big for the max allowed hole size in a top plate or something. There are also a few other instances of this in the garage, but with normal 14-2 romex, so maybe whoever did this was just in a hurry…
What can I do to clean this up/bring it up to code? Is there some kind of conduit flange or junction or something that I can get to protect the section of cable as it comes out of the drywall and up into the “ceiling”?
Replies
https://www.google.com/search?q=drywall+bulkhead
You can build a little box.
or you can tear out some drywall, and notch the top plate if you think there is enough play in the wires.
https://up.codes/s/drilling-and-notching-of-top-plate
You also could get a PVC conduit elbow and cut the back out, and slip it over the wire.
but if this is only at the ceiling, you probably can leave it the way it is.
do you plan to finish the ceiling?
I do not plan to finish the ceiling. I'm mainly worried about what happens if I have an inspector in here for something else.
you can call your local inspector office (or send them an e-mail)
in general, the cables need to be protected from damage. Tucked against the ceiling as this looks, you are probably fine.
(You are not likely to drag your lawn mower or bike against it, or bang it when you open the car door, for example)
Notch the top plate, being careful not to nick the cable. Push it into the notch. Add nail plates to protect it. And you're done.