Attic wiring

Hi folks,

I moved here from Europe 3 years ago and began the reno on my house (1933) I went ahead and stripped her to studs and replumbed,rewired, seismic retrofit new kitchens new bath etc...

HOWEVER I did not have any of it inspected as to be honest I didn't know I needed until it was way to late(drywall up and painted)

I had done most of this work before and never needed permits. So rather than pull down the drywall i kept going with the work.

AS regards the electrical I've replaced all from the box out.. pulled the old K&T, new receptacles,switches etc everything new, but not inspected. I finished the electrics 6 months ago but something is bothering me ..I brought some NM tru the walls up to the attic to a jb. At this point I ran NM the lenght of the attic which is used for storage only (5ft head clearance). I have the NM lying on the insulation on the floor and am not happy with this. I'm thinking of running the NM from one roof truss to the next stapled at each one.

Is this good? Do I need to use armoured? I tend to overkill on things sometimes such as using 20amp for the basement service

I'm well at myself for not having the inspections as I worry what'll happen if I go to sell?

It is a violation of NEC rules to install 12 or 14 gauge wire in such a manner that it spans from one truss to the next (think of it this way, if you could use it to hang something from, its in violation).

It is not a violation to tun the wiring on top of the insulation in the attic (go figure). The exception being the wiring can't be laying on top of the insulation within 7 feet of the attic access. My attic has a roof peak at 8 feet and this is how the wiring is done (3 yr old house). Just make sure you are not walking or storing anything on top of the romex.

If it is really bothering you there are a couple of ways to clean it up. One way is to run the wiring under the insulation between the strapping supporting the ceiling and the 2x10s(or whatever). You can drill 1 inch hole through the center of the 2X10s if you can't get under them. Alternately you can run the wire across the top of the insulation, but only within a foot or two of there the roof meets the attic floor. This is generally considered safe as there is no way you could walk on top of the wires and the roof line is too low to allow at that point to allow that space to be used for storage.


I won't even address the no inspection issue. Its bad, but you already know that.
-rick

It is a violation of NEC rules to install 12 or 14 gauge wire in such a manner that it spans from one truss to the next

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What the?????

Think about what you are saying. How would you route the wiring to avoid spanning trusses?

You cable is fine, don't lose any sleep over a cable laying in the attic. We walk over cables every time we go into an attic.

220/221 said:

What the?????
Think about what you are saying. How would you route the wiring to avoid spanning trusses?
You cable is fine, don't lose any sleep over a cable laying in the attic. We walk over cables every time we go into an attic.

Click to expand...

He was talking about over head
IE the wire would be like a clothes line
In my basement I ran a 1x4 along the trusses & attach the cable to the 1x4. You could actually still stick a clothes hanger up in there

Selling may be a big problem if you go to sell
I checked on the house I bought to see if there was any work completed without a permit. I also talked to the building inspector about both the houses I have lived in before purchase