Low voltage wire tie up/support

Status
Not open for further replies.

sound

Member
I have a quick question for the membership. When installing low voltage wire - plenum 2 conductor 18g speaker wire or 2 conductor 22g sheilded plenum wire - what are the guidelines for supporting the cables. ie: how far apart should a tie up hanger or support cable be installed to hold the wire above drop tile ceiling, 6' spread, 10' spread? etc And where in the code book is a chart or section on minimum distance spans for wire and cable. I've looked through the general sections and didn't see something that gave guidelines for cable support. Thanks in advance to everyone for your advise (what a wonderful forum I stumbled upon on the web).
 

hbiss

EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
Location
Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
Occupation
EC
Re: Low voltage wire tie up/support

There is nothing in the Code about low voltage cable support spacing. Use your own judgement and any manufacturer recommendations. BICSI may also have guidelines.

-Hal
 

sound

Member
Re: Low voltage wire tie up/support

Hal,
A follow up question for you: While studying the low voltage sections, I have a clear understanding that low voltage wires above drop tile ceilings are to be supported with their own tie ups as we do. I was told by a GC that above hard ceilings - ie: when drywall is installed for the ceiling, the wires can be tied to the ceiling support wires because in this case the ceiling is now structural. Is this just the GC's opinion or is there a code reference to study about the difference in ceiling types.
 

hbiss

EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
Location
Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
Occupation
EC
Re: Low voltage wire tie up/support

No Code reference here either, just my opinion. Hanger wires that support a ceiling, whether it's T bar or sheetrock are still hanger wires and cannot be used to support cables. I don't see how sheetrock makes it structural unless there are no hanger wires and the framing is self supporting or supported by a different method.

-Hal
 

sound

Member
Re: Low voltage wire tie up/support

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing. Always better to install your own hanger wires. (I use the Caddy Clips 311 to clip the lower section of the wire to the ceiling grid) Cost a few more dollars on each job, but I figure that way I won't ever have to go back do to a red flag and thus make the electrical contractor look bad where they pulled the low voltage for me to work under.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top