suspended ceilings

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wireday

Senior Member
Location
New England
Occupation
Master electrician
410.36-B , Does this mean I would need independent support wires from the lights to the roof beams above the suspended ceiling?
 

jumper

Senior Member
That section says that the ceiling grid must be secured properly to the building structure and the fixture must be fastened properly to the grid.

Independent support of the fixture would depend if the ceiling grid system is designed for the weight of the fixtures, your seismic zone and building code, weight of fixtures, and such.

Need a few more details.
 
I would of said yes, but after reading the article, I would say no, it says the framing members (of the suspended ceiling) shall be securely fastened together and to the building structure, and the luminaire must be fastened to the framing member of the suspended ceiling. I could also see the need to add supports between the framing of the suspended ceiling and the building structure, but the language is vague "appropriate intervals" I'm assuming that will go back to the weight of the fixture and the rating of the ceiling.
Historically I understood that the fixtures required separate support, apart from the ceiling grid.
 
I'm in California, and we are required to add 1 or 2 "seismic" wires in addition to securely fastening the luminaire to the grid. The NEC doesn't seem to require each luminare to have a suspension wire to the beams above, but some local jurisdictions have different requirements. In addition to seismic requirements, I've been told they are required in case of a fire. If there is a fire above the recessed ceiling, they don't want the luminares falling on the fire fighter's heads as they tear into the ceiling to get to the fire.
 
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