LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Don't we all? :roll:
Creative ways to run MC in drop ceiling
- Thread starter bjp_ne_elec
- Start date
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LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Once, yes.
Cow
Senior Member
- Location
- Eastern Oregon
- Occupation
- Electrician
Like said before, get ahold of an acoustical lag driver pole and run the lags into the roof deck if possible. Seems like most roofs are foam with rubber membrane and it's no problem to screw to the deck. You'll have the grid wires shot up there and hanging before you know it. Then you'll be able to batwing MC's to it right above the grid making that part of the installation much easier. I can't see trying to fish MC's through the truss webs, that just sounds labor intensive even if you have a "gopher pole" to do it with. But I've never used one though....
That has been code for years, it gives up a lot of work, fixing some other EC's work, hope they don't learn to read soon, we will loose all their screw up work.
alfiesauce
Senior Member
No it won't... I saw a guy try once... It didn't slow him down one bit.
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
I did it myself, around 1992-3-ish. Someone forgot to make up a 4-square, above some huge ductwork. As the resident skinny guy, I got elected to climb up a ladder, get on top of the big ductwork, and make up the box. I was almost done when the ductwork gave way, and me and the duct section came crashing down through the suspended ceiling. I wasn't hurt, but a little sore the next day. Luckily, the room was pretty small, and the GC had things back to normal by the end of the next day. It was a break room in one of those Gander Mountain hunting supply stores. Looking back, is was pretty funny, but I wouldn't want to do it again.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
mdshunk
Senior Member
- Location
- Right here.
No, I was 20-something. I felt like a 10 year old when I crashed through the ceiling, though. One of two ceiling crash-throughs in my career. The other one was a motel hallway, from the attic through some drywall.You were wiring when you were 10 years old??
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
Yeah, I know what that's like. I'm not skinny but I am short so I always get "elected" to go into attics and basements with low ceilings.
bjp_ne_elec
Senior Member
- Location
- Southern NH
- Location
- Massachusetts
Bingo, cheap, fast and effective.
jrannis
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Lauderdale/ Miami
Funny story.
Our skinny guy was in the ceiling of a 1940s vintage building at the MIA cargo facility. He was walking on the black iron above a plastered ceiling. Plaster changed to dropped ceiling. He ended up falling through the ceiling into a bathroom stall with the nice Cuban lady that worked in the cafeteria. He was OK due to his youth, and we all learned some interesting Spanish words.
hardworkingstiff
Senior Member
- Location
- Wilmington, NC
My story (not so funny) is circa 1973. My brother and I were wiring lights in a warehouse. We were up 20+'. We were trying to make good speed and would pull our selves along with the bar joists. Leonard (my brother) would jerk on the bar joist with both hands, then completely let go and re-reach for the next pull. I on the other hand always kept one hand on the bar joist pulling with one hand then the other. I tried to get him to change the way he was doing it, but younger brothers don't listen to older brothers. Anyway, we must have caught a pebble or something because I noticed when I reached for the bar the 2nd time (we had just started moving) it was a longer reach. I noticed also that the safety bar on the scaffolding was not quite parallel to the block. I yelled at Leonard to hold on we are going down. Of course since he pulled with both hands, when he went to get his 2nd grip, he was a bit too far away (we were going down) to get a good grip. He got his fingertips on the bar joist, but then the safety bar on the scaffolding caught the back of his legs, it just pulled him off.
Anyway, he went down with the scaffolding and I climbed into the bar joists. Leonard went off to the hospital and was released after a couple of days. They had to get an enclosed truck (like a bread truck) and put an extension ladder on top of it to get me out of the bar joists.
I don't argue too much with safety guys since then.
Oh yea, the EC we were working for went out of business a month later.
blueheels2
Senior Member
- Location
- Raleigh, NC
- Occupation
- Electrical contractor
A guy at my company quite a few years ago was on a 12 foot ladder in a suspended ceiling. He forgot he was standing on top of the ladder and took a step off. He reached out and grabbed a stud on the way down. It filleted his hand. Cut tendons in his arm and everything. Long road to recoverey for that guy.
This question has been keeping me up all night long. [Fortunately Art Bell himself was on.] But, with the daring help of my cat, my impervious brain came thru:
Well known for my independent thinking outside the box, I figure that everyone else is thinking in terms of somehow suspending the MC cables somehow from the overhead bar joists even tho they are inaccessable way up there.
But there is another concept: that of messenger wire. My concept is to string a messenger cable [1/4" steel guy cable?] horizontally acroos the room about one foot above the enemy ceiling grid [and even more messenger cables if necessary] and then support you MC cables from that. Paint it yellow.
~Peter
_| |_
Well known for my independent thinking outside the box, I figure that everyone else is thinking in terms of somehow suspending the MC cables somehow from the overhead bar joists even tho they are inaccessable way up there.
But there is another concept: that of messenger wire. My concept is to string a messenger cable [1/4" steel guy cable?] horizontally acroos the room about one foot above the enemy ceiling grid [and even more messenger cables if necessary] and then support you MC cables from that. Paint it yellow.
~Peter
_| |_
macmikeman
Senior Member
- Location
- Planet macmikeman
All the way through 4 pages and nobody mentioned using a trestle ladder. Thats how the sprinkler guys get way up there above the lift out grid. Macmikeman does too.
- Location
- Massachusetts
All the way through 4 pages and nobody mentioned using a trestle ladder. Thats how the sprinkler guys get way up there above the lift out grid. Macmikeman does too.
How do you work off a vertical ladder?
How do you keep moving it?
I will stick with my EMT :smile:
macmikeman
Senior Member
- Location
- Planet macmikeman
Balance- its a surfer thing dude:smile:
- Location
- Massachusetts
bjp_ne_elec
Senior Member
- Location
- Southern NH
Peter - I like your idea and that's defiinitely thinking outside the box in my opinion. It's tough for a consistent clear shot at any height, but it could be worked out. Basically I'd have to run the short distance - wall to wall to get the MC over to the line (which would be horizontal to this short run) then I'd have to run one the length of the room. It would be a little more work to cover the two extremes - but I know I'd utilize it for future.
What gauge wire were you thinking, have you done this before, and what do you use to attach it to the walls?
Great idea - and I may actually try it.
Thanks _| |_
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