NM behind crown moulding for remodel?

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emf10

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In some residential dwellings there is crown molding where the wall meets the ceiling, behind it is a gap wide enough for a 14 or 12 NM wire. Is there a specific NEC violation for fishing NM in this space? I assume this isn't considered a surface likely to be nailed. In this case the only other option would be to cut a trough across the ceiling which would require a lot of patching, or to drill blindly with a 6ft flex bit through all the joists and nick, cut, or drill through who knows what, which I definitely don't want to do.
 
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emf10 said:
In some residential dwellings there is crown molding where the wall meets the ceiling, behind it is a gap wide enough to for a 14 or 12 NM wire. Is there a specific NEC violation for fishing NM in this space? I assume this isn't considered a surface likely to be nailed. In this case the only other option would be to cut a trough across the ceiling which would require a lot of patching, or to drill blindly with a 6ft flex bit through all the joists and nick, cut, or drill through who knows what, which I definitely don't want to do.
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Is the crown already up? if not I would not run NM behind it...
 
stickboy1375 said:
Is the crown already up? if not I would not run NM behind it...
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I would think you would need to take it down, at least part of it, to run NM behind it.

I can't find anything in 3004.(A) that specifically prohibits this, but I would think that any nail long enough to hold the moulding in place would be long enough to reach the NM and damage it.

IMPO, it's not a good idea.
 
stickboy1375 said:
Is the crown already up? if not I would not run NM behind it...
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It's up, I think I can fish the wire without removing it, at least not fully. Running it behind the crown wouldn't be my first choice, but it doesn't look like there are many other options.

I know electricians around here will sometimes run wire behind baseboard trim. I don't think there is a specific violation there either but I would be more concerned about that than the crown. That surface is somewhat likely to be nailed or screwed with a doorstop, phone jack, etc.
 
carpenters routinely use 2", sometimes 2 -1/2" nails on crown - especially the guys with power nail guns. not a good place for nm.
 
I don't see any problem with it. I was planning on doing the same thing for my surround sound except the moulding is not up and I have the same concerns has have been stated by others about the nails.
 
I have done it, because it was the best way among the options. In most cases, I removed and replaced the crown myself; the wires were in no danger, believe me.

I've only fished a couple of times, since I usually need to remove the crown for several ceiling penetrations for, say, several rows of recessed lights, or ceiling fans.

I usually staple the cables, whether NM, speaker wire, coax, etc., into the corner of the space, and the nails go back in vertically or horizontally, never diagonally.

I have seen wire-channel baseboard kits for cabling around a room. Don't they also make crown-mold channel kits? They'd be good for rooms where there is none now.
 
emf10 said:
It's up, I think I can fish the wire without removing it, at least not fully. Running it behind the crown wouldn't be my first choice, but it doesn't look like there are many other options.
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I'm not sure how you'll get behind it. In my earlier days as a carpenter I can tell you that the first piece of crown it butted end to end wall to wall. The next piece is butted on one end and coped into the first and so on. The last piece is coped on both ends so it's not a clear shot behind there unless it's behind the first piece installed. Maybe I'm missing something here in the OP.
 
My concern is with future nails that might need added if it came loose.Its unlikely and probly be safe.Perhaps use mc in place of romex for better protection should a nail hit it you will likely get a short to the shield.
 
blue spark said:
Maybe I'm missing something here in the OP.
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No, you're correct. In inside corners, you do indeed need to cut away the hidden portion of the first piece.

If you have inside (coped) or outside (mitered) corners you do have to remove most, if not all, of the crown.
 
LarryFine said:
I have done it, because it was the best way among the options. In most cases, I removed and replaced the crown myself; the wires were in no danger, believe me.

I've only fished a couple of times, since I usually need to remove the crown for several ceiling penetrations for, say, several rows of recessed lights, or ceiling fans.

I usually staple the cables, whether NM, speaker wire, coax, etc., into the corner of the space, and the nails go back in vertically or horizontally, never diagonally.

I have seen wire-channel baseboard kits for cabling around a room. Don't they also make crown-mold channel kits? They'd be good for rooms where there is none now.
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I might have to remove it. If so, it will be stapled as far as it can go into the corner and all nails will be horizontal and vertical as you said. These wire-channel baseboard/crown kits sound interesting, I'll have to keep an eye out for them.

I might go with MC as Jim W said so it would probably cause a short if ever nailed. It is only powering a few recessed lights too.
 
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