Re-wire house requirements

[mreeves007]

I plan to re-wire my house to bring it up to current code. Currently I have a 2 wire, 100amp, fused service. All of the electrical wiring is run underneath the house in the crawl space except for the lighting circuits. My plan was to run the new wiring under the house and secure it to the rafters (without a running board) because of the controlled location. There is nothing in the 2002 code that specifies wiring requirements for crawl spaces. My main two questions are 1. is a running board required? 2. Does the wire have to be rated for moisture, mildew, etc (area has a potential for such conditions)?

 

[charlie]

Re: Re-wire house requirements

Your electrician will be able to address those questions for you. By the way, get at least two estimates. If they don't agree to a great degree, get a third one and dump the flier. The cheapest or the most expensive doesn't tell you which one will do the best for you.

 

[mreeves007]

Re: Re-wire house requirements

I just noticed that the NEC does not address wiring requirements for crawl spaces. It does however address them for basements (finished/unfinished). Just curious if the requirements for basements apply to crawl spaces. Mainly if a running board is required when running wire perpendicular to the floor joist. Personally I believe that due to inaccessibility to people, a running board would not be required (mostly to prevent someone from using the wire as a hanger). Maybe this should be a suggestion for the NEC 2008 to address this.

[ March 03, 2005, 10:57 AM: Message edited by: mreeves007 ]

 

[petersonra]

Re: Re-wire house requirements

This NEC? Forum is for those in the electrical and related industries.
Questions of a "How-To" nature by persons not involved in the electrical industry will be removed without notice.

based on your profile I suspect you might be in the electrical industry so they probably won't discard your question out of hand.

There are just way too many things to look at in such an endeavour for a brief comment here to suffice. I think the advice to get a competent electrician is a good one. I am not afraid to get out my wire strippers and screwdriver and do some minor electrical work, but the scale of what you want to do seems a bit much for the tyical HO (EIT or not) to just jump into.

[ March 03, 2005, 09:45 AM: Message edited by: petersonra ]

 

[stars13bars2]

Re: Re-wire house requirements

My plan was to run the new wiring under the house and secure it to the rafters (without a running board) because of the controlled location.

How do you do that???

[ March 03, 2005, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: stars13bars2 ]

 

[mreeves007]

Re: Re-wire house requirements

The electrical wire is perpendicular to the floor rafter which are spaced 16" on center. The rafters are 1 1/2" wide, so the cable would be secured every 16" to the rafters with cable staples. There is no concern for nail/screws because it is 12" away from the bottom of the floor.

[ March 03, 2005, 11:16 AM: Message edited by: mreeves007 ]

 

[petersonra]

Re: Re-wire house requirements

Originally posted by mreeves007:
To address a previous post, this is not a "how to" question. I am focusing in on what the NEC code fails to address. I want to get opinions from other competent engineers before submitting a proposal for the NEC 2008.

What you said in your original post was "I plan to re-wire my house to bring it up to current code", making it understandable why it appeared to be a DIY type question. I apologize if this is actually an academic exercise, and you are not actually asking DIY information.