Hi,
For those of you with basement shop. Has anyone mounted receptacle on
joists?
I have a new house in cold climate and I have that weather wrap on the
wall. I do intend to take it down in the Fall yet I want to run
electrical for my shop.
I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
Keith
There should be no objection to mounting a receptacle on a joist (rafter)
for a specific purpose. (ex. The receptacle for a garage door opener in
unfinished garages.) You might consider firmly mounting on a 2X4 dropped
down a foot or so, keeping it above head height but low enough to reach the
outlet without the need to step on something to reach it. Some local codes
require physical protection for wiring below 8 feet.
--
Chipper Wood
useours, yours won't work
"Keith Bozek" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> For those of you with basement shop. Has anyone mounted receptacle on
> joists?
>
> I have a new house in cold climate and I have that weather wrap on the
> wall. I do intend to take it down in the Fall yet I want to run
> electrical for my shop.
>
> I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
> needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
> unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
> ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
>
> Keith
>
> I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
> needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
> unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
> ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
You can put *EXTRA* receptacles anywhere you want, but
those that are not within a certain distance (4'?) of the floor
don't count in terms of the required spacing for convenience
outlets in an occupiable space. As near as I can tell, the
reasoning for this is that consumer electronics come with a 6'
cord as a standard, and you're supposed to be able to put them
anywhere without needing an extension cord.
I don't know if a basement shop counts as an "occupiable space",
though. Probably depends on how your inspector is feeling that
day.
--Goedjn
Run a 2x4 from ceiling joist to floor. Fasten a short section of a 2x4 to
the floor (cement nail or lags) and connect the upright section to the
joist. I installed several of these around my basement at about 6" away
from the wall insulation and mounted outlets at 48" above the floor for
freezer and convenience outlets.
Your local codes may vary so check first. Our codes do allow for overhead
120v outlets but any cords connected to them cannot be used to hang things
from - if you can visualize that.
Bob S.
"Keith Bozek" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> For those of you with basement shop. Has anyone mounted receptacle on
> joists?
>
> I have a new house in cold climate and I have that weather wrap on the
> wall. I do intend to take it down in the Fall yet I want to run
> electrical for my shop.
>
> I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
> needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
> unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
> ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
>
> Keith
"default" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
> > I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
> > needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
> > unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
> > ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
>
> You can put *EXTRA* receptacles anywhere you want, but
> those that are not within a certain distance (4'?) of the floor
> don't count in terms of the required spacing for convenience
> outlets in an occupiable space. As near as I can tell, the
> reasoning for this is that consumer electronics come with a 6'
> cord as a standard, and you're supposed to be able to put them
> anywhere without needing an extension cord.
>
> I don't know if a basement shop counts as an "occupiable space",
> though. Probably depends on how your inspector is feeling that
> day.
>
> --Goedjn
>
Nope - does not apply to an unfinished basement. Up in the joists is just
fine.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
"John Hines" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] (Keith Bozek) wrote:
>
> >I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
> >needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
> >unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
> >ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
>
> I'd treat it like a stud in this case.
>
> For a shop, with exposed boxes, I like the 4x4 deep metal boxes, with
> the rounded edges, and an appropriate cover. You can get 2 outlets
> either regular or gfci, or switch. Plenty of room for wiring, and
> expansion. Use stranded wire for easy to wire.
>
> The NEC will want any exposed work in a shop to be in metal conduit, so
> this is what you need to do anyway.
Not quite - it can also be in PVC conduit and it can be on running boards.
It just can't span.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
On 16 Jun 2004 08:34:00 -0700, [email protected] (Keith Bozek) wrote:
>Hi,
>
>For those of you with basement shop. Has anyone mounted receptacle on
>joists?
>
>I have a new house in cold climate and I have that weather wrap on the
>wall. I do intend to take it down in the Fall yet I want to run
>electrical for my shop.
>
>I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
>needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
>unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
>ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
>
>Keith
Ceiling outlets are fine. I have them for my band saw and drill
press, which are in the middle of the room. It's a lot easier than
sinking floor boxes into a concrete floor.
Mike Marlow wrote:
>
> "default" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> >
>> > I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
>> > needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
>> > unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
>> > ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
>>
>> You can put *EXTRA* receptacles anywhere you want, but
>> those that are not within a certain distance (4'?) of the floor
>> don't count in terms of the required spacing for convenience
>> outlets in an occupiable space. As near as I can tell, the
>> reasoning for this is that consumer electronics come with a 6'
>> cord as a standard, and you're supposed to be able to put them
>> anywhere without needing an extension cord.
>>
>> I don't know if a basement shop counts as an "occupiable space",
>> though. Probably depends on how your inspector is feeling that
>> day.
Codes vary but generally it's not a whim. If it's not "habitable space"
when he comes in it won't be "habitable space" when he leaves unless you've
done something to turn it from one into the other. Might be worthwhile to
find out _what_ so that you don't inadvertently add a few hundred square
feet of habitable space to your house and increase its valuation for tax
purposes accordingly. In my case I'd have to either raise the house or
lower the basement floor to hit the ceiling height requirement so it's not
a real danger.
>> --Goedjn
>>
>
> Nope - does not apply to an unfinished basement. Up in the joists is just
> fine.
> --
>
> -Mike-
> [email protected]
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 04:31:17 GMT, Alan Sadler
<[email protected]> wrote:
|On 16 Jun 2004 08:34:00 -0700, [email protected] (Keith Bozek) wrote:
|
|>Hi,
|>
|>For those of you with basement shop. Has anyone mounted receptacle on
|>joists?
|>
|>I have a new house in cold climate and I have that weather wrap on the
|>wall. I do intend to take it down in the Fall yet I want to run
|>electrical for my shop.
|>
|>I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
|>needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
|>unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
|>ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
|>
|>Keith
|
|Ceiling outlets are fine. I have them for my band saw and drill
|press, which are in the middle of the room. It's a lot easier than
|sinking floor boxes into a concrete floor.
It sure is. I would use twist-lock connectors tho.
[email protected] (Keith Bozek) wrote:
>I am confused about the NEC in this case. It refers to box sizes
>needed for 120 and 240 v circuits and stud mounting yet it seems
>unclear to me if I am permitted to mount outlets overhead. The
>ceiling is 8 ft from floor to bottom of joist.
I'd treat it like a stud in this case.
For a shop, with exposed boxes, I like the 4x4 deep metal boxes, with
the rounded edges, and an appropriate cover. You can get 2 outlets
either regular or gfci, or switch. Plenty of room for wiring, and
expansion. Use stranded wire for easy to wire.
The NEC will want any exposed work in a shop to be in metal conduit, so
this is what you need to do anyway.
"Bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Your local codes may vary so check first. Our codes do allow for overhead
> 120v outlets but any cords connected to them cannot be used to hang things
> from - if you can visualize that.
Ha! My first visualization was of a woodworker hanging himself after
screwing up a measurement. Guess I need to get out more.