Mc Cable Support Above Ceiling

Section 330 30 a provides the general requirements and permits cable ties.

Mc cable support above ceiling.

Independent support wires are used they shall be distinguishable by color tagging or other effective means. General consensus is that you shouldn t support mc cable from suspended ceiling wires yet i d venture a guess anyone of us who said we ve never done that might be lying but i can t find it. Section 348 30 requires fmc to be fastened within 12 inches of each box and at 4 5 foot intervals. The ceiling support system shall be permitted to support branch circuit wiring and associated equipment where installed in accordance with the ceiling system manufacturer s instructions.

Various reasons are given for this practice such as. It has long been accepted as good practice to support cables above suspended ceilings. Yes cable ties are permitted. My co worker and i both understand that you cannot support mc with batwings to the ceiling grid wire.

So we had a discussion at work today regarding support of 3 8 mc above a drop ceiling. The two main reasons for this are electrical safety and fire safety. Type mc cable can be unsupported where the cable is. Section 330 30 requires mc cable to be fastened within 12 inches of each box and at 6 foot intervals.

This new 2017 code language also allows the electrician to install mc cable on the underside of floor and ceiling joists assuming the electrician supports the cable at every provided joist. Section 358 30 requires emt to be fastened within 3 feet of each box and at 10 foot intervals. The contractors argue that the cable must be supported above the ceiling tiles and that the owner must specify the type of support required. He said however that you can support it on the support wire holding the light fixtures up since it s part of the electrical system and not part of the grid.

However you may have seen cables slung over suspended ceilings in a haphazard fashion and resting on the ceiling grid. 1 fished through concealed spaces in finished buildings or structures where support is impracticable or 2 not more than 6 ft long from the last point of cable support to the point of connection to luminaires or other electrical equipment within an accessible ceiling. We were using metal tie wire that comes in bundles but we stopped when questioned by the gc.