Running Cable Along Bottom Of Rafters

What is the typical sized hole for running NM cable through a stud or top plate?  And how many NM cables can go through that single hole?  Also, how many cables are allowed per panel connector?  I will be running all 12/2 NM.
      

I will be pulling from the breaker panel new 12/2 romex for a kitchen microwave and a 20 amp circuit, 12/2 for the garage. I might also pull some extra wire for a future add on room and to divide up existing circuits to avoid overloads in the future. I am snaking these cables through existing sheetrock ceilings and walls. Are there any code requirements about snaking through existing walls and ceilings other than drilling holes 2" from the face of a stud or beam?
      

Hi everyone. I'm new here, so I hope I am not posting this in the wrong place.



Is there a good book or site with instructions and tips for running computer networking cable in the walls in existing construction? I did it in my former house, which was a one story Ranch house with a big crawlspace. It was very easy. But my current house is two stories on a slab. Not only can I not go under the house, but I need to get things to the second floor. I want network ports in at least six rooms, covering both floors and spanning the width of the house. I can put the patch panel in the coat closet in the middle of the house.



I want the end result to look as clean as possible. I'm not ok with cables running outside of the walls. I am expecting to have to cut and patch a lot of drywall, but I'm sure there are right and wrong ways to go about this project. And ways that will result in as little drywall cutting as possible. And what about running perpendicular to joists? Is it ok to drill holes that way? Even if I do, that would require cutting a hole in the ceiling every few feet I think. I hope there's a better way.



What resources should I read?
      

Greetings all.



This is my first post here, I hope it goes well.



My name is Joe and I have searched Google. and this forum for my answer but have not been able to find a definitive answer to my question.  I have seen many replies talking about getting a tone generator or a line tracer but my experience is that tone generators are for Data and phone cables rather than electrical cables and the line tracers I've found online all seem to be about tracing the line back to the breaker panel so without knowing more I'm hesitant to purchase a line tracer in case it cannot do what I want.

My dilemma is very likely very simple to anyone with electrical experience so I hope it's not too trivial for this crowd.

I have recently purchased a house that is over 120 years old and have a motion sensor light on the porch that is supposedly connected to a switch inside but does not turn on.  I've opened the wall plate and used a voltage indicating pen to see where the electricity is.  In this case there are two light switches, one that has lines that have been spliced and another that supposedly leads to the porch light according to a long time tenant in that unit.  It all looks like a bit of a mess and the connections don't make sense.  In this scenario the black cables have the electricity and the white cables complete the circuit.  The switch to the porch light has a black cable coming from the top of the box going to the switch and a white cable connected to the other screw that comes from splitting the white cable from the other switch.  What I would like to do is know which cables in that wall box correspond to the cables to the porch light.  Can anyone give me an idea what I should do?

Do I need something like the Amprobe advanced wire tracer (http://www.professionalequipment.com...0/wire-tracer/) and can it do what I need, or is there something simpler I can do?

All help is appreciated.

Thanks



Joe
      

Hi,



I would like to wire a switch to be able to cut the power to the ceiling mounted outlets that feed our garage door openers. Running new wiring to them will be a bit cumbersome, so I am hoping to avoid that. The ceiling outlets are powered by light fixtures in the garage (one near by each outlet). There is a 3 wire romex cable running from the light switch to the first light and another one between the lights, and then regular 2 wire romex cables from the light fixtures to the outlets. The red wires in the 3 wire cables to the lights are switchable, the black wires are always hot.



I mainly want to be able to cut the power to the doors when we are away on vacation, and the reason for that is that one night both doors somehow opened up - I have no idea why. I'd hate for that to happen when we're away. Unplugging and plugging in the openers is a bit of a hassle due to the high ceiling.



I thought about wiring in a switched outlet so that I could just reach up with a long handle of some sort and switch off the power to the outlet. It would not be ideal, but definitely easier than getting the ladder out and unplugging the door openers.  However, there is possibly another option that I'd like some input on if anyone cares to comment. I believe I could wire in a switch on the wall next to the light switch that would allow me to cut the power to the black wires in the 3 wire cables. This would cut the power to the ceiling outlets and anything downstream from there (possibly an outside light, I would need to check on that).



My question is, are there any potential issues with this sort of wiring? Is there perhaps any code violation if both hot wires in a 3 wire cable can be switched off separately?



Thoughts?
      

I am putting a theater area in my basement, but my electrical panels are also in the same room.  To keep the room symmetrical, it would look best to install the new panel two stud bays over and put the sconce in between - then it would match with the sconce on the other side.  I can't put the sconce on the other side further back because of a doorway.  I plan to paint the panels the same color as the walls so they blend a little better.



Anyhow, I attached a picture of the proposed layout.  The sconce sticks about 5 inches out from the wall.  Will the inspector approve such a setup?  I should still be able to access the panels without an issue, but don't want to do something against code, or stupid in some way.



Thanks!
      

I have a covered (rafters, decking, shingles, etc) screen room out back. It used to have a single light, which I wanted to replace with a ceiling fan with light kit, independently switched. So I bought this fan/light dimmer: http://www.lowes.com/pd_69955-539-S2...d=10151&rpp=24



I checked the wire at the old light, and as it was 14-2, I removed it and replaced it with 14-3. It wasn't until after I spent 3 hours crawling around the attic on my stomach running the new line that it hit me....the circuit is on a 20 amp breaker. The line running to the switch, and a jumper running from it to 5 wall outlets in the living room, is all 12-2.



The new line runs straight from the switch to the fan box, with no other outlets. So while I doubt it is up to code, it seems like it should be ok. The fan/light won't pull anywhere near enough power to overheat the 14 gauge line, and if there is an actual fault, it should trip the 20 amp breaker anyway.



I would very much like to hear from the experts. Running the 14-3 was a serious pain in the butt, and replacing it with 12-3 would be just as bad. So if this is safe, I'd rather not replace it. But if I am risking a fire, it is obviously worth the hassle.
      

I have a 50 foot hdmi cable that is hooked to my TV, run through my wall to my basement then over and upto a closet where the cable is hooked to my surround sound. Unfortunately my basement ceiling is finished in drywall and there is no access to replace the cord. To make a long story short a cable TV provider came to my house to change out a box and broke the prongs on the hdmi cable. My question is, can HDMI ends be spliced or replaced somehow without replacing the whole cable.
      

Okay, I am fairly new to wiring but its not the wiring I am wondering about.  It is running the wires.  I have 2 rooms in my house, 2 story and an attic, on the main floor that doesn't have any overhead lighting, only can use floor or table lamps right now.  The ceilings are about 10 feet tall.  There are outlets in the room so I do have power I can tap into for the lighting, but how do I go about running the wires up into the ceiling?  I do know I have to cut the hole for the lighting but will i have to put cut flaps in the drywall where ever there is a brace to drill holes to run the wires.  I am going to go from the middle of the ceiling straight back to the wall and then down to the switch that I will put in and then down to the outlet to tap into for the power.  I am just trying to do this the easiest way to minimize any drywall repair that will be needed.  Any help or suggestions from anyone is greatly appreciated and if you have questions please ask and I willl try to answer them.
      

I want to run Romex from a j-box, that is in the ceiling of my basement, to the main panel.  I know that I can run Romex from the box along the face of the joist (not the bottom), but what are my options once the Romex gets to the wall?  The joist I am using, conveniently enough, meets the wall ideally for where the panel is.  However, I've read that I need to run the Romex through EMT, or some form of conduit.



If you look at the picture I've attached, the panel is mounted on a piece of plywood that extends out underneath the joist.  Can I just staple the Romex to the plywood and then run it into the panel without using any conduit?  The cast iron pipe makes using any conduit quite a problem.



The cable you see is MC Lite, but I want to replace it with Romex.  There are going to be up to 9 more lines coming into the panel this very way.