Russell

If i am running cable below the floor boards of the ground floor - so you can see the foundation cavity underneath, can cables be run free or do they need to be fixed (if so how?) or even taken through the joists? Thanks Russell.

TOOL_5150

You can run romex under a house in the 'crawl space' as long as you fasten them to the joists so that they meet code [staple NM cable 3.5', MC 6', etc..] and when you run NM cable you need to run it so that it will not be damaged. I prefer to drill the joists, but running them along the joists works as well, just dont staple them to the bottom of the joist. if you are running 8/3 or 6/2 cable [I think those are the sizes] you do not need to protect them from damage and they can be stapled directly to the bottom of the joists.

~Matt

chrisb271

I have seen the joists drilled on ground floor rooms Russell but most of the houses i have inspected have the cables clipped either to the joists,side walls or on strips of wood.
I always put my cable in lengths of 20-25mm conduit secured to the joists or whatever suitable.
In the 16th Edition ( electricians code ) it says that the cable must be supported at regular intervals.

Chris