How to fish romex across finished basement ceiling

[Higgledy]

I live in a townhouse with a garage. I bought a freezer that I want to install in the garage. Trouble is the only outlet in the garage is a 15 amp GFI outlet that is connected to the outdoor outlets.

I'd like to install a dedicated 20 amp outlet in the garage for the freezer. Trouble is my CB box is on the far outer wall of the finished basement. Bottomline: Whats the easiest way to fish romex across the ceiling where the joists all perpendicular to the romex? I don't think drilling blind is a smart idea. Thanks

 

[Jadnashua]

You can buy a long drill bit...I think they're 5' or so, and you can also buy an extension for it. The shaft is flexible, so you can point it by slightly bending it. Hassle is, drilling through that many joists will be hard to ensure you miss any plumbing or electrical that might already be there or to prevent it from wandering. It has a small hole in the bit end that you can then attach a string or the wire you want to then pull it back out. The safest thing would probably be to remove a strip of drywall on the ceiling, run the wire, then patch it. If you were lucky enough to need to go along the joists, it would be a different story.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Fitter30]

Cut a 1.5" strip of drywall the lenght 3 /4" hole 1 .5" from bottom of joist

 

[Reach4]

Cut a 1.5" strip of drywall the lenght 3 /4" hole 1 .5" from bottom of joist

I like that.

Right angle drill. Make sure the drill will fit through the strip.

Consider a subpanel in the garage. Electric car in your future? Electric heater? Compressor, water softener?

 

[WorthFlorida]

Once you drilled the holes through several joist, it will be impossible to fish the wire or fish tape from hole to hole. I've use those 4 or 5' long drill bits for going vertical to drill through the top plate to get into the attic. Going horizontal, as Reach stated you can go through other wires or plumbing. If there are none the bit can travel and start pointing upward into the floor above.

What I did was I cut a square section of drywall every other floor joist. Make the hole large enough to get you hand and arm in the joist cavity to drill through both joist, fore and aft. Fishing the wire is a bit of a challenge but the old wire hanger works in this situation. Drywall is easy and cheap tp fix, far less expensive than drilling through a wire or plumbing.

 

[Reach4]

I have an idea: use a recessed light hole saw to cut maybe a 6 to 7 inch hole. Save the disk cut out. Run wires. Put the disk back in by laying a piece of wood atop the hole, and add drywall screws through the drywall into the wood. I have not done it.

 

[Jadnashua]

I have an idea: use a recessed light hole saw to cut maybe a 6 to 7 inch hole. Save the disk cut out. Run wires. Put the disk back in by laying a piece of wood atop the hole, and add drywall screws through the drywall into the wood. I have not done it.

I've done this. If the ceiling has texture, you still can't easily hide the plug with the saw kerf around it, but it works well on a smooth ceiling. A textured one is a bit trickier.

 

[Fitter30]

They make spray texture in spray cans for small repair

 

[wwhitney]

Cut a 1.5" strip of drywall the lenght 3 /4" hole 1 .5" from bottom of joist

The building code requires 2" clear from the edge of a hole to the top or bottom of a joist.

To the OP: have you considered going to either wall perpendicular to the joists and running the transverse leg there? Depending on what you're dealing with there, it might be easier.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[DIYorBust]

The building code requires 2" clear from the edge of a hole to the top or bottom of a joist.

To the OP: have you considered going to either wall perpendicular to the joists and running the transverse leg there? Depending on what you're dealing with there, it might be easier.

Cheers, Wayne

I greatly prefer to drill wall studs over floor joists for this purpose. It's much easier to repair or replace a wall stud if necessary, and to access and repair sheetrock on a wall. Another option might be to go outside and run conduit if the exterior is not a highly visible area. Definitely it's more work, but is cutting and repairing all that sheetrock really easier? Some people say you can run UF-B cable along the side of the building if it's over 8 feet. I don't know if that's true, or if it would apply in your area. Another possibility might be to run through the crawlspace or basement if there is one. Perhaps you could use liquid tight conduit in the crawlspace and fish your wires though that, or drill the floor joists underneath.

Here another idea. Do you have baseboard trim along the wall? You could pull that off, and cut the sheetrock underneath and drill the studs there. Then pull your romex, patch patch the sheetrock, and cover with the trim. That way there's no painting or sanding to deal with, but you should probably at least mud it.

 

[Onokai]

Buy the flex drill its about 5 feet-cut one hole every 4 feet for access. The bit has a small hole to attach a small wire to it when you pull it back so you can later fish wire thru. Get the 9/16 size for most Romex.

 

[Bannerman]

Similar to wwhitney's suggestion, run Wiremold conduit at the ceiling/wall transition from the panel to the corner and along the outer wall, then locate the cable from the outer wall above the ceiling between the floor joists that run into the garage.

Perhaps install crown molding or similar in the finished basement room so as to locate BX armored cable behind the molding.

Install 2 circuits as you'll probably find another need some time down the road.