Moving a receptacle in an unfinished room with exposed everything

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You need to better secure the romex coming from out of the junction box. I believe you need a staple within at least 12" of the box. You can't just have romex floating in the air like that without anything securing it.
Thanks for that info! You can't see in the photo, but I did staple it to the joist just on the other side of the light fixture, which is certainly within 12" and might be more like 8" (the fixture is maybe 4" across at the base plus about another 4" gap between it and the box).

If need be I guess I could add a staple in the side of the joist right above the box...
 
I wouldn't worry about it unless planning to sell. If prepping for sale wiring would prolly have to be routed properly in the probable wall spaces.
 
You actually want a little slack going in to a receptacle in case you have to cut off the ends and pull a little more into the box. You can also put those cables through conduit and in a box designed for mounting outside of a wall. Helps protect the wires from being touched/damaged.
 
You actually want a little slack going in to a receptacle in case you have to cut off the ends and pull a little more into the box. You can also put those cables through conduit and in a box designed for mounting outside of a wall. Helps protect the wires from being touched/damaged.
It looks like that is a handy box, one designed for surface mounting. Conduit would give it a cleaner look, but isn't needed.
 
I like the conduit idea, as It helps to protect the wires.
I follow the logic, but what am I protecting them from when they're up on the ceiling where nothing touches them? Seems like it's a purely aesthetic thing at that point.
 
I mean for the ones that come down the wall to the box. Isn't that outside the wall? Or will it get drywalled over with a hole cut for the receptacle?
 
Because of Murphy's Law. "Safe" is relative. Better safe than sorry. With my kind of luck, I would need to have extra protection for stuff.
 
What about the cord plugged into the receptacle?
 
I follow the logic, but what am I protecting them from when they're up on the ceiling where nothing touches them? Seems like it's a purely aesthetic thing at that point.
When I built my shop the inspector said the wire must be secured within 12" of the box. I believe he also said you could not have an unprotected conductor within I believe 8' of the floor or something. It has to be in a wall or a conduit. I also had to change all my outlets less than I think it was 6' of the floor to tamper resistant plugs. Thought that was sort of weird for a detached workshop but that's the code here. I'm in Ohio but I don't know if that is a county thing or what. He said it was the same for a garage.
 
My mechanical room has no drywall, and I will not be adding any (that is kind of the point). The receptacle used to be on the other side of the room, mounted to one of the bare studs on that side of the room, and the cord was secured via staples along the stud and up along a joist. I moved the receptacle to the other side of the room (rerouting the cord as well). I secured the receptacle to the outside of the wood-paneled wall (as you can see in the picture) and secured the cord the same way as before: up and along the joist, with staples. The staple closest to the junction box is actually closer now than when the cord was routed the other way.

So, it's possible the people who originally put the receptacle in did it wrong, but I can confidently say the cable is not any MORE vulnerable now than it used to be. Keep in mind this room is not a shop, it is my mechanical room/office, and I am not moving equipment or workpieces in or out. I did move my desk in, but that involved picking it up 3" off the ground, and I placed the receptacle to allow clearance for this if I ever decide to move the desk back out and for some reason accidentally graze the wall as I do so.

If code requires that cords always be hidden behind drywall or 100% protected from any possible force, then how are there ever any unfinished basements or rooms in houses?
 
If code requires that cords always be hidden behind drywall or 100% protected from any possible force, then how are there ever any unfinished basements or rooms in houses?
The basement in my last house was similar to what you have, exposed wiring with exposed studs. It was built in 1996. You can do wring any way you want if you don't pull a permit on have an inspection to pass. That was my last place, the owners did the basment themselves after construction. It was easy to see what was done during construction. There were a few overhead lights that had flexible conduit to the box they mounted on with a switch in a wall that was finished. That was all done by the builder. Some rooms were finished walls but in some storage areas the had made themselves there were outlet attached to studs with wire exposed. It was set up to be finished with wall board but was never done. I had no issue with and never changed it. I was just saying that an electrical inspector won't pass it, at least here. And Eddie_T is right. That made me laugh.
 
· · · then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
 
The basement in my last house was similar to what you have, exposed wiring with exposed studs. It was built in 1996. You can do wring any way you want if you don't pull a permit on have an inspection to pass. That was my last place, the owners did the basment themselves after construction. It was easy to see what was done during construction. There were a few overhead lights that had flexible conduit to the box they mounted on with a switch in a wall that was finished. That was all done by the builder. Some rooms were finished walls but in some storage areas the had made themselves there were outlet attached to studs with wire exposed. It was set up to be finished with wall board but was never done. I had no issue with and never changed it. I was just saying that an electrical inspector won't pass it, at least here. And Eddie_T is right. That made me laugh.

My house built in 1999 had exposed wires in the basement walls. No conduit, no MC flex cable used. In contrast Chicago requires conduit for all wiring residential, commercial, industrial. That speaks to the power to the unions to control the local building codes.
 
The only place I worry about open wires running thru floor joists in a basement is in the location of the laundry. People have a way of using them to hang coat hangers on.
 
The only place I worry about open wires running thru floor joists in a basement is in the location of the laundry. People have a way of using them to hang coat hangers on.
We have exposed pipes for that! (I'm joking, but I do have some of my extra plastic coat hangers hanging on the exposed pipes.)
 

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