Rewiring

Hello,

Before I moved into our house the owner had to put in base board heat in two upstairs bedrooms. Our house was built in 1911.

To do this they ran wire up the side of the chimney. From the bills i saw, they paid someone to do this. My questions is: Is this legal? I am considering rewiring my entire upstairs (3 rooms + 1 bathroom which are all right now on the same circuit along with downstairs light and dining room recepts) and think this is a great and easy way to run wire up to the attic and then feed down from there.


Question 2: Provided I am able to get wire up to the attic, what is the best way to distribute power to the receptacles and lights?- can i run power into one junction box and spider off of that or do i have to go from junction box in attic to receptacle to receptacle to receptacle... If I didn't have existing walls this would be more practical and is what i am used to seeing. (I am planning on 3 or 4 circuits).


What do you think?


Thank you very much,

J

 

I am sure out expert electricians will give you advice regarding your wiring issues. If you plan on rewiring, you need to contact your local building inspector regarding permits and inspections. Your work will have to be done according to Building Codes, which tend to vary from area to area.

I assume the wiring up the chimney is in an unused fireplace. If you do not use this fireplace, it should be capped and closed off to conserve heat loss and to prevent deterioration secondary to moisture.

 

Is the chimney being used?

Sending the wires to the attic and then just doing drops to each receptacle is ok as long as you don't over fill the junction box trying to do it. But the theroy is ok and it has been used many times in the past on older buildings.

 

I am not sure from the post where the wires on the chimney are. If they are on the outside of the chimney, it should not be a problem though I would prefer them at least a few inches away. If they are in a flue I would brick the thing closed as it would be a disaster to ever use the chimney.

 

Thank you very much for the info. The chimney is currently in use - my boiler and hot water heater (both gas) are vented into it. No fireplace.

So, I would be running the wires up the outside of the chimney. This was done by a licensed electrician (permit and all) to install some baseboard heat. I just wanted to make sure it is ok. From the responses it sounds like it is.

Would this be OK for cable tv wire and phone as well?

Thanks