using existing holes in top plates of metal stud walls


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Old 02-03-10, 11:29 AM
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using existing holes in top plates of metal stud walls

I'm considering installing new low-voltage wiring (such as for alarm or Cat-5). My house has metal studs for the interior walls. There are plenty of existing holes in the top plates with the plastic grommets for the AC wiring (Romex) down from the attic. Are there possible code compliance problems with sharing these existing holes for low-voltage wiring? Will I need to drill separate holes?

Location: Florida, USA
 
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Old 02-03-10, 11:40 AM
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Separate grommeted holes is definitely the preferred method as running data lines in close proximity and parallel to power cables is considered poor practice. Under some conditions the data can be corrupted by the magnetic field surrounding the power cables. Telephone cables, especially if of Cat. 3 or less, will be susceptible to hum.

Best practice has power and data cabling separated by a minimum of 12 inches when run parallel and when one crosses over the other the crossing should be as near to ninety degrees as possible.

With that stated I must admit that there are many instances where these "best practices" have not been followed with no detrimental effects.
 
 

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