How to wire lighting under steel q decking

[mrshanes]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to wire for my lighting needs. My detached garage has a basement (due to the slope of the land it's on). The main parking level is supported with steel beams with q decking and concrete. So, under that in the basement (shop area), I need to wire for lighting. I'm framing out walls against the block foundation, so wiring outlets/switches isn't a problem. How do I run wiring along the q decking ceiling? Does it have to be in conduit? Can I run romex along the ceiling or along the steel beams? Any pics anyone has would really help. I'm stumped on this.
Thanks

 

[G_P]

I would run wire in conduit. Exposed NM cable just looks like hell even if it is code legal.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Buy a ¾ and ½ EMT conduit benders, a good 50 ft fishtape, a bundle of 10 ft sticks of EMT, bags of 25 ea of the conduit to box ends, a whole bunch of DEEP 4x4 boxes (NEVER use anything less), necessary face plates for the boxes, boxes of good quality receptacles, and 500 ft spools of Black, white, green 12 gauge.

Read THIS document on how to bend conduit. and have fun.

Not sure what "q decking" is? is it the corrugated steel put down to pour concrete on top of?

On the beams, you will most likely need beam clamps and hangars, although there are some fancy stamped clips that are designed to mount conduit runs to beams also, you will need the beam clamps for boxes, etc. Most likely a 22 nail gun with short cement nails will be the way to best mount the boxes. Will be worth buying or renting vs drilling and installing anchors at every mount and box.

Some of the commercial electricians need to chime in here on how they mount boxes on concrete.

Charles

 

[Premium08]

You could run MC cable but conduit would look better. I like using 1/4 inch lead achors for mounting to concrete but plastic anchors would work. Some pics of the ceiling would out

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[mrshanes]

Sorry. Yes q decking is the steel corrugated decking with concrete on it. For some reason they call it q decking around here. I've attached a pic of what I'm dealing with. Obviously, this is before the concrete was poured on top, but from underneath it's the same.

 

[JohnX14]

I like using 1/4 inch lead achors for mounting to concrete but plastic anchors would work. Some pics of the ceiling would out

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

I've used these for 30 years: http://www.dillonsupply.com/default.aspx?page=item detail&itemcode=07811810 They seem to hold better than other plastic anchors.



Or I use tapcon screws.

 

[MTW]

Steel conduit and boxes, fastened with Powder-actuated tool or nailins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder-actuated_tool

Zamac Nailin works fine for overhead conduit, but hard to drill steel and concrete with the same bit. Powder actuated is the easy way to go.
http://www.powers.com/product_02826.php

MTW Ω

 

[m.b.0331]

Tapcons work great, too. They hold well in CMUs. Two screws per box will hold well. You'll need a good impact driver. Don't crank down too hard, though: It's easy to snap the head off if you womp down too hard on it.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

I'd run 3/4 EMT. I'd use DEEP boxes where needed. They are easier to work in, but at times they can also stick out too far and get banged into if you're not careful. Keep an eye on your box fill. I'd use 20A switches and receptacles, heavier duty and will give you more piece of mind. I'd run compression type fitting on the EMT and not the screw type, more of a pain, but a better installation IMO. For short runs from a box to a light fixture, such as a florescent light, you can use BX cable and the "snap-it" connectors make it a quick job. Conduit looks better though. You could just mount everything to the beams and run off that. You could put a beam clamp at one end and a Tapcon in the block wall holding a bracket, then use a section of "uni-Strut between the two to hold your light up. Then run a conduit from the beam over to the fixture. You can go through over the beam and the to the next fixture. It looks like you only have 4 ft sections between the beams maybe. another option is to bring you power in at the wall, install the fixtures with Uni-strut attached to the tops of the beams and wall, then hit the lights from the wall and run the conduit over each beam in a straight row using the light fixture as the junction box.