Low Voltage Chase / Conduit?

[bad_idea]

I am in the planning stages of running about a mile of home network cabling. I plan to run Cat-6 throughout the house. There is a mechanical room all of the AV gear will be located in. There are three cables coming from the crawl - Cat-6 to garage, Cat-6 to shed, incoming ISP coax. The rest of the cabling will all route through the attic.

I would like to put in a large conduit (or two) from the attic to the mechanical room and another conduit to the crawl space. My issue is sealing that conduit effectively with future work in mind. What can I seal the conduit (around the cables) with that will be easy to remove to route cables at a later date? Thanks all.

 

[larry4406]

Electricians normally use duct seal on conduit (thumb gum).

Alternately, insert a zip lock bag into the conduit (bag end outside) then slowly fill the bag with fire block expanding spray foam. You will be able to pull the foam plug out later if needed.

 

[Terry D]

I personally would not worry about sealing it

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Stuff a wad of mineral wool in the conduit (around the wires) and that should keep out any bugs or rodents.
"IF" the conduits are empty just place a PVC cap over the ends of the conduit OR a piece of plastic bag over the end with a Ty Wrap.

 

[Jim greengo]

I am in the planning stages of running about a mile of home network cabling. I plan to run Cat-6 throughout the house. There is a mechanical room all of the AV gear will be located in. There are three cables coming from the crawl - Cat-6 to garage, Cat-6 to shed, incoming ISP coax. The rest of the cabling will all route through the attic.

I would like to put in a large conduit (or two) from the attic to the mechanical room and another conduit to the crawl space. My issue is sealing that conduit effectively with future work in mind. What can I seal the conduit (around the cables) with that will be easy to remove to route cables at a later date? Thanks all.

Thumb gum

 

[kbuhagiar]

Thumb gum

We called it elephant snot.

 

[Jim greengo]

We called it elephant snot.

Most of the boxes I have in my van have thumb gum stamped on them,although I do have a couple of differant brands.
But sometimes job site terminology is the best! Hahaha

 

[Norcal]

We called it elephant snot.

That what wire pulling lube is, heard duct seal referrred to as dumm dumm, & noalox called bear ****.

 

[Metal-Marc]

I personally would not worry about sealing it

It needs to be sealed so it does not become a chimney in case of a fire.

Everyone has an opinion, unfortunately your opinion is totally misinformed.

 

[mike93lx]

Stuff a wad of mineral wool in the conduit (around the wires) and that should keep out any bugs or rodents.

I think this is what i would do. It is easy to remove and if you pull another wire, you can simply reinstall it. That said, if you don't have any around, this isn't all that useful

 

[Terry D]

It needs to be sealed so it does not become a chimney in case of a fire.

Everyone has an opinion, unfortunately your opinion is totally misinformed.

I get it. do you know how many conduits and penetrations going from floor to floor I see that are not sealed. I might stop it for a little bit, but not long.

 

[bad_idea]

Let's not bash on Terry D here. He's right, what is right and what is done every damn day are two different things. If the house is burning and that penetration to the attic is the breaking point, them I'm already screwed. Just saying.

I like the 'stuff some mineral wool in it' approach. Thanks all.

 

[larry4406]

I personally would not worry about sealing it

I know I have been busted at a residential closein inspection (new construction) where the tech wire guy's "future proof" conduit was open to the attic from the basement and I had to seal it to proceed. It was open at both ends and the attic end was adjacent the scuttle so visible to the inspector.

I did the zip lock bag filled with fire foam.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

I think this is what i would do. It is easy to remove and if you pull another wire, you can simply reinstall it. That said, if you don't have any around, this isn't all that useful

I assumed everyone here has some mineral wool laying around for penetrations.

 

[larry4406]

I assumed everyone here has some mineral wool laying around for penetrations.

I'm sure the rock wool (mineral wool) would work fine. We used to use it to fire stop prior to the advent of fire block foam. In the new construction side (at least my area), rock wool is rarely on site and used only for sound deadening.

 

[mike93lx]

I assumed everyone here has some mineral wool laying around for penetrations.

Mineral wool is not a ubiquitous insulation type. My current house has none and my last house only had the stuff I added

 

[mike93lx]

I'm sure the rock wool (mineral wool) would work fine. We used to use it to fire stop prior to the advent of fire block foam. In the new construction side (at least my area), rock wool is rarely on site and used only for sound deadening.

Fire block foam is orange colored spray foam. Nothing more. It is colored to make it easier to see

 

[PoorUB]

You could bore a 1/4"-1/2" hole in a couple PVC caps and run the 1/4" slit down the side so you can pull the cap off with out messing with the wires. one cap at each end. You might need a hose clamp to hold it in place. Then a little wad of thumb gum could seal up the hole instead of half a package.
Stuffing it with fiberglass insulation would be fine too.

 

[PoorUB]

Fire block foam is orange colored spray foam. Nothing more. It is colored to make it easier to see

No, you are soooo wrong! Rated fire blocking whether it is foam or caulking is made to handle the heat of the fire and it expands greatly to help plug up the passage it is in.

Fire stopping

 

[mike93lx]

No, you are soooo wrong! Rated fire blocking whether it is foam or caulking is made to handle the heat of the fire and it expands greatly to help plug up the passage it is in.

Fire stopping

Great stuff is just orange foam

 

[Jim greengo]

No, you are soooo wrong! Rated fire blocking whether it is foam or caulking is made to handle the heat of the fire and it expands greatly to help plug up the passage it is in.

Fire stopping

I asked an inspector that 1 time,he told me regular old spray foam or caulk was fine to use for sealing the holes.
They just want to keep the fire from getting oxygen .

 

[sparky 1971]

I'm with Terry. I wouldn't worry about it if it were my house. If it's on fire, I have a helluva lot more to worry about than the fire spreading to the attic from the basement, which it will do anyway.

3M makes a reusable fire pillow, it's kind of like duct seal, but easier to take out. Insulation will work just fine also, just don't shove it in too far and have it pull apart inside the conduit when the future becomes the present.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40070037/

 

[PoorUB]

I asked an inspector that 1 time,he told me regular old spray foam or caulk was fine to use for sealing the holes.
They just want to keep the fire from getting oxygen .

Fine for your own home perhaps, but they do make special foams and sealants for fire stopping. I had intensive training on it years ago as I did a lot of HVAC work in the local hospitals and they were sticklers on it.

They big problem with caulk or sealants is they melt in a fire and no very little to stop the spread of the fire, but being a private home they are not as concerned as they are with say a motel or hospital.

Any penetration we made in a home had to be sealed too. The city inspectors didn't require the intumescent sealers, but sheet metal with a hole through it tight around the venting, or stuffing the opening with fiberglass was allowed. A private two story home already has a huge "chimney" for fire to go from floor to floor. It is called a stairway! Commercial buildings you see fire doors on stairways.

 

[PoorUB]

Great stuff is just orange foam

You didn't mention a product.

Do a little reasech online and you will find the Great Stuff fire block is UL 1715 rated and the regular foam is not. Now I will be honest and say I don't know what UL 1715 exactly covers, but it involves products and fire rating. so I assume the two foams are not the same.

 

[Jim greengo]

Fine for your own home perhaps, but they do make special foams and sealants for fire stopping. I had intensive training on it years ago as I did a lot of HVAC work in the local hospitals and they were sticklers on it.

They big problem with caulk or sealants is they melt in a fire and no very little to stop the spread of the fire, but being a private home they are not as concerned as they are with say a motel or hospital.

Any penetration we made in a home had to be sealed too. The city inspectors didn't require the intumescent sealers, but sheet metal with a hole through it tight around the venting, or stuffing the opening with fiberglass was allowed. A private two story home already has a huge "chimney" for fire to go from floor to floor. It is called a stairway! Commercial buildings you see fire doors on stairways.

Wasnt my own home,was a job across the bridge in cb iowa.
That was what the electrical inspector told me they wanted/required.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Ductseal should be available at your local big box store, it comes in 1 lb bricks and sells for around $4.00.
It's handy stuff to have around anyway, it never hardens so it's easy enough to remove later on when you want to use the conduit. It's also good for plugging holes drilled in the foundation, sealing around penetrations, etc.