It is okay to staple Romex along the floor joists, provided you keep it at a safe distance from the edge. This will help you protect it from screws and nails and any critters that may be crawling along the edges \u2013 since that is where insects usually decide to burrow. You can also run Romex THORUGH floor joists. However, there are some considerations to make that we will discuss in this article. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Whether you are taking down your ceiling to run some electrical wire or simply looking to run some new wire to new outlets, you may find yourself having to face the predicament of having to staple Romex to the bottom of the floor joist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have an unfinished ceiling, we would recommend going through <\/em>the joints when going perpendicular to get to the final destination. However, when you are taking the same wire to the breaker, you can either use a conduit or simply staple the wire directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It isn\u2019t uncommon in the US to see some bent nails acting as homemade staples to secure the Romex or other wire passing along the floor. Even builders do this when they are working on an unfinished ceiling so that they can replace it with staples<\/a> later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned above, this practice is completely fine, so long as the crooked nails are replaced with staples at the end. With the help of staples, the wire can be nailed across straight paths for quite a distance before it becomes a hazard. Remember, though, that the screws, nails, or the staples holding the wire should be evenly spaced in such a manner that the wire isn\u2019t sagging from anywhere. <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, it is against NEC and building code to staple Romex in a \u201ccross beam\u201d fashion, <\/strong>i.e., running the wire from beam to beam, no matter how tightly the wire is stretched. This is because the wire doesn\u2019t have anything on its back, which is ultimately classified as a \u2018hanging\u2019 wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to do this, you will need to drill holes and run the wire through the beam and fasten it properly. An insulated Romex staple will be better here and if possible, brace it as much as possible. If you are short on material, position a brace mid-way between beams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will be a bit labor intensive but the alternative is to run the wire all the way around these joists, which will take up more material. The goal is to prevent animals (and people) to hang things from the wire in both finished and unfinished ceilings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCan Romex Be Stapled to the Bottom of Floor Joists?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Can](\"https:\/\/cohesivehomes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/A-bunch-of-wire-staples.jpg\")
![\"Romex](\"https:\/\/cohesivehomes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Installing-a-Romex-wire.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cohesivehomes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Various-electrical-cables-underneath-floorboards-1024x768.jpg\")
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