Electrical – How to get electrical from the side of a beam into a wall under it without crown moulding

electricalstructural

I'm partially finishing an unfinished basement, and part of that involves installing a wall. I put the wall in the 'natural' place right under the central beam supporting the middle of the house, around two of the iron posts holding it up. I'm trying to get electrical down from the side of the beam into the wall, without needing to notch the drywall. Can post pictures if needed.

The beam consists of 3 2x8s nailed together at an unknown interval, and the wall is a 'staggered stud' construction with 2×4 studs (wall is 6" wide to match the beam)

I was able to get some electrical run using an existing notch in the beam from the old sink drain (which was upgraded/rerouted decades ago to add a second toilet) but I'm having trouble figuring out if the 2020 NEC permits a 'partial' notch in one board of a beam for running (possibly armored) electrical? (US-MA uses 2020 NEC with no relevant amendments AFAIK)

There's an existing question similar to this, but it only addresses modern steel I beams and engineered lumber, not old-fashioned "multiple 2x8s nailed together"

Best Answer

It sounds like you're suggesting drilling the beam clear through from top to bottom, or notching the side of one of the outer 2x8s from top to bottom. Neither of these are allowed under modern building codes and they significantly compromise the capacity of the beam. It's like subtracting one of those 2x8s from the beam.

With that said, I previously owned a house where water supply pipes had been inserted top-to-bottom through a structural beam, and the house had not fallen down 30+ years after it'd been done. Thank goodness for safety factors!

Instead, build a chase

If I were you, I would build a small chase to bring the wiring from the joist cavity into the wall.