Thread: Conduit mounted directly to basement foundation wall

Greetings, this is my first post. Hi to all.
Does anyone know of a problem with hard conduit and the surface mounted receptacle boxes served by that conduit where it is all mounted directly to a masonry basement foundation wall? This is all secured to the masonry at appropriate intervals with tapcon screws.
Thanks

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Provided it's done correctly, its fine - in fact, that's the only way you are allowed to run such wiring in Chicago and some nearby suburbs.

I do not know of a case where wires inside conduit is not ok. Maybe I will find out that my thinking is stinking.

I would assume the original posters question was about the metallic conduit directly aganist the exterior block wall and the possibility of a moisture / corrosion issue.

It is legal and fine to run conduit directly aganist the block wall

I'm not quite sure what about the installation concerns you. Would you prefer to see Romex on the wall?

Perhaps you are thinking that the pipe has to be suspended off the wall in some manner. This is only an issue in areas exposed to the weather (for panels, not the pipe) and the pipe wher health department rules require regular washdowns.

The devil is in the details of any installation. One must be wary of trying to enforce the admittedly unenforceable 'workmanlike' rule. Of greater concern is the need for the anchoring method to actually work. For example, tapcons work well in concrete, but not at all in soft terra-cotta brick.

Common deficiencies are the failure to anchor the boxes to the wall, failure to have the pipe anchored close enough to the boxes, failure to support shorter pipe runs, and failure to tighten the fittings.

While a below-grade masonry wall, in direct earth contact, is considered a 'wet' location, that is the interior of the wall itself. Any ordinary method is suitable for mounting on the surface of the wall.

Sometimes folks will use 'outdoor' boxes with ordinary metal faceplates. This is for purely cosmetic reasons, and is allowed.

Is it required to 'offset' the pipe into the boxes, or to run a ground wire? Probably not- anyone has a specific code citation, I'm all ears.

Of greater contention is the use of Romex within the pipe. On balance, I'd say that doing so isn't a very good idea, and suggests it was "DIY time."

Originally Posted by John Steinke

I'm not quite sure what about the installation concerns you. Would you prefer to see Romex on the wall?

Perhaps you are thinking that the pipe has to be suspended off the wall in some manner. This is only an issue in areas exposed to the weather (for panels, not the pipe) and the pipe wher health department rules require regular washdowns.

The devil is in the details of any installation. One must be wary of trying to enforce the admittedly unenforceable 'workmanlike' rule. Of greater concern is the need for the anchoring method to actually work. For example, tapcons work well in concrete, but not at all in soft terra-cotta brick.

Common deficiencies are the failure to anchor the boxes to the wall, failure to have the pipe anchored close enough to the boxes, failure to support shorter pipe runs, and failure to tighten the fittings.

While a below-grade masonry wall, in direct earth contact, is considered a 'wet' location, that is the interior of the wall itself. Any ordinary method is suitable for mounting on the surface of the wall.

Sometimes folks will use 'outdoor' boxes with ordinary metal faceplates. This is for purely cosmetic reasons, and is allowed.

Is it required to 'offset' the pipe into the boxes, or to run a ground wire? Probably not- anyone has a specific code citation, I'm all ears.

Of greater contention is the use of Romex within the pipe. On balance, I'd say that doing so isn't a very good idea, and suggests it was "DIY time."

Let me see. I have Romex with two layers of insulation ran through a conduit that protects them, and I should be worried?

I don't see the issue with sleeving NM thru EMT on a basement wall. Nice clean installation and protection too.

There are plenty of threads that discuss the issues that arise when you place Romex, or any cable, within a conduit. This is not the time to hijack a thread- if review of the existing threads does not answer your question, feel free to start a new thread.

Naturally, one of the issues is 'when is a sleeve not a sleeve.' Again, see the existing threads.