semi-finished basement & exposed romex

[trailblazer1229]

I am about to begin finishing the last room in my basement. It is currently a workout room. It has a cement floor and 3 cement walls. One wall s finished with drywall and electrical. The finished wall is the backside of the rest of the finished basement. The plan involves framing, drywall and flooring the last room. To save on cost and time we decided to go with an industrial look and paint the ceiling flat black and not finish it at all. Currently there is a gas pipe, HVAC run and Romex on the ceiling. The Romex is wire stapled to the underside of the joists (as it runs parallel across the room and up to the fireplace on the floor above). My county uses the 2002 NEC. Is it acceptable to leave the Romex the way it is and paint it, or do I need to enclose it in metal conduit?

[electricconnection]

Romex (or any other wire) should not be painted. It will break down the insulation and cause a hazard in the future. The wires should not have been stapled to the bottom side of the joists to begin with. Typically holes will be drilled in the joists and the wires run through the holes. You might have a local building code that prevents the joists from being drilled in which case enclosing them in conduit is your best bet.

Rich
Service Manager
Electric Connection