Tried running RG6 through a return air plenum without the right jacket

Last week I had a job in an office building downtown and needed to run cable through the drop ceiling which doubled as a return air plenum. I grabbed my usual spool of standard RG6 from the truck without thinking (rookie mistake). The building inspector happened to walk by while I was fishing the line, took one look, and told me I needed plenum rated cable or the whole run would fail inspection. I had to pull it all back out and go buy the right stuff (cost me an extra $45 and 2 hours of my day). Now I always double check the environment before I start pulling. Anyone else had a close call with plenum vs. nonplenum cable?

1 comments

1 Comment

dylan_stone331mo ago

Man that's a rough one... inspectors are always lurking at the worst moments. I had a similar thing happen last year where I ran a bunch of Cat5e through a ceiling and it turned out to be a plenum space. Had to pull it all back and it was a nightmare because I had already zip tied everything up neatly. The extra cost stings too, especially when you think you're saving time. Now I make it a habit to glance up at the ceiling tags or ask the building manager before I even open a box.