Mounting a tv on a brick wood fireplace. Been debating a few options regarding wiring. The room has a brick facade (hearth, mantel, and up to the ceiling). Removing a brick from that, I noticed about a 4 inch gap between it and the chimney brick.
Was wondering whether it was okay to run electrical wiring in this gap. I'm guessing since it isn't in the chimney, heat shouldn't be an issue, but chimneys are not my area of expertise.
Any advice other than contact an electrician helpful. Thanks!
MRD
IRC 1003.18 requires a 2" spacing between masonry chimneys and combustibles. Given that you have a 4" air gap between the masonry veneer and the chimney masonry, this leaves 2" of space to run the cable through.
While you could run the bare cable through there and anchor it to the veneer at each end, this leaves the cable vulnerable to a masonry fastener mishap. A better plan is to attach a sleeve of EMT to the back of the veneer then run a length of 12-2 through it to cut-in masonry boxes on either side of this run; the sleeve will protect the cable from any mechanical damage, and the 12-2 will provide some margin for thermal derating.
