sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring does J hooks save in labor cost

With all these network installs including the installation of Cisco wifi wap antennas it would make sense to install J-Hooks along the way to make the cable pull smooth and to speed up the cable install. Just want to know from other peoples experience if installing J-Hooks along the way saves time by eliminating the snags. I made a comment to my area manager we should include these in the bid and his reply is if our bid is to high then we may have lost it.

Its a BIG project with lots of large stores to wire up.

If you want to do it right it must be supported.

# Cable Support

* Pathways will be constructed from appropriate cable supports such as J-hooks, cable ladders, trays/raceways, conduits, etc. Such supports will be attached independently to the building structure and shall not be attached to the suspended ceiling grid supports. The added weight to the ceiling grid system can cause distortion in the grid system.

* Cable ladders or trays/raceways shall be used for main runs whenever practical.

* The minimum cable support shall be J-hooks. These are quite acceptable for most individual cables entering rooms.
* Cable support shall be at a maximum of 5 ft. intervals.
* Cable ties shall not be cinched so tightly that it deforms the cable jacket.
* Cable ties shall be trimmed of any excess length. Velcro cable ties may be used in non-weight-bearing locations.

# When allowed by cable standard, cable will have a service loop left in the BDF/IDF and at the outlet end to allow for moving or re-termination. Service loops must conform to specifications to include total length and bend radii.
# If building is renovated or rewired, abandoned cable shall be removed from the building in accordance with National Electric Code, once it is no longer in service. Unused, un-terminated cable is only allowed if there is a planned purpose for the cable.

Hilti makes a really nice hanger you screw to the wall or you can attach a beam cleam to it for red iron. I like them a little better because the cables don't come out. They are called HILTI ACH hangers.

"it would make sense to install J-Hooks along the way to make the cable pull smooth and to speed up the cable install"

As for making it pull smooth, you are not actually supposed to pull through the J-hook. You are supposed to run the wire then lift the wire into the j-hook. I'm not saying that's how it is always done but...

thats the way I always do it too

Caddy makes some hooks hooks with pulleys you could use to make pulling the cable easier then add your j hooks when your done

I like arlington products for some of the different situations. These I like in case pulling one of the hoops gets missed you just unhook the top and put it in.
https://www.aifittings.com/whnew31.htm

For a heftier bundle they have emt straps called clic straps which they make an insert bushing for low voltage which I like to use as well. They have some other products I've used but these two I like quite a bit. Even though the hoops are shown attached to beams if you have wood to mount to they are quick and with one screw to anchor it you can pivot it to make a nice bend for a corner.

J-hooks are not gonna speed things up at all as far as pulling cable through them. If anything it will make it tougher by providing a place for the cable to potentially become snagged at each j-hook. Like as was said before, you should pull the cable first then lift it into the j-hooks.

Okay, I did not know this was how it was done in the industry. I come from a software and router background so it is a learning experience. So far I have puled at least 15,000 feet of cable since last year. I have seen strings in the ceiling and seen it as a practice to use that string to pull the cable across j-hooks and though ceilings.

My manager says to zip tie the cable to the t-bar support cables or what ever you can find. Some times its passed though the ceiling girders or at the top of them using the corrugated roof as a channel.

I do not know if there is a reg requiring j-hooks but the idea of finding one end of a string 100 feet away from the pull source saves alot of time removing tiles and pulling the cable ever 10-15 feet or so.

We have only had one client request j-hooks. At all other client installations no j-hooks or any other support hardware has been used. I try my best to have the cable suspended by anything existing in the celing.

My manager says to zip tie the cable to the t-bar support cables or what ever you can find... I try my best to have the cable suspended by anything existing in the celing.

Well, I don't know the Canadian electrical code but here you cannot attach anything to the ceiling support wires. Also you cannot attach to the electrical, plumbing or sprinkler piping either.

-Hal

I prefer bridle rings on small jobs and cable tray on larger.
But anyway as Hal as already pointed out, data-comm cables should have their own pathways and support.

That's all part of the Canadian Electrical Code as well. I have a feeling the boss in this case is of the opinion that following code is only important if an inspection is going to happen.

In my apprenticeship days, I was putting up J-hooks for 8 hours a day on some of the jobs, running a string through as I put them up. The guys I worked with always pulled through J-hooks. Most jobs got knocked out pretty fast. We usually pulled most of the small jobs in one day, leaving nothing to do but drop the cables and jack them. The heads did like to snag if you didn't tape them well enough. We always ran a string along with the cables we pulled for future as well. Made for some easy moves later on.

i prefer bridle rings too.. just can't leave 'em laying out where the sparkies might get tempted to 'borrow' them!