1. you splice them in junction boxes. if you do this, YOU CANNOT PUT A CEILING BACK UP!!!! all j-boxes have to remain accessible and cannot be hidden. some areas this means even behind a drop ceiling, it just depends on teh inspector.

2. you screw them to the wall. you must secure the cables feeding them as well. if it is romex you cannot put it in conduit.

3. if it is JUST the jacket, and not hte insulator ont eh internal wiring, then you can tape or heat shrink it back. the best way is to put a jbox there, cut the jacket off, and splice it back together in the box.

since you say you like the way conduit looks, you may want to see what a sparky would charge to put it all in conduit for you. this would take care of all teh issues you listed.

Just to clarify on #2: you CAN put Romex in conduit for physical protection, such as running down a concrete wall to a box.

yeah, i should have clarified that a little more. short distances is fine, but it cannot run teh whole length in conduit.

stressed,

i know that if you have an open ceilign in the basement, ALL the wires must run THROUGH the joists, but stapled underneath them, unless inside conduit.

davidandkasie,

"1. you splice them in junction boxes. if you do this, YOU CANNOT PUT A CEILING BACK UP!!!! all j-boxes have to remain accessible and cannot be hidden. some areas this means even behind a drop ceiling, it just depends on teh inspector."

So if I plan to add drywall to the ceiling in the future, what is the alternative to j-boxes?

Stressed1, that would have to be a pretty rotten inspector to not allow a J box behind a removable ceiling panel. I wonder how they would react to the perfectly legal J boxes and switch boxes in my attic that require a ladder and removal of a panel to even get to the attic. Or boxes for a disposal/dishwasher under a kitchen cabinet. Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong, but it seems to me as long as the box is readily accessible, it should be fine. I would say 15 seconds to drop a ceiling panel should be considered readily accessible. No?

"So if I plan to add drywall to the ceiling in the future, what is the alternative to j-boxes?"

The cable must be replaced with one long enough to not require splices. All splices must be in junction boxes. All junction boxes must remain accessible.

Joed,
"The cable must be replaced with one long enough to not require splices. All splices must be in junction boxes. All junction boxes must remain accessible."

The short wire i've identified runs up into the ceiling and I don't know where it ends. If I decided NOT to use jboxes(because i want to add drywall to the ceiling in the future), I would have to remove short wire and replace it with longer wire. Am I right?

stressed, yes you would need to lengthen the wire.

i have seen a couple inspectors who did not like j boxes behind drop ceilings because they are not visible. yes, the code says readily accessible, but some jerk wads take that to mean you can see it if it has a problem without removing anything else. around here all you need to do to be an inspector is show up for work, i swear out of the 5 we have only 1 has even the vaguest clue as to what the code's INTENT is.

If you can disconenct any of the cable from either end then you can pull them back and reroute them back via a better route.
You must work it out so that there are no buried junction boxes behind permanently mounted ceiling. If you want you could leave a hatch in the ceiling that could be opened by removing screws.

So you can use jboxes in the ceiling as long as they are accessible via hatch in ceiling, dropped ceiling, etc....
Thanks guys.

I mapped out all the old wires in the basement, just wanted to make sure all the my circuits are okay.

12-2 wire throughout:
3 circuits
#1 - outlet that powers sump pump and 1 light
#2 - 6 flourescent lights, 4 recessed lights(75w light bulb max)
#3 - 4 outlets

do these circuits sound okay?

"I mapped out all the old wires in the basement, just wanted to make sure all the my circuits are okay.
12-2 wire throughout: 3 circuits
#1 - outlet that powers sump pump and 1 light
#2 - 6 flourescent lights, 4 recessed lights(75w light bulb max)
#3 - 4 outlets do these circuits sound okay?"

Unless required by code, I would use 14/2 for all cc'ts. Some electricians and DIY'ers swear by 12/2 cc'ts for general use. I just don't see the need. In my jurisdiction, a sump pump must be on a dedicated, not shared cc't.

i also had to put my sump pump on a dedicated cct.

bigbird_1,
The difference between 14/2 and 12/2 is just the gauge of the wire right? The 12/2 is bigger, so you are saying it's overkill?

Thanks for the info about the sump pump didn't know that. I probably will leave it the way it is. What are the chances the light bulb on the cc't will blow the fuse and my basement will flood because the sump has no juice?

Also, can I remove the sheathing on the nm-b and run it through 3/4 metal conduit? Didn't want to have to buy extra wire. Thanks

There is an advantage to having a light on the sump circuit:
Finding out there is a problem by noticing the light doesn't come on is better than finding out by noticing a flooded basement.

No, You can't remove the sheathing and run through conduit.

"The difference between 14/2 and 12/2 is just the gauge of the wire right? The 12/2 is bigger, so you are saying it's overkill?"

Yes, the difference is in the gauge of the wire. 12 ga is rated up to 20A, 14ga only 15A. I question why one would need 20A for the cc'ts you describe. If it was kitchen or bathroom cc'ts, then yes, definitely 20A because of the heating devices (toaster ovens, kettles, hair dryers, etc). But for a sump pump with light you don't need 20A. For 6 flourescents and 4 pots you don't need 20A. For 4 recepts you don't need 20A. The cost of breakers is the same for 15 or 20A, the boxes and fittings are the same, the only difference is the cost of the wire and the time needed to wire 20A. The thicker copper may require deeper boxes if box fill is a problem and 12ga is harder to work with (bend, loop, twist). That's why I and others deem 20A 12ga overkill unless required.

"What are the chances the light bulb on the cc't will blow the fuse and my basement will flood because the sump has no juice?"

Somewhere between zero and nil. The pump may draw 9A and a 100W filament bulb will draw 0.8A

BigBird,
Thank you very much for the clarification

I might use #14 for the lights and sump pump recept. But I would definitely use #12 protected at 20a for a general purpose circuit, including 4 cellar receptacles. Sorry, but I don't see much future in 15a receptacle circuits, no matter where they are.

"There is an advantage to having a light on the sump circuit:
Finding out there is a problem by noticing the light doesn't come on is better than finding out by noticing a flooded basement."

Normel...we did exactly that with the pump in our old house. I don't know what type of light you call it, but it was more of an indicator light that was on 100% of the time there was power. You simply had to glance at the light everytime you walked into the basement to see you had power. I really liked that idea and it gives you peace of mind.