You got an attic?

mtvhike, I am not removing the drywall. I was only going to make cuts where needed and then patch it.

Joseph Corlett, We have a flat roof with no attic. I would have tried to run the romex through the concrete block to where I need to go, but we have an old tongue and groove ceiling (4" thick) with 4 x 10 beams holding it up. One of these beams rest on top of the concrete block which blocks access to the top of the concrete block where the romex would coming out.

Can you figure out how to do this with low voltage and LED lights? Then you can run wire just about anywhere.

Seabornman, We've already used this same cable lighting in the kitchen area and this is all part of the great room. So I want to stay consistent with the lighting because otherwise it won't look congruent. Also, and we have already purchased the lighting. Besides, you still have to run 110V to the low voltage transformer, so I would have the same issue of running the power between the dry wall and concrete block wall to get to the transformer which is typically in the wall switch. Also, I want to install an outlet above the buffet hutch counter back splash so that when we have parties I can plug in an electric blender without running an extension cord or power strip.

In case I didn't clearly explain in my original post, if I use Legrand Series 500 wire molding, I will put it between the dry wall and concrete block. I'm not sure if that was clear in my original post. I'm fairly good a dry wall repair and so I have no issues cutting into the dry wall where needed and patching. I just don't want to take down more drywall than I have to.

I think you understand the issues properly. I see no reason not to use NM (Romex) with the proper protections. Wiremold rules in the code are fairly deferred to the manufacturer's instructions so if you're going to go that way make sure you obtain that for the system you intend to use. The only other caveat I'll give you when using shallow boxes is to watch the wire fill rules. You may have to use a larger box and mud ring to be legal.

Ron Natalie - Thank you for your feedback. I agree, that I definitely need to pay attention to the wire fill rules. I hadn't thoroughly worked that part out yet, but I like the idea of a larger box and mud ring that would solve definitely work. Thank you!

If you’re adding lighting you’ll be working in the ceiling, you might have access to power from another (unfinished) area oF the basement. Lutron offers the CASETA Wireless Smart Dimmer which gets a wired switch Installed at a remote location. Then the “remote” gets wall mounted in your finished room onto the wall surface and gets a standard electrical trim plate. The result is a simple installation with a lot less work.

PS; if you find that you are taking power from a nearby circuit that has more outlets or lighting and you have concerns about overloading, I’d suggest getting LED replacement bulbs to the new lights that you are installing. They use a tiny fraction of the wattage.

I find that the lower color rating (LED jargon) - less than 3000K is closer to what is found in most homes and referred to as warm Lighting. 4000-5000k is crisp bluish white light (cool) that most people compare with surgical suites.

oldsparky508 - Thank you for your comments. However, I think you may have missed some of my comments because I know I've written a lot. I cannot work in the ceiling because I have no access to the ceiling. We have a flat roof (no attic) on our house with tong and groove wood planks which are 4" thick (1960 wood ceiling) suspended by 4x10" beams. The external wall of the house is concrete block and one of these beams rest on top of the block giving no access to the wiring. Also, I live in Phoenix, AZ and we do not have a basement. I have a 20 AMP breaker with 12 AWG wiring with only 6 outlets on the circuit right now. So I have no concerns about overloading the circuit. The lighting that I purchased is Tech Lighting-Accent Cable Kit 5 Head-800CBL5PN . This lighting matches what we installed on the other side of the room already where there was an internal wall from which power was available. However, it is not possible to pull wire from that area over to the other side of the house without a major deconstruction effort.
Therefore, the only option is on the concrete block wall of the house to pull the power. where I want to put up the lighting The halogen bulbs have a max rating of 20W and there are 5 bulbs for a total of 100W. So this will not add much of a draw on the circuit and I don't have to worry about trying to drill into the 1960 tongue and groove ceiling which has very minimal space between it and the trusses for the flat roof. I've attached a picture below. The right hand side is where I want to install the cable lighting, so that it lights up the artwork on the wall above the buffet hutch. Also, I want to install an outlet along the top of the buffet hutch on the right hand side, so that I don't have to run an extension cord to get power on the counter top. The outlet I want to use is on the left hand side of the door where the stand alone lamp (which is no longer there), is plugged into. My plan is to put the switch on the wall next to the entry way because it has more space between the concrete and drywall. I hope this makes it clearer.