Carpet/Runner/Cover Suggestions for Floor Run Cable Safety

[remdim]

I've got a total of 6-8 XLR and cat5 cables that are run temporarily on a weekly basis in a school gym. About 20 feet of this is in an area with light foot traffic; enough to need stable safety covering. My guys have been using gaff but to save time I'd love to move to some sort of carpet or runner solution.

My experience in the past has shown me that unless you get the right kind of material you'll end up taping down curled ends anyways. Anybody using a brand with success or have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[TDN]

Loose carpet is just as much of a trip hazard. You either have to still gaff that down (which peels off easier than sticking it to the cables directly, so it might still be a plus) or put the cables in a proper trough or cable ramp(which is expensive). Parking Lots | Cable Protectors | Fastlane® Drop Over Cable Protector 1 CH 10.75"W - Black | B359935BK - GlobalIndustrial.com

There are others out there. I know a few people who've built their own out of wood- for just a few XLR cables it wouldn't have to be all that large

 

[derekleffew]

Standard industry practice is to use 6"-12" wide strips of rubber matting, but this still requires that the long edges be taped. Perhaps tunnel tape might work for you? You have too many cables for a single cord cover, and not enough to warrant cable ramps/yellow jackets, although they do come smaller than the five groove variety. Perhaps these: Floor Cord Cover for Home and Office ?

Note that if this is in a area of public access or emergency egress, special restrictions may apply, and your AHJ might have an opinion on the matter.
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[gafftapegreenia]

What about cable ramps/protectors? The drop over style are cheap enough that they make a solid investment instead of several rolls of gaff on a weekly basis, especially if you can use the 1.5" tunnel.

Fastlane Cable Protectors | Checkers Industrial


edit: looks like Derek posted some good info.

 

[howlingwolf487]

For wider runs of skinny cable (read: NOT tails, 5-wire/RGBHV, etc.), I like to lay down black, rubber type entrance mats and gaff the edges. If find that people trip over YellowJackets and similar cable covers more easily. As long as you show a genuine effort to safely allow foot traffic over the cables, you should be fine.

If you can, run the cables over the doorway(s)...I like that the best.

 

[techieman33]

I like to use rubber backed carpet runners like you find at entrances to schools, stores, etc. They're heavy enough that they won't move around much and won't curl back up. In low traffic areas I usually won't bother taping them down since it's not really needed. I will tape them for high traffic areas though. Another plus when taping them down is that you tape the rubber that borders them and gaff comes off cleanly and doesn't pull up a bunch of carpet with it.

 

[blindbuttkicker]

I agree with the above with a cable snake if you can afford it, as well as possibly (if you have to go the gaff tape method) keeping the strips as clean as you can, or using a "glow tape" if needed and then simply pull the tape up (do not bunch it up and toss it if its still good, reuse if possible to avoid the "spending problem" with money) or using duct tape with reflective glow tape strips on the top and sides of the duct tape to kind of "alert" that there is cable there (oh hey look shiny stuff, oh there's tape there let's step over It and not on it if we can) If you can bunch your cabling with a wire-tie or zip tie if you can into groups (audio, cat5, etc), as this will create a lot less of a trip hazard for a bunch of cables all over then a grouped set if done correctly to minimize cable height) Just adding my two cents

And ha Howlingwolf487 you and I think alike (sigs)