Tie wire is soft annealed steel wire, typically 12 gauge for ceiling supports and 16 gauge for rebar ties. Above suspended ceilings, raceways and cables need their own support wires, separate from and distinguishable from the ceiling grid wires, and many jurisdictions also want lay-in fixtures tied to the structure at opposite corners. On deck pours, crews use it to hold smurf tube and boxes to the rebar so nothing floats when the concrete goes in.
Every troffer gets two tie wires to the deck at opposite corners, independent of the grid wires, the city is strict on it.
Also heard as
- ceiling wire
- hanger wire
- support wire
Related terms
Caddy clip
Spring-steel fastener that snaps onto studs, rod, wire or beam flanges to hold boxes, conduit and cable.
Smurf tube
Corrugated plastic electrical tubing that bends by hand, nicknamed for its bright blue color.
Whip
Short flexible conduit or cable assembly with wires already in it, linking a fixture or machine to a junction box.