Snaking Cable Into Existing Outlet Box
fsm...@lmsmgr.lerc.nasa.gov
up the wall, across the attic space, and down another wall. Are there any
secrets for snaking the cable and getting it into the existing outlet box,
or do I face knocking out the box and messing with reinstallation and wall
repair?
Frank
Howard Moss
string (I used the string attached to the small nut trick)
and the other for a flashlight and your eyes. I THINK that
I may have done that one myself, where I was able to get the
nut to drop right through the knockout and into the box...
--
Howard Moss .suppressed opinions are my own.
hm...@sr.hp.com
Santa Rosa, CA
Scott+Sharon Farquharson
>Frank
I just did about 20 boxes (switches and sockets) with plaster walls and,
boy, how better could I have spent my time. Secrets wouldn't be secrets if
I told you how
To get a wire to the existing box:
a) I opened a knock-out hole in the back of the box (if you don't have
one you will have no choice but to remove the box, run the wire and
reinstall a new box.
b) I drilled a 7/8 inch hole in the top plate (from the attic) using a
spade bit
c) This is the exasperating part; I fed an electricians fish tape from the
attic down to the existing electrical box and wiggled it all over the
place while my very patient wife waited for it to come into view behind
the knockout. She grapped the fish tape using needlenose, needlenose
vice grips, bent clothes hanger wire or whatever would work then pulled
the wire into the electrical box.
Don't feed the fishtape from the electrical box up; gravity will be
against you and you'll never hit the hole at the top of the plate
unless you drill a 2 inch hole.
d) Connect the wire SECURELY to the fishtape (best to feed from the attic)
and pull the wire from the attic to the box. My fishtape was loose so
I could go in this direction.
e) The new electrical box will be a snap. Attach it to a stud so that it
won't move.
f) Part C is the one that takes all the time. It can be done and you get
better as you do more. The bigger the knockout hole the faster it will
go. Good boxes took only 5 minutes while difficult ones took over 30
minutes
Good luck,
Scott and Sharon Farquharson
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Scott+Sharon Farquharson | and now these three remain: Faith, Hope and
Coquitlam, B.C. | Love. But the greatest of these is Love.
Canada |
| I Cor 13:13
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Ted Cochran
wrote:
> On Thu, 21 Sep 1995 04:32:40 GMT, sco...@wimsey.com (Scott+Sharon Farquharson)
> eloquently surmised:
>
> >fsm...@lmsmgr.lerc.nasa.gov wrote:
>
> >> Are there any
> >>secrets for snaking the cable and getting it into the existing outlet box?
> > Don't feed the fishtape from the electrical box up; gravity will be
> > against you and you'll never hit the hole at the top of the plate
> > unless you drill a 2 inch hole.
>
> Another approach that can be somewhat less exasperating is to use nylon
cord or
> string.... Tie the attic end of the string
> to the Romex about 6 inches from the end, electrician's tape the
bejeebers out
> of it (but not bulky), and feed it down ....
But first, since it's likely an old metal box without internal clamps,
secure the outside-the-box part of a wire clamp to the wire about 8" from
the end. Feed the cable into the box until the clamp comes into view,
then screw on the nut that goes on the end of the clamp. Or use snap-in
clamps. But the electrical inspector won't like seeing the cable just fed
through a knock out hole in the box...
--tc
JD
now follow this one. use steel ballchain, the type used for many
lighting pull chains/ drapes / and key chains. feed it from the higher
point down. insert a magnetic retrevial type magnet up through the bottom
hole. the magnet will tend to attract the chain which has flowed to the
lowest point in the wall. This works best on vertical drops/feeds.
Dave Marulli
Everyone else talked about getting the new wire to the old box, but
only one mentioned:
>e) The new electrical box will be a snap. Attach it to a stud so that >it won't move.
>
Attaching new boxes to studs isn't all that easy in an existing wall.
There are metal 'brackets' used to attach boxes to an existing wall
regardless of stud location. They are shaped like this (I hope!)
(a)
||
||===== (c)
||
|| 2 per box required
||
||
||===== (c)
||
(b)
You'll need a bracket for each side of the hole. They are usually sold
in packages of 2, unless you can find them in bulk.
The way they work is to cut the hole in the existing wall almost the
exact size of the new box. The bracket is taller than the hole. Tabs
(a) and (b) go into the hole with tabs (c) pointing out.
The box is slipped in, tabs (c) are pulled out-ward as hard as possible,
and bent into the box.
The box will be held by the bracket from coming out of the wall, and
the outlet cover will tighten up any play and hold the box from falling
in.
BTW: Another thing to insure is that you are not adding more outlets
(read: devices) than the circuit can handle.
lar...@olympus.net
>
>Everyone else talked about getting the new wire to the old box, but
>only one mentioned:
>
>>e) The new electrical box will be a snap. Attach it to a stud so that >it won't move.
>>
>
>Attaching new boxes to studs isn't all that easy in an existing wall.
>
>There are metal 'brackets' used to attach boxes to an existing wall
>regardless of stud location. They are shaped like this (I hope!)
An alternate and easy method of attaching the box (plastic) is to find
the stud, cut out the hole for the box, remove the nails supplied with
the box use dry wall screws to attach the box to the stud. Use a
power screwdriver and drive the screws through the side of the box
into the stud.
JD
: >
: >There are metal 'brackets' used to attach boxes to an existing wall
: >regardless of stud location. They are shaped like this (I hope!)
for installing a box into a existing wall there is also, boxes with side
clips made on a similar principal to drywall anchors. these are called
"old work boxes". there are also " old work clips" that can be used on
the standard boxes.
Bill Spikes
All of these ideas are great and usually work, however, when they don't,
try this if you're trying to do this just by yourself.
Since you've already got the shop vac out to clean up the big mess you
just made cutting a hole in the wall:
Tie a few paper clips or a small nut to the end of a thread and drop it down
inside the wall from above. Make sure that the weight is enough to pull the
thread all the way to the bottom of the wall. Stick the shop vac hose into
the wall hole (see, that is why you should have bought the smaller hose acces-
sory pack) and wiggle it around. Pull the hose out and there will be a thread
hanging out the end.
You can figure out the rest.
The thread with a cotton ball tied to the end is also the fastest way to
get a pulling rope through some conduit that has a bunch of angles. Yes,
I've got a real fish tape and I always try it first. THEN, I quit fooling
myself and go get the shop vac and some duct tape. <:-\
Just another idea,
Bill
Amateur Homeowner and Marshallow Landlord
slafu...@gmail.com
Usually making a hook opposite to your guide hole works best. Good Luck.