 | New Construction SNAFU:
Moving An Electrical Outlet Box
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| In This Article:I cut a hole for the new junction box, disconnect the wires in the old j-box, and re-route the cable to the new remodel box, and filled in the old hole. | Related Articles:
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| Skill Level: 2-3 (Basic to Moderate) | Time Taken: 30 Minutes |
 | While installing cabinets I realized that a custom wood partition was going to end up in the middle of an outlet. Rather than modify the cabinet I decided to move the outlet. |
| The homeowner had to go and buy an old work junction box, also called a remodel box. |  |
 | I laid out the location for the new box, making sure there were no studs nearby. Then I cut the hole with a drywall saw. |
| The new hole was just a few inches away from the old box. | |
 | Then I pulled the wires from the old box, (yes, the power was off) and let them dangle from the new hole. |
| I used a piece of 1x2 scrap, about 3 times as long as the hole, for a backing board. I used drywall screws to hold the board in place. |  |
Getting to this point was a lot harder than meets the eye. First I had to remove the old plastic junction box from the first hole. It took a few minutes of wrestling with a reciprocating saw and a prybar to cut the nails that held the rascal to the stud. It finally fell down inside the wall cavity.
The next step was to feed the wires into the old work box and install the box in the new hole.
 | A small scrap of drywall was used to fill in the hole. I bevelled the edges for a better fit.
Next I covered the patch with drywall joint compound. It ultimately took three coats, over three days, because the pre-mixed joint compound shrunk so much. |
Tools Used:
- Cordless Drill/Driver
- Drywall Saw
- Reciprocating saw
- Pry Bar
- Electrical Tools
| Materials Used:
- "Old Work" Junction Box
- Small Block Of Wood
- Drywall Screws
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