Easy Renovate » Outlets http://www.EasyRenovate.com Because Easy is Better Than Hard Mon, 10 May 2010 00:57:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Easy Electrical Box Installation http://www.EasyRenovate.com/cut-in-electrical-box-installation/ http://www.EasyRenovate.com/cut-in-electrical-box-installation/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:49:02 +0000 admin http://www.EasyRenovate.com/?p=1369 The novice soon finds out that being a pretend electrician isn’t just wires and amperage–it’s also about having to install boxes in drywall with a certain amount of skill.

Now, an electrician does this so frequently that he doesn’t even think about it.  But the beginner is often left mystified at how to match the electrical box up with the hole in the drywall.  One thing the beginner may first try is to make some measurements, then cut a hole in the drywall, and then (cross fingers) hope to God that the hole and box match up.  Usually they don’t.

A more predictable way is to ignore hole-to-box placement for the time being.  You lay up the drywall and screw it into place.  Then you have to locate the invisible box and cut out the hole.  While “more predictable,” you still have to find the box–another skill that beginners working with boxes have a hard time with.

Another way to do it is to install an “old work” electrical box in new work drywall.  I can already see an entire nation of electricians cringing…

Hard Renovate:

Nail electrical box to stud.  Then either pre-cut the hole in the drywall or cut the hole after drywall has been installed.

Nail On Electrical Box

Easy Renovate:

Install an “old work” or cut-in electrical box in new sheet of drywall.

Old Work Electrical Box

Why Hard?

Will the hole in the drywall match placement of the electrical box?  Dunno.

One of the skills that real electricians have is that of nailing electrical boxes to studs and then cutting holes in the drywall to fit around that opening.

You can either pre-cut the hole in the drywall and hope that the drywall hole miraculously matches the placement of your electrical box.  Or, you can install the drywall over the box and then use a saw to cut out that opening.  It’s difficult for DIY home remodelers.

Why Easy?

No worries about where the hole will land.

Method:

  1. Nail electrical box to stud.
  2. Cut precise hole in drywall.
  3. Install drywall, hoping that hole meets box.

Or,

  1. Nail electrical box to stud.
  2. Hang drywall.
  3. Cut around box with hand saw, Dremel, or similar rotary saw.

Method:

  1. Cut hole in drywall for electrical box.
  2. Hang drywall.
  3. Pull wires out through the hole far enough to work on your electrical box.
  4. Install box.

Material:

A nail-on electrical box, usually with attached nails.

Material:

This goes by several names, all of which mean basically the same thing:

  • Cut-in electrical box
  • Old work electrical box
  • Remodel electrical box

Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Perfectly solid electrical boxes.
  • Sealed and approved (with a kiss) by electricians.

Cons:

  • Takes some practice to line up boxes to holes (or even to cut out holes), by which time the average DIYer’s job is finished.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Perfect hole-to-box placement every time.
  • Less wasted drywall.

Cons:

  • Considered a half-assed method by electricians.
  • Not nearly as solid as nailing a box to the stud.
  • It’s really done for old work (that is, drywall that has already been installed) instead of new work.

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