Yep. I'm just not convinced a flexible drill bit is the best option with insulation. Not 100% against it, I just need a bit more convincing.
Running wires in wall with insulation and firebreak?
- Thread starter skeptic
- Start date
Do you have so called fire breaks in all stud cavities on both stories? I'm thinking shear blocking or GWB blocking and they used 54" wide GWB. More than likely the latter and those are 1ea face up horizontally opposed 2x4 per cavity (for horizontally opposed GWB back paneling) and you could snake the Romex behind it.
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Now with a hole in the wall where the sconce goes...
There is a plastic water barrier on the warm side. With a bit of effort I was able to get a fish stick from the sconce hole to the outlet box. Whatever is behind there that my stud finder is picking up doesn't appear to be a true firebreak. It's something, I had to poke the fish stick around a bit, but I was able to slide past.
I'll try drilling a hole in the top of the outlet box and if I'm lucky I'll be able to fish the stick through, tape the romex to the end, and pull it back. Otherwise I'll have to hacksaw the box out and re-wire through an old work box. That would mean another trip to Lowes 'cause I'm out of those, but it's also probably the correct way.
There is a plastic water barrier on the warm side. With a bit of effort I was able to get a fish stick from the sconce hole to the outlet box. Whatever is behind there that my stud finder is picking up doesn't appear to be a true firebreak. It's something, I had to poke the fish stick around a bit, but I was able to slide past.
I'll try drilling a hole in the top of the outlet box and if I'm lucky I'll be able to fish the stick through, tape the romex to the end, and pull it back. Otherwise I'll have to hacksaw the box out and re-wire through an old work box. That would mean another trip to Lowes 'cause I'm out of those, but it's also probably the correct way.
It's not the cost, I'm just trying to be lazy and do the least amount of work (and not make yet another trip to the store). Watching the KC/Pats game now, I'll pick it up again later.
Broke down and went for this option. Glad I did, where the fish stick came down I NEVER would have found it without taking out the entire box.
So, first sconce in successfully. It was a much bigger PITA than I expected. First, I broke a good 3/4" of the drywall above the old box getting it out (I couldn't get the wires free and push the box down inside the wall). This meant the tabs were useless so I used a couple screws to connect it to the stud. Whoever ran the electrical clipped 2 of the 3 ground wires really short, making it a bitch to get wired back up. Then I mixed up the homerun wires so my GFI was tripped yet I was getting fluctuating power (yes, this is a GFI outlet), white wire was correct but the black was on the load side instead of line side.
I probably have no business doing this, but in the end it's all good. Hopefully when I do the other one tomorrow it will go smoother.
Any remodel work (no matter how small) requires pics in order to comply with the JUOT building code.
I thought the electrical in the old part of my house was bad...added an outlet in one of the newer bedrooms and the wiring in there is just as f'ed as the old stuff.
Ya, I don't think fishing romex through insulation meets code. I also doubt wiring a sconce into an electric outlet without any kind of manual on/off switch meets code. It's working great with the wink relay switch, as well as controlled via smart phone, but there isn't a physical switch that cuts off power to the bulb. Otherwise everything should be wired correctly and I'm using correct materials so it's not THAT bad.
On that note, the second one went in MUCH easier. Ground wire was cut short again, but long enough that it wasn't hard to get to. I was able to get the box out without breaking off chunks of drywall. I was even able to fish the wire through without problem. Of course nothing goes without issue, the glass on the second sconce was shattered. I should have the replacement in a few days.
Sorry, no pics of the work, but here is a couple of the finished one.
Dimmed about as low as it will go, any brighter and it washes out the pic on my phone.
Before you yahoos say anything, replacing the blinds and painting the walls a different color are on the list of things I need to do. Also, ignore the Leon pics, it really is level.
Thanks, so far so good. Other than the one broken sconce, I'm happy with how everything is turning out so far. The sconces are one small part of a much larger home automation project.
Replacing the blinds is going to be a bigger project. We want to replace every set of blinds in the house and haven't decided on what we want. Similarly, we haven't decided on a paint color for the walls.