As part of installing new cabinets I am tearing out a soffit. Inside there are a number of electrical wires - some identifiable, others not. I need to move these wires but there is not enough slack in them to route them inside the wall or ceiling. What are my options? What does code generally require?
Re-routing wires
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you are allowed to use two boxes and a length of wire to lengthen a circuit, as long as those boxes remain accessible.
Seems like an effective solution, albeit a little messy. I could attach the junction boxes on top of the cabinets, hidden by the crown molding. My question is where the wires go in/out of the wall and into the junction box do they need to run thru conduit?
Probably not imaging the situation correctly--some pictures would certainly help to clarify things. I thought, because iceman was removing the soffit, taller cabinets were going in. Regardless, using the back of the cabinet would allow the cabling to remain in the wall cavity.
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yeah the wiring needs to remain in the wall
The wiring is currently not in the wall!
To meet code, I believe you'll need to reroute the wiring inside the wall and mount the boxes in the wall, or on the wall with the cabling entering/exiting the rear of the box.
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let me be clear, MN cable(romex) is allowed to be run exposed. However it is frowned upon by electricians and some inspectors will not allow it. It must be supported(staple) with in 8" of a box. Yes you would be with in code to have the cable come out of the drywall of the ceiling and in to a box (boxes have to be supported) nailed say to the top of the cabinet, then to run a cable across the top to another box and then back in to the drywall. But a much better way to do it is to install a box recessed so the the face of the box and its cover will be flush with the ceiling, run a short piece of cable thru a hole drilled in the top plate to your second splice box installed in the back wall, which will also contain the other end of the original cable. install drywall(you have to have drywall behind cabinets) and every thing is inside, and clean looking, the only thing one could see even if they looked above the crown molding is two cover plates.
edit: Just in case it wasn't clear the boxes don't have to be accessible, just the splices contained with in them, so as long as you can take a black cover off and repair the splice your are good.
edit: Just in case it wasn't clear the boxes don't have to be accessible, just the splices contained with in them, so as long as you can take a black cover off and repair the splice your are good.
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when the wiring was in the soffit it is considered in the wall
I may do just that, except I will put the j boxes in the wall, just above the cabinets, so the cover plates would not be visible from the floor (hidden by the crown molding).
Thus far I have only looked into the soffit thru holes I made. Shortly (like within the hour) I am going to remove the drywall so I can get a better view and hopefully figure out which wires go where, and if I have any slack to work with that would minimize splicing and j box use. I will post a photo when I get the drywall removed.
Now I believe this to be undesireable, but might be necessary: can I notch out the edge of a stud to tuck the wires into the wall or ceiling? If I can do this it would minimize my splicing.
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yes you can notch a stud if you cover it with a nail plate.
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