[RustyRealtor]

Hello Again,

I am trying to buy a bank owned house down in FL. Before the person who lost the house left the house they cut every electrical wire coming out of the breaker box. The breaker box is a Federal Pacific brand and needs to be replaced. It seems that a large junction box would be in order up in the attic, but the wires come from several directions and I am not sure everything would reach the junction box or even if a large junction box would meet code. Any ideas or suggestions?

Many Thanks,
Russell

 

[Speedy Petey]

Sure, get three electricians in there for estimates. Pick the one you are most comfortable with. :thumbsup:

 

[Thurman]

Hmmm, did they cut the wires inside the breaker panel or outside the breaker panel? It sounds like outside of. Being as it is a FPE panel I would start with getting rid of it, and replacing it with a better brand. Now, if the wires will reach inside of the new panel, you can splice the wires inside of the new panel using wire nuts or another appropriate connector. IF the wires will not reach inside of the new panel, I would eiher 1) hire a competent, licensed electrician for help on this who would know about using a box in the attic to terminate the wiring, or 2) contact the local code office and just plain ask them about the legal/code aspect of terminating the wires within a junction box in the attic. Multiple junction boxes may be in order vs. rewiring the house, provided the are within code compliance. Good Luck, David

 

[jbfan]

I did one like that in the past. Put a trough in the top and the bottom, then ran nipples to the panel.
Sure made it hard on the sheetrock guy.

 

[RustyRealtor]

Thanks for the replies. I will contact the city.

I don't understand the troughs and nipples, jbfan.

Thanks,
Russell

 

[RustyRealtor]

And yes they cut the wires outside the box. They knocked a hole in the ceiling and cut everything about a foot above the box.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Why would you contact the city?

 

[Gigs]

It sounds like they might have done it as a service to force the next owner to fix a dangerous electrical situation. Crude but effective. Make sure to get someone to check all the wiring in the house. As others have said the FPE is junk and you should get rid of it.

 

[Speedy Petey]

It sounds like they might have done it as a service to force the next owner to fix a dangerous electrical situation.

Come on. Like they'd care. :laughing:

This is a vindictive act of revenge due to losing their home, plain and simple.

 

[vsheetz]

This is a vindictive act of revenge due to losing their home, plain and simple.

Agreed - sadly, I have seen people huge amounts of damage on the way out...

 

[vsheetz]

I would like to hear more of the trough and nipples solution too, something I have not hear of. Please elaborate?

 

[kbsparky]

Did they remove (STEAL) some of the wiring? Or are they all just cut?

When scrap wire prices were higher, many houses -- especially empty ones in foreclosure -- had some of the wiring cut and removed by copper theives.

 

[RustyRealtor]

I said city, but I meant code enforcement. They didn't steal any wire, just cut everything. They also knocked holes in all of the walls, painted the tile with spray paint and destroyed the rear screened porch. It's all fixable. The wiring has me a bit baffled. I do my own electrical and try to do it all to code. You good people helped me install a new circuit box in my last house. This dilemma is something I've never had to deal with. I think I can still back out of the deal and try to find a place with wiring intact. I do love a challenge, though.

 

[Speedy Petey]

I said city, but I meant code enforcement.

Again, what do they have to do with it? :huh:

 

[RustyRealtor]

2) contact the local code office and just plain ask them about the legal/code aspect of terminating the wires within a junction box in the attic. Multiple junction boxes may be in order vs. rewiring the house, provided the are within code compliance. Good Luck, David[/quote]

It was suggested by Thurman that I contact code compliance.
Personally, I like to keep the city out of things like this.

Russell

 

[Speedy Petey]

Oh, OK. Sorry I missed that line.

Yeah, no reason at all to do this. Boxes are legal as long as they remain accessible, among other code requirements.

 

[spark plug]

Issue of replacing FPE panel!

It sounds like they might have done it as a service to force the next owner to fix a dangerous electrical situation. Crude but effective. Make sure to get someone to check all the wiring in the house. As others have said the FPE is junk and you should get rid of it.

Your best bet (in a complicated situation, with the wiring) is to get several estimates from Licensed Electrical Contractors. I'm sure, after fixing all the electrical and plumbing problems (due to sabotage), you could still feel you made a good deal on the house. Good Luck. (No matter what) :furious::no::drinkon't drink and Drive!!!

 

[Super33]

Sure, get three electricians in there for estimates. Pick the one you are most comfortable with. :thumbsup:

I'm liking this answer. Don't do it yourself, doing a panel can easily be done wrong if you don't know what you're doing. It's not as simple as plugging wires into breakers.

 

[jbfan]

I would like to hear more of the trough and nipples solution too, something I have not hear of. Please elaborate?

We took a couple of 1 1/2 inch nipples and ran into a trough.
The trough was made to fit inside the studs, ran thhn throught the nipples, made taps in the troughs. This only worked on the cable that was cut flush with the panel.
In the OP case, all the wires seem to be cut in the attic, so this would not work.

 

[TazinCR]

Is it possible to move the box up so you can splice the wires in the new box or will it be to high for code?