Hi,
Here's the situation: Customer wants me to enlarge the door of a closet to make it a kind of open alcove thing and build a sort of desk in there. They want a new electrical outlet on the wall under the desk to plug in their computer. The only problem is there isn't any junction box nearby except a light in the ceiling of the closet. There aren't even any connected perpendicular walls that have a nearby outlet (I don't think, I could check again).
1. How many wires (sets of black and white wires) are allowed to be in a standard 18 cu inch box in standard 240 volt household wiring?
2. Is pretty much all standard household wiring 15 amp/14 gauge wire/18 cu inch boxes and how can I tell what the amperage of the circuit is if its not on the main electrical panel?
3. I assume the light at the top of the closet is not a possibility to tie into since its on a switch and we don't want the computer to go off every time the light gets turned off. Or is there some way to tie into the light's box that I'm missing?
4. Is it ok to "splice into" pretty much any electrical line by cutting it in half and putting a box on the nearest joist or stud?
5. Is it preferrable to drill hoes through studs and joists for the wire or to notch them out and put a nail in protection plate over them?
6. can an opened up hangar be used almost as effectively as fish tape for this kind of thing?
7. how would I determine a wire to splice into the middle of without opening up the wall fully to see where wires are running?
Thanks,
Will
Here's the situation: Customer wants me to enlarge the door of a closet to make it a kind of open alcove thing and build a sort of desk in there. They want a new electrical outlet on the wall under the desk to plug in their computer. The only problem is there isn't any junction box nearby except a light in the ceiling of the closet. There aren't even any connected perpendicular walls that have a nearby outlet (I don't think, I could check again).
1. How many wires (sets of black and white wires) are allowed to be in a standard 18 cu inch box in standard 240 volt household wiring?
2. Is pretty much all standard household wiring 15 amp/14 gauge wire/18 cu inch boxes and how can I tell what the amperage of the circuit is if its not on the main electrical panel?
3. I assume the light at the top of the closet is not a possibility to tie into since its on a switch and we don't want the computer to go off every time the light gets turned off. Or is there some way to tie into the light's box that I'm missing?
4. Is it ok to "splice into" pretty much any electrical line by cutting it in half and putting a box on the nearest joist or stud?
5. Is it preferrable to drill hoes through studs and joists for the wire or to notch them out and put a nail in protection plate over them?
6. can an opened up hangar be used almost as effectively as fish tape for this kind of thing?
7. how would I determine a wire to splice into the middle of without opening up the wall fully to see where wires are running?
Thanks,
Will