Vanity fixture where sink vent got put

Status
Not open for further replies.

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
George's Buried Vanity Primer:

  1. Set the pilot bit of the hole saw just barely beyond the teeth of the hole saw, expecting the drain.
  2. Remember the height of the mirror. Look at your light.
  3. Cut the hole exactly where the light will be.
  4. Discover the drain pipe.
  5. Grab the materials at hand: for me, it was all Allied: a pancake, a cut-in, and a couple of their grounding clips.
image_oldwork_round4.gif
..
image_oldwork_round5.gif
..
image_oldwork_round1.gif


Looks as though Allied pulled the pictures of their pancakes off the website.

I'd create my own cut-in by flattening the flap from the real cut-in, installing it on the pancake; and using the grounding clips on the face of the pancake to keep the box from going into the wall.

If things went well, then it was solid as a rock. If not, then plan B was the stake and drywall-screw treatment. But with a canopy as large as the example given, the drywall screws can be inside the canopy and still get the job done, often.

Last stand would be driving screws outside the canopy and letting the drywaller take it from there.

I guess what I'm getting at is aim small miss small. :D

mel-gibson-patriot.jpg
 

tallgirl

Senior Member
Location
Great White North
Occupation
Controls Systems firmware engineer
Dennis Alwon said:
I would have fired you for that job. Not the sheetrock but for that ugly light you put up. LOL--- Hope it's not your house

Nope -- at my house I have a 6 bulb strip above the mirror and a 12" magnified lighted makeup mirror on the vanity. I don't wear makeup when I work, but I have been known to from time to time.
 

acrwc10

Master Code Professional
Location
CA
Occupation
Building inspector
tallgirl said:
so I was told to take two pieces of 1x2, attached them to the drywall with drywall screws, then attach the pancake box to that. Which I did.

I don't like the way I did it and I think there has to be a better way. The only code issue I could come up with is using the pancake box the way I did, but if it's okay and everyone else does similarly interesting things in that situation, maybe I should quit worrying.


314.23 Supports.
Enclosures within the scope of this article shall be supported in accordance with one or more of the provisions in 314.23(A) through (H).
(A) Surface Mounting. An enclosure mounted on a building or other surface shall be rigidly and securely fastened in place. If the surface does not provide rigid and secure support, additional support in accordance with other provisions of this section shall be provided.
(B) Structural Mounting. An enclosure supported from a structural member of a building or from grade shall be rigidly supported either directly or by using a metal, polymeric, or wood brace.
(1) Nails and Screws. Nails and screws, where used as a fastening means, shall be attached by using brackets on the outside of the enclosure, or they shall pass through the interior within 6 mm (? in.) of the back or ends of the enclosure. Screws shall not be permitted to pass through the box unless exposed threads in the box are protected using approved means to avoid abrasion of conductor insulation.
(2) Braces. Metal braces shall be protected against corrosion and formed from metal that is not less than 0.51 mm (0.020 in.) thick uncoated. Wood braces shall have a cross section not less than nominal 25 mm ? 50 mm (1 in. ? 2 in.). Wood braces in wet locations shall be treated for the conditions. Polymeric braces shall be identified as being suitable for the use.
Works for me.
 

mark32

Senior Member
Location
Currently in NJ
Julie, so what were you all dolled up for? Hey I know this is off topic but I know from your previous posts that you were formerly in I.T (Software development?). Do you enjoy blue collar work better or do you miss coding? I received an A.S. in computer science and a cert through Sun Microsystems (Java) back when tech was in the toilet (2001) and entry level jobs were non existent. I now see there are many more opportunities in tech and I've been toying with the idea of going back in that direction. Maybe, I don't know, I really love the trade. I just don't like the typical working environment, especially now that I may be moving back to NJ and I can't stand the cold.
 

allenwayne

Senior Member
mark32 said:
Hi Julie, if the fixture were one of those popular "Hollywood" light types I would have ran the romex right through the back of the fixture itself (Using the appropriate bushing or connector) making sure it was centered first over the sink. Then anchor the back plate to the wall using toggle bolts, wood screws if you can find the stud(s) or those drywall anchors if it were a small fixture.

You have to watch using the 1/2 in ko on many strip lights.Found that out awhile back when the inspector walked past the trash pile and saw paper work for the strip lights installed in a house.Surprise, the manufacturers instructions did show a box behind the fixture.So to pass a pancake was mounted to the back of the fixture(without support) and the fixture was reinstalled.The instructions showed a box but didn`t specify that it had to be mounted from behind.
 

tallgirl

Senior Member
Location
Great White North
Occupation
Controls Systems firmware engineer
mark32 said:
Julie, so what were you all dolled up for? Hey I know this is off topic but I know from your previous posts that you were formerly in I.T (Software development?). Do you enjoy blue collar work better or do you miss coding? I received an A.S. in computer science and a cert through Sun Microsystems (Java) back when tech was in the toilet (2001) and entry level jobs were non existent. I now see there are many more opportunities in tech and I've been toying with the idea of going back in that direction. Maybe, I don't know, I really love the trade. I just don't like the typical working environment, especially now that I may be moving back to NJ and I can't stand the cold.

It was for a social event I'd rather not discuss.

I'm still in IT because it pays the bills and I've not been outsourced to China just yet (but I have a conference call at 8AM tomorrow to discuss moving part of my mission there, and I had a call last week to discuss moving a different portion to India ...). I was raised in Naw'lins and have this crazy idea that I'm going to move back there and rewire the entire city for fun and profit.

Right now all the electrical work I do is for various charities. Here in Austin it's Habitat for Humanity, and over in New Orleans it's another group (we are going through an organizational change and I'm not sure of the new organizational structure, so I'll refrain from mentioning them because I don't know who "owns" my time over there at the moment).

I don't mind blue collar work -- I welded and mechaniced through a few years of college when the ship building biz collapsed ('81) and I was out of work as a programmer for marine engineers. It's honest work, unlike tech where the goal seems to be discarding experienced IT folk and replacing us with people in foreign countries, or kids who have no experience, but work for half what I make. The worst stress I've had to deal with has been trying to get Entergy (the NOLA POCO) to turn on a temporary pole. That doesn't even register as a blip compared to the joys of tech.

Don't let the opportunities in tech fool you. Jobs that can be sent overseas are being sent overseas, and at a growing pace. There are about 150 houses in my subdivision and "For Sale" signs are sprouting up like weeds -- and Austin is supposed to be some kind of high tech mecca. If you have a stable income in the electrical biz, stick with it. When they figure out how to get someone in India to pull wires in New Jersey, then you have to be worried.
 

celtic

Senior Member
Location
NJ
tallgirl said:
When they figure out how to get someone in India to pull wires in New Jersey, then you have to be worried.

They look south for that sort of help....but I think that's another thread in another forum ;)
 

tallgirl

Senior Member
Location
Great White North
Occupation
Controls Systems firmware engineer
benmin said:
When I run into that situation, I'll use a shallow box with hold-its.

Who makes the ones you use? Maybe I'll locate a few to stick in our parts trailer.

Of course, the solution is to draw and quarter the plumber who put the vent there, but since that's illegal, making crack jokes will have to suffice ...
 

monkey

Senior Member
Location
Arizona
What are hold-its? Are they the same as box ears or Madison ears? Or battleships?

If so, how do you get them to work on a round box?
 

monkey

Senior Member
Location
Arizona
tallgirl said:
Who makes the ones you use? Maybe I'll locate a few to stick in our parts trailer.

Of course, the solution is to draw and quarter the plumber who put the vent there, but since that's illegal, making crack jokes will have to suffice ...


you could always hide their pipe dope in their lunch box
 

tallgirl

Senior Member
Location
Great White North
Occupation
Controls Systems firmware engineer
SurfSide EC said:
Haven't heard that one in a while:grin:

I was taking so long on that vanity fixture I was offered a ZIP code application.

Should have known I was having my leg pulled ...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top