locating buried boxes/wires

[electricalperson]

anybody have any tips for locating buried boxes? a homeowner decided to move a switch i roughed in a few months ago and i have no idea where he put it since it was buried by sheetrockers. my bag of tricks includes feeling the wall for bumps with my hand, using a 2x4 to see uneven spots, using a circuit tracer, and last but not least using a screwdriver to make holes when all else fails.

next time im going to use spraypaint on the floor under my switch and receptacle boxes and put an R for receptacle and S for switch. maybe ill buy a digital camera...

 

[celtic]

... a homeowner decided to move a switch i roughed in a few months ago and i have no idea where he put it since it was buried by sheetrockers...

He moved it...right?

 

[electricalperson]

He moved it...right?

i dont think he will like me smashing holes all over the place but that might be a last resort. i already punched about 10 small holes and patched them nice and neat. at least hes not finished painting

 

[celtic]

i dont think he will like me smashing holes all over the place but that might be a last resort. i already punched about 10 small holes and patched them nice and neat. at least hes not finished painting

1 big hole is easier to fit your head in...LOL

 

[roger3829]

Cut one big hole with a sawzall.

Much easier to patch than lots of small holes.:smile:

 

[celtic]

Cut one big hole with a sawzall....

...and you can still put your head in it

 

[electricmanscott]

How telling HIM to find it?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Ask the ho where he put it and tell him to find it. Also, I bet he didn't stick the box out 1/2". Probably left it flush

 

[electricalperson]

How telling HIM to find it?

best idea i ever heard ill ask him to locate it to save me the trouble of bashing holes and having my boss talk my ear off the next morning

 

[Rewire]

Go into the attic and drill holes in the top plate until you can find it

 

[splinetto]

Imagine how he spliced it if he he dont even know how to nail it up......I would be more worried about what he did with the wires going to the box he moved..

 

[electricalperson]

there is no attic or crawl space. its in a garage with the house above it. i know there is a splice because i had continuity between neutral and equipment ground in the 3 way switch near the front door so i lifted the connections at the main panel for that circuit and continuity went away so i know there has to be a splice and a box somewhere

 

[sparky723]

Boxes.....

Boxes.....

My foreman told me the best way to find boxes is this...

1) Tell the guy he hid boxes.
2) Wait a minute for him to start finding them for you.
3) If he does'nt find them for you, Take the largest EMT bender you can freely swing and start wailing on the wall where you 'think' the boxes SHOULD be. (This was nicely demonstrated to the crew when our boxes got covered up.)

Guess what? we found them.

If you put the boxes up and they moved/covered them. It is their responsibility to re-locate them. You'd have to be nuts to find it for them

sparky723

 

[celtic]

..... i know there has to be a splice and a box somewhere

I wouldn't too sure about the box....

 

[220/221]

next time im going to use spraypaint on the floor under my switch and receptacle boxes

Won't do much good if someone moves them.:smile:

Stud finder and small long screwdriver should find it in less than 5
attempts. You know the height (theoretically) and if it's a switch it should be somewhere in proximity to the door.


And....a 3/16" crewdriver hole is a LOT easier to patch then a sledgehammer or EMT bender hole. Relax, stuff happens.

I was troubleshooting receps in a doctors office one day. These units were about 15 years old and a feed thru recep box had been covered up/not made up since day one.

 

[electricalperson]

i know where i put the box on the rough. went there to put in the switches and there was no box there. i do those tricks to where i thought the box was around. usually i find it with out making holes. all i found was solid wood and no box :-?

 

[220/221]

Poke a few more holes.

If you hit wood, you hit a stud. Check both sides of the stud then find the next stud with a stud finder and check there.

Measure dead center of the box and put your long skinny screwdriver in there. If it stops short of 3.5 inches, you are in the box. If it's hot, you might blow up your screwdriver

 

[electricalperson]

Poke a few more holes.

If you hit wood, you hit a stud. Check both sides of the stud then find the next stud with a stud finder and check there.

Measure dead center of the box and put your long skinny screwdriver in there. If it stops short of 3.5 inches, you are in the box. If it's hot, you might blow up your screwdriver

if i it a stud i go on either side of the stud to see if a box is there then do the same every 16 or so inches and make 3 more holes. that usually works for me

 

[mdshunk]

Sounds like a job for the SeeSnake. :grin:

Maybe time to invest in some tools? I might also suggest the Amprobe AT-2005. I'm surprised your circuit tracer didnt' hash out. If this is a 3-way, the traveler should have shown you dead nuts where the cable ended.

 

[peter d]

Sounds like a job for the SeeSnake. :grin:

I think I may just buy one of those very soon.