Tips on floor box install in existing floor?

[jjhoward]

Any pointers or suggestions on installing floor recetpacles in an very nice hardwood floor would be appreciated.

There is a drop ceiling in the basement below the floor so access there is OK.

Recommendations for manufacturer of the floor box would be great.

Any pointers on how to cut up this very nice floor without it getting ugly?

Thanks

Joe

 

[Buck Parrish]

The box store and some supply houses carry a brass round floor single outlet and box. It's like a kit. Every thing you need . It comes with a whole saw and outlet to fit. It's about $40.

 

[jjhoward]

Geez, it comes with a hole saw?
Sounds too easy.
Makes sense installing a round box, no crazy cutting required.

 

[PCN]

The box store and some supply houses carry a brass round floor single outlet and box. It's like a kit. Every thing you need . It comes with a whole saw and outlet to fit. It's about $40.

I've used them before... they work pretty slick. It's a Carlon E97FBDI, if you only need one receptacle and no low voltage it's good route to go.

 

[LarryFine]

Joe, when cutting boxes into wood flooring and cabinetry, there is one indispensible tool to have:

A reverse-cutting jig-saw blade. Its teeth cut on the downward stroke to minimize splintering.

 

[brantmacga]

i used a few of those carlon kits last week.

they work nice.

before drilling, measure on the floor where the recep will be located and then go beneath and make sure you're not going to hit anything. i usually drill a small pilot hole as well and drop something through it just to be safe.

the hole saw that comes with the floor box is very cheap, so if you're working with hard floors i'd use a better saw. it works just fine for that laminate home depot type wood flooring.

i also draw an outline of the circle, and surround it with masking tape to prevent splintering. it hasn't failed me yet.

 

[jjhoward]

Thanks for the wisdom gentlemen.

I don't think I have every seen a reverse cutting jig saw blade. I imagine that it would be marked as such on the packaging?

I will have to look for that. We often are cutting cabinets for GFIs in islands. If possible we get the cabinet guy to do the cutting, sometimes he chews it up pretty good!

 

[LarryFine]

I don't think I have every seen a reverse cutting jig saw blade. I imagine that it would be marked as such on the packaging?

I will have to look for that. We often are cutting cabinets for GFIs in islands. If possible we get the cabinet guy to do the cutting, sometimes he chews it up pretty good!

My bad. Look for 'laminate blades.'

 

[jjhoward]

Otay; laminate blades it is .
Thank you Larry.

 

[Bernard1599]

Thanks for the wisdom gentlemen.

I don't think I have every seen a reverse cutting jig saw blade. I imagine that it would be marked as such on the packaging?

I will have to look for that. We often are cutting cabinets for GFIs in islands. If possible we get the cabinet guy to do the cutting, sometimes he chews it up pretty good!

Try here:
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/bosch/T101BR/?amuc=5,60

Regards

 

[AVD001]

Trace you gem box out on the floor in pencil and put electrical tape on the outside of your lines. It will make it a little eaisier to see your path that the jig saw blade needs to travel and also keeps the splintering to a minimum. Good luck.

 

[ultramegabob]

these are nice, especially if you are dealing with carpet because you can adjust the box depth with and adjustment screw to match the thickness of carpet and padding....

http://www.thecollegetoolbox.com/caadflboxkit.html

 

[jjhoward]

I often use those adjustable boxes in backsplash locations for adjusting to the proper depth when the customer finally figures out tile or not and what tile :wink:

 

[mikeames]

laminate jig saw blade

 

[ericsherman37]

A library near here was updating an old storage room and turning it into a computer lab. We got a bunch of those floor plug kits (like eight of them) and they worked pretty well. They don't accomodate low voltage though - we had to get some either thingamajig for those.

The only downside is that now we have a ton of extra hole saws in a bucket.

 

[ceb58]

One thing to have on hand is some 000 steel wool and a small can of polyurethane. If you do have some scratches just buff with the steel wool and put some polyurethane down.

 

[jjhoward]

Good tip ceb58, thanks!

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

If you decide not to use round boxes, here is what I used to do for standard floor boxes.

I would tape where the outline of the box would be and then mark the tape as I traced the box.
I would use a spade bit on the four corners, then use the laminate jigsaw (one of my favorite tools). Be careful of the speed you choose for the jigsaw. I would adjust it depending on the hardness and condition of the flooring.
Once you do one, the rest are easy, as long as you properly marked the location.:wink:

 

[billsnuff]

once you have the location marked out, use a utility knife with a new blade and run it on the cut line, no splinters. learned the many moons ago installing hardwood doors in a remodel. we would score the cut line on the door before sawing off the excess.

carpenter tricks on an electrical forum, go figure

 

[davedottcom]

Yep, use a knife to score the wood just outside of the box outline before cutting. Any splinter that starts will stop there.