Vanity fixture where sink vent got put

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tallgirl

tallgirl

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Glendale, WI
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Controls Systems firmware engineer
Okay, I couldn't think of a better title. And this doesn't really belong here because I'm not sure there's any code involved. And we don't have a "How To" forum. But maybe there's some code issue.

Yesterday I was given a "Let Julie do it" torture assignment -- fish out the wire for for the vanity light from inside a bathroom wall. I located where the wire was supposed to be hiding in the wall, then promptly cut a 1" opening to see if I could find it. Much to my amazement, I found the piece of wire ... and a 2" piece of PVC for the stack where I'd planned to put a nice phat old work box.

I asked for help figuring out what to do and was told to mount a pancake box on the stud 6" to the left of the hole I'd just made. So, I cut a nice hole for a pancake box centered on a stud and was getting ready to attached said pancake box when I was told, no, put the light where it's indicated on the plans, which is right where the vent is.

Long story short, none of us had ever seen an old work pancake box, 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.
 
I stick my share of pancakes in for vanity lights. I always have been tempted to get out the sawsall and cut that stack right out. Plumbers are supposed to be able to read plans also, and they can offset the stack. But I never took it that far.
 
I guess another option you could have used is toggle bolts for the pancake box on the surface. Chances are you would have had one toggle bolt on either side of the vent.....
 
I think your solution was a good one as long as the screws were covered by the fixture. In reality what else to do?


Tom
 
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.
 
Next time make sure the plumber keeps his pipes out of the way of the light. I always make sure of this.

I also almost always mount a box on the rough in.
 
Davis9 said:
I think your solution was a good one as long as the screws were covered by the fixture. In reality what else to do?


Tom
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The drywall screws weren't, but we're going to have someone come back and fix the drywall where I made a royal mess of it.

And when I say royal, I mean Royal.

LampDisaster.jpg


And if you ask me, a 3 light bar is a better solution there for a million and one reasons. The only reason they went with that, I suspect, is because there's a 43W fluorescent in a fan/light combo in the middle of the bathroom, so the vanity light is just there for looks.
 
IMO a ceiling light in a bathroom behind the person's head is a poor choice for lighting. Their face will always be in a shadow. The light on the wall is a better choice. The light behind is not such a good thing when you're shaving. :roll:
 
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tallgirl said:
....we're going to have someone come back and fix the drywall where I made a royal mess of it.
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YOU didn't make a mess...you made it work around the PLUMBER'S mess.


It's not as bad a mess as it looks...think about it...a 4" knife, then a 6" or 8" knife and there's not much left from the "mess".
Why kill yourself making a 4" hole to try and peer into a cavity when the repair job includes the 6''/8" knife?
:wink:
 
infinity said:
IMO a ceiling light in a bathroom behind the person's head is a poor choice for lighting. Their face will always be in a shadow. The light on the wall is a better choice. The light behind is not such a good thing when you're shaving. :roll:
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Agreed. I have talked HO's out of excluding vanity lights in the past for this very reason, and one I couldn't persuade during the rough-in, paid more to have us add one later. "Well, you were right, we do need a light there." :cool:
 
I am "just about" done with a remodel on our second bathroom in my house.
I killed it with lights :D
I don't even shave
a.danhaggerty_2.jpg
 
Julie that is one of my tricks, except I use strips of plywood I keep precut in my truck, and square drive finishing screws to hold them in. The plywood doesn't split and the square drives sink below the surface easily and only leave a tiny hole.

I have also mounted exterior lights this way in hollow wall spaces on stucco construction. If you need extra box space you can use a saddle box and a thin strip of plywood with some more thin strips for spacers to bring the saddle box flush.
 
It is for that reason alone that I INSIST on a light box location during rough-in. I have had to mount more than one pancake with a homemade 1x2 "toggle." Sometimes it takes them untill the last minute to make a decision on height, but I get it before insulation goes in. One added aid in my demands is that one of the first houses I did for a current contractor the HO would not make a decision. Well when it came time to search for the romex there were studs right where they wanted the fixtures and they decided to hang them about 1 1/2 ft below "standard" height. After cutting and patching about a 3' sq. section of sheetrock to find, relocate, and mount box (for each) the job foremans listen more closely to my deman..., er, requests.
 
I had this problem once and got a regular cut in ceiling box from Lowes and got my sawzall and cut it in half where it would work, then screwed a round blank plate on the back to close it up, then used the tabs that come with the box to secure it in the wall. I had about 2 1/4 " room or something like that. After I did this, I emailed "Arlington" and asked why they didn't make a box like this. Guess what? In about a year, I was breezing through Electrical Contractor magazine, and see where they make one now. Did I get any compensation? No way:( Maybe they just came on this idea theirselves, but up to this point I didn't see any boxes like this. Look in one of the magazines or go to their website. I have an old copy dated November 2006 on page 101 it shows it, or you can go to www.aifittings.com and go to "what's new", then click on small diameter schonce boxes, then click on "retrofit" Hope this helps. Still say they got my idea:) Steve..
 
sparkync said:
I had this problem once and got a regular cut in ceiling box from Lowes and got my sawzall and cut it in half where it would work, then screwed a round blank plate on the back to close it up, then used the tabs that come with the box to secure it in the wall.


Still say they got my idea:) Steve..
Click to expand...

The difference is...THEY didn't violate 110.3(B) :D
 
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