vanity light

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

-marty

Senior Member
Location
Alaska
I haven't done house wiring in a long time.

Customers want vanity lights centered over the vanity. There seems to alway be a vent pipe there.

If the vent pipe isn't right in the way I use a cut-in box at trim.

I really don't care for pancake boxes - what do you attach them to? the vent pipe? just kidding.

What about this, I mount a 4 square cover over the hole in the vanity light, then just run the wire in with a romex connector?

What do you think?

thanks
 
I usually leave a whip and install the light fixture after the mirror or medicine cabinet is installed so I'll be sure that it is centered. Many of the vanity light fixtures have their own wiring compartments and you can bring your wire directly into the back of the it. If your customer picks out a wall sconce type fixture you'll have to use some type of 4" round box whether it be a pancake box or a remodel box. I don't know if they make a pancake remodel box in the event you have a vent pipe directly behind that area. Your customer may have to opt for the vanity light strip in that case.
 
We have finally got the plumbers in the Indy area on new construction that is, to offset the vent pipe from center of vanity to allow us to use a bar hanger and octagon on rough in but it took forever. I know this does not help Your current situation but Goldstar may have Your only option to intall a strip fixture. They do have some trendy strip fixtures on the market these days.
 
Most of the plumbers on our jobs will offset the vent pipe, too. I'll ask them to if they haven't already on rough in. If they don't and I need to cut in box on finish and find their pipe in the way, I tell customer they will either have to choose fixture with "back plate" or else get plumber to move pipe. I'll usually elaborate and explain my earlier request too plumber.

Hence, why I usually do't encounter it.

On a recent remodel for a plumber friend, he didn't offset vent pipe. Ended up cutting out sheetrock in closet behind vanity, and moving pipe. In between fits of laughter, we reminded him of why we ask him to do that on new construction. :wink:
 
Just got wall closing inspection on a house. Prior to, had to wait on plumber to move a vent pipe. He took the center of the chse and ceiling.
I asked him (nicely) a month ago to move it. The day before the inspection HO said cut it! Plumber was PO'd, until HO reminded him he was asked a month ago to move it.

Hey you could PL glue the box to the vent stack :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
When faced with the inevitable vent pipe, I usually make a hole for the pipe in a piece of 2x4 blocking with a holesaw, then split the 2x4 at the hole, and install the two halves of the blocking around the pipe, either nailing or screwing from the adjacent chases, or toe-nailing (or toe-screwing) from the front.

Then I screw a regular pancake box to the blocking, straddling the pipe, with one or two screws on each side, being careful to not hit the pipe with the screws. A pop-in cable clamp for the incoming NM cable completes the installation. We did a back-to-back installation this way in a pair of kids'-floor bathrooms.

Overhead view:

Pipes.jpg



Front view:

Pipes2.jpg
 
It all depends on the actual strip light you use.Some have nothing but a 1/2 in hole and some have provisions for a box.The ones that have only a 1/2 in hole need no box but if the manufacturer lists a box then one must be installed.We went through this 2 years ago and what we did was install a pancake box on the fixture and remove enough drywall to allow it to flush mount then install the fixture with the manufacturers mounting holes on the ends of the fixture.Hense the box was secured to the fixture and the fixture to the wall.The manufacturers requirements of a box were met and the fixture was mounted as per manufacturers instructions since the box didn`t hold the fixture itself it contained the terminations only.The fixture was mounted independantly so is this code compliant.The AHJ said it was fine what say yee :D By the way the printed only show a box and not a means of it being mounted :wink:
 
allenwayne
By the way the printed only show a box and not a means of it being mounted
Click to expand...

IMO you wouldn't see those gray heads on the screws if they were holding fixture on box. How do you mount these boxes? :p :p
 
This all came about when an inspector looked in a trash pile and there was the manufacturers install instructions that showed a box to be used.
The fixture had provisions for screw mounted boxes.So it was determined that there was a box to be installed but the instructions also showed that the ends of the strip light were to be secured by anchors.We all decided that if a pancake was mounted,grounded and bushed and the fixture was secured all applicable codes would be met,with out having to actually mount the pancake box since it was not the means of being secured :wink:
 
We use the B-Line BB2-16T & BB2-24T or Caddy TSGB16 & TSGB24 bars. They are designed to be bent for 1 1/2" and 2 1/8? boxes but work perfect for this application as is. They are about 3/8? thick so will usually fit over the DWV piping. The 24" fits between 16" OC studs fully collapsed.
14241658.jpg

 
Thanks for all the input. I have a few new ideas. Homes I have done in the past were large custom homes. I started with the foundation. I always told the homeowner if they wanted the vanity lights centered to be sure to tell the plumber, most did.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top