We’re getting ready to have our living room carpeted which is currently tiled. We have a brass floor outlet with the cover on it which we are planning on carpeting over since it is simply in a bad location. I was planning on pulling the cover off and disconnecting the switch with wire caps since I don’t like the idea of covering a live outlet with carpet. Am I correct I should do this?
Thanks,
Kelly1
There are some instances where multiple minisplits make sense.
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Replies
You cannot make a live junction box inaccessible by covering it with carpet. That's a clear Code violation.
I agree with the above.
If you are lucky, this floor recepticle is on its own circuit and you can simply pull the breakers, cap the two wires you undo in the panel and cap the wires in the floor box. In fact, you may have to cut the wires where they come into the box, so no one in future years might see them and hook them back up...but not sure about that.
If you can't disconnect, you could put a flat plate over the box, but it'll have to be accessible.
BruceM
Does this box serve as a pass through to other outlets or is it a dead-end? If it is dead end you should be able to find it's source, disconnect and identify it and then cover it with your carpet with solid cover. You may decide you want to resurect it later. But I yield to code wise pro electricians. I am only attempting to help you ask the question in a little more detail what if.
You cannot just take out the receptacle, cap (wire nut or otherwise) and cover it from what I have been told. Although I really think that a dead end run is not in the true spirit of the "concealed junction box" rule. I can see a true concealed junction box being a trouble shooting nightmare, or at least a bad dream. But many of these rules are written with possible consequnces in mind that most of us could not conjure up.
Edited 1/15/2006 5:38 pm ET by rasconc
Appreciate the responses.
This outlet and 4 others are on the same breaker plus one other floor outlet we are keeping active. I can only imagine the demolition it would take to be able to locate the wires going to this outlet and removing them since they are located between floors. What I'm understanding here is I should not be disconnecting the switch, capping the wires, and then putting the brass cover back on . . . I'm really unsure how this is practically resolved. Although this is our retirement home, some day it will be sold. The only thing I am certain of is we do not want this outlet since it is smack in the middle of the traffic area for this room. Any additional options, info etc will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kelly1
you have to find out where the feed is for this .....if the box you want to bury is the end.of the circuit...not feeding thru;.....then locate the feed ...which is probably at the switch???? remove the switch.....cap the wires there and fill the box with cement.....if the floor box feeds through .....you will have to leave things the way they are,
because, if a problem develops you will need access to the wiring....but if you just bury it, the mess and headaches to find it and fix it, will make you wish the thing was never in the floor.........maybe the carpet layer can cut a patch and glue it over the box, sometimes that is done on commercial jobs.....
Edited 1/15/2006 6:15 pm by maddog3
Edited 1/15/2006 6:17 pm by maddog3
Why fill the box with cement?
the floors are concrete and it just prevents a soft spot,under carpeting...but if the receptacle doghouse pokes thru the floor...the hole gets plugged with fire stop and poured over for a fire rating.....
.and sometimes boxes were installed when the building was being built and were poured in place ....especially the ground floor...a stupid idea, since most of the ones I had to work on were damaged somehow.....but....... also, duct was used, but if something gets abandoned the hole is capped and covered with cement , it also depends on the thickness of the floor above the duct.
Maybe I missed some reference to concrete, thanks. I can see that in commercial. In res his traffic patterns may change from what he thinks is ideal now. I am only trying to learn. I think there is a lesson to be learned for layout here, I would make floor recpt. dead end and decommission from feed end.
100% the only way to go.........
Thanks again for all the discussion. To answer a few of the questions . . . There are two white, two black, and one ground coming into the floor outlet. The cover is brass with a screw in brass disc over the actual receptacle for when it is not being used.
Based on all of your input it does sound like I should have my electrician come over and get me straightened out. If this wasn't our main living area I'd consider having the carpet cut out and glued to the top of the brass plate. But even if I did use this option, wouldn't it still be safest to disconnect the wires from the switch and put wires caps on them?
I'll still keep a watch out in case there are any other ideas.
Thanks again!
Kelly1
the fact that there are ####total of 5 wires tells me that it is a junction box , ....instead of the end of the line.which would have only 3 wires.....! there must be another switched outlet ....probably the other floor box ???
This is not advice to Kelly1! If it were mine I would make sure there was a good connection pigtailed, screw the cover on, put a note on the panel with location of floor outlet, put note in downstream recpt and switch area, and carpet over the **** thing. I cannot see the box itself being a safety issue, just a potential troubleshooting (maybe with some danger but I do not think so) degree of difficulty increaser.
But what the heck, I pull the mattresss tags off and take the "this will put your eye out" tags off my bungee cords so I am unsafe at any speed.
I would consider getting an oversized blank brass or whatever matches and cut the carpet and be legal I believe. But then his existing cover would do that too.
Edited 1/17/2006 12:20 pm ET by rasconc
If it were mine I would do the same thing....but it ain't ..........."I pull the mattresss tags off and take the "this will put your eye out" tags off my bungee cords so I am unsafe at any speed...."Oh Really,
.
I have notified the police.......;>o
That's ok they are probably on their way already. My elec bill last month was $1766 ( darn I did not think the grow lights and meth cooker drew so much). We just switched out meters in late Dec to the new remote reader and my old one read somewhere around 81000 and the new one read about 1250. Their computer read it as a roll over I guess. Got them working on it, sent out tech to reread and get meter /tag numbers.
you should consider energy Mgt. for the lights and cookers...maybe ask POCO for an off-peak rate
sounds like the crap around here ...they read one month and guesstimate 2,,,my buddy had a small machine shop onhis property, he moved the shopto another building on the other end of town...his home bill was $600 his new shops was $1600
because.....ahem " that's what he used during those months last year..." never mind that he was only in his new shop for 2 months
In their defense it is an honest mistake, Duke Power here is very good in my opinion.
Can you explain how many wires come into the box and where/what is the switch you are referring to? Maddog3 is saying pretty much what I said in the first response. I (not an electrician) think you might need one here.
Please take a minute and fill out your profile.
First the disclaimer I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN
& I don't play one on TV
But some of our accessible codes are the same.
I have seen on some of my jobs where floor boxes were covered with tile & carpet but the box was still accessible.
They cut the tile or carpet the same size as the box & fastened it to the cover plate & labeled it, you still knew it was there just not as conspicuous