Author Topic: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?  (Read 6040 times)

Chris22

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Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« on: May 16, 2016, 08:30:27 AM »
Breaking this out from my renno thread just to get a little more readership.

Since the bathroom is in the basement, the plumbing is coming down from the ceiling rather than up through the floor.  The hot and cold taps for the vanity are right dead center between the studs, right where one would put an electrical box for a light fixture. 

Bad picture, but you can kinda see it here:



Basically, I seem to have three options:

1.  Wall sconces on either side of the mirror rather than a centered fixture (wife doesn't love)

2.  Try and find a fixture that allows an off-center box, Home Depot man this weekend was confused when I asked about this and didn't think there were any; I could probably "make something work" but the ones with the long back bases are the "Hollywood" style (eg: this) and my wife hates them, are there other styles available?

3.  Try and fit a centered box over the pipes with potentially tragic results.

4.  ????

Thoughts?

lthenderson

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Re: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2016, 08:41:50 AM »
The easiest solution would be to get a pancake style box. I use these a lot for lighting fixtures when there is a stud behind where I want to put the fixture. They are about a 1/2" thick which is generally the thickness of your wallboard or drywall so it would mount on the same plane as your stud surface. A 1/2" thick board mounted between the two studs looks like it would fit in front of your copper pipes. They may even make a pancake style box that clamps to the backside of your drywall and thus eliminate the support board though I've never looked for something like that.

If you are handy, I would simply get some fittings out and move the pipes to one side with about a half hour worth of work. Copper piping is pretty easy to work with.

Drifterrider

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Re: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2016, 11:36:05 AM »
Where, in relation to the copper pipes, do you want the center of your vanity to be?  To the right it looks like the lower upper 2 X 4 is below the level of the lower 2 X 4 through which the pipes run.  It this in a corner?

Chris22

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Re: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2016, 12:03:27 PM »
Where, in relation to the copper pipes, do you want the center of your vanity to be?  To the right it looks like the lower upper 2 X 4 is below the level of the lower 2 X 4 through which the pipes run.  It this in a corner?

The 2x4s in the upper right are a soffit that will come down to the bottom of the 2x4s (+ drywall).  The actual wall goes another ~18" to the right. 

...

I went to HD and bought a 4" pancake box at lunch, I should be able to fab up a mount for it across the front of the pipes.  Thanks for the idea!

paddedhat

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Re: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2016, 08:39:54 PM »
Ithenderson is spot on. When I run into this on a rough in, I don't even look for thinner lumber to use as a backer, I just take a scrap of 2x4 and use a circular saw to cut some rough datos in the back to allow clearance for the pipes. Nail it  flush with the face of the studs and screw a 1/2" pancake box to it. You will need a large, say 1-1/8", hole dead center of the block to pass the Romex through, and you should use one of the "button" style romex clamps. These are the plastic washer looking things that pop into the 1/2" knock out and grip the wire when you pass it through. Well, I have to change that, as I think I saw that the fan is wired in MC cable. No worries, they make a similar push connector for MC.

Chris22

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Re: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2016, 09:05:21 PM »
Got a little creative.




paddedhat

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Re: Construction help: Offset box on vanity light fixture?
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2016, 03:32:00 PM »
If you have an inspection coming, that is, unfortunately, going to fail. The connector needs to be properly attached to the box, and fully inserted through the knock-out hole. I see metal clad cable to the fan, but you used the much more difficult to bend flexible conduit. If you switch to MC cable, it's a piece of cake to run the cable down though the top plates, and by using a 90* connector, properly attach it to the box. This makes it possible to do a professional looking job if you are sheetrocking the back side of this wall.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!