At Home In The Woods

[Obed]

I went to install a kitchen today that has 99" high cabinets. The ceiling was only 96 1/2"... Ooops. The framers didn't think it mattered if they dropped the ceiling almost 3"? Again didn't think or didn't care. All too common these days. I'm sorry for the rant but this stupid stuff just burns my butt..

walleyed,
That sounds painful. I'm curious what the fix is going to be. Are the cabinets going to be shortened somehow?

Unfortunately, this story does not surprise me. After seeing stuff like that happen, we pretty much decided that my wife needed to be on site whenever workers were present.

For example, when it came time to hard-wire our dishwasher to the wire coming out of the kitchen wall, you would think, "What could go wrong with such a simple task?" Well, my wife noticed the worker was lying on the floor reaching underneath the dishwasher while wiring up the dishwasher. After the electrical workers left, my wife tried to pull the dishwasher away from the wall but couldn't do it because, as she suspected, the Romex cable had been cut too short by the electrical worker. When the electrical workers came back, she asked them to make the wire long enough so that the dishwasher could be pulled away from the wall. They said they would install a junction box behind the dishwasher to extend the length of the wire. My wife asked them to recess the junction box in the wall so it would not get in the way of the dishwasher and they agreed. Two hours later they installed the junction box but did not recess it into the wall so my wife had to make them re-do it again.

You would think you shouldn't have to deal with stuff like this but the reality is you do.

Obed

 

[RadarTech]

Those are lots of great ideas for pulling the cat 6. I might use a combination of all the ideas, except for the $260 magnet. The LV box that is not below the windows may not be that difficult. I think I might be able to just push a fish tape up from the basement for that one. However, the two boxes below the windows may be tricky because the holes through the floor in the insulated wall is a few inches to the side of the boxes, not directly below them. I may try pushing the fish tape from the basement up through the hole then try to catch it with a coat hanger similar to Rick's suggestion. If it gets too difficult, I may have to resort to pulling out my drywall saw.

I'm not sure if you have one the the fein tools or a dremel multimax, but I lost a cat 6 cable back into the wall.
I cut the box out then used one of the old work boxes to replace it.

It was harder than it sounds, but there was no drywall work..

Once I got the box out it was easy!

 

[dstig1]

I'm not sure if you have one the the fein tools or a dremel multimax, but I lost a cat 6 cable back into the wall.
I cut the box out then used one of the old work boxes to replace it.

It was harder than it sounds, but there was no drywall work..

Once I got the box out it was easy!

A sawzall with a metal blade (and some care) or one of those tight space hacksaws can cut off the nails of a nail-on box and allow you to pull it out. Yep, I've had to do it before, but if you have a Fein multi-tool or one of the newer clones (Bosch, Dremel), they are awesome for this stuff. ...Or for cutting out the drywall - you can run them right down the center of the stud so all you have to do is slap the patch back in and drive a couple screws to hold it to the studs. Then spackle the gaps and paint. They leave a very small kerf and are very controllable.

 

[Obed]

Today we passed our electrical inspection. We are going to try to get the phone company to run the phone line to the house on Friday. Once the phone line gets run to the house, we will no longer have phone and DLS internet access in the camper.

This Saturday is moving day!

 

[Obed]

I'm not sure if you have one the the fein tools or a dremel multimax, but I lost a cat 6 cable back into the wall.
I cut the box out then used one of the old work boxes to replace it.

It was harder than it sounds, but there was no drywall work..

Once I got the box out it was easy!

Yes, I have a Dremel. Cutting the box out with the Dremel sounds better than patching drywall. Good suggestion.
Obed

 

[walleyed]

walleyed,
That sounds painful. I'm curious what the fix is going to be. Are the cabinets going to be shortened somehow?

Unfortunately, this story does not surprise me. After seeing stuff like that happen, we pretty much decided that my wife needed to be on site whenever workers were present.

For example, when it came time to hard-wire our dishwasher to the wire coming out of the kitchen wall, you would think, "What could go wrong with such a simple task?" Well, my wife noticed the worker was lying on the floor reaching underneath the dishwasher while wiring up the dishwasher. After the electrical workers left, my wife tried to pull the dishwasher away from the wall but couldn't do it because, as she suspected, the Romex cable had been cut too short by the electrical worker. When the electrical workers came back, she asked them to make the wire long enough so that the dishwasher could be pulled away from the wall. They said they would install a junction box behind the dishwasher to extend the length of the wire. My wife asked them to recess the junction box in the wall so it would not get in the way of the dishwasher and they agreed. Two hours later they installed the junction box but did not recess it into the wall so my wife had to make them re-do it again.

You would think you shouldn't have to deal with stuff like this but the reality is you do.

Obed

As I see it now the upper cabinets are going to be ordered again 3 " shorter. I think 3-4 weeks wait time and someone is out about $3000. Good thing it wasn't my mistake. They are all looking for another answer but I don't see one other then ripping a near finished house apart. I'll find out tomorrow when I finish the rest of it.

Those dishwasher wires are always too short to pull them out around here . I just disconnect the wire. Seems people don't listen at all. Even when told what you want they don't get it right.

I do a lot of kitchen and bath work and the sparkies is where most of my problems come from. I can spend time explaining and marking where I need boxes or wires for under cabinet lighting and at least one box will be wrong even with the markings. The bare wires will be too low or high.

The young guys doing the work don't care and the boss just gives me a stupid look and has them change it or does it himself. Some I do myself because I'm not waiting a day for them. No sorry for holding you up or nothing. I know they are not all bad but it seems more common the last 10 years or so. I guess I should find a new electrican but I like these guys and they treat me ok price wise.

 

[Obed]

Yes, I have a Dremel. Cutting the box out with the Dremel sounds better than patching drywall. Good suggestion.
Obed

I just had another look at the pictures.

The two LV boxes in question are not in the drywall, they are in the baseboard. Cutting holes in the baseboard is not really an option. But cutting out the box is an option.

 

[dstig1]

Yeah, cutting into the baseboard is a no-go for sure. But since they are only like 2" above the subfloor, you might as well try fishing them first. That is a real short distance, even if you need to fight insulation. Drill a new hole in the subfloor to get better access if you need to.

BTW when we say Dremel in this case we have been talking about a Dremel Multitool, not the rotary tool. Something like this:

Fein was the original maker of these, but their patents just expired, so the imitators are coming on strong. Including some with improvements. The Bosch is real nice. Haven't seen the Dremel version. The Feins are $$$$$

 

[dex3361]

I have run into the same situation before. Years ago I used to do a lot of wiring upgrades and it involved fishing a wire for every receptacle from below. Here is what I used to do. Shove a fish tape of clothes hanger(with small hook bent on it) down from the box from above till it hits the bottom of the wall cavity. Then go down below and stick a clothes hanger(with a small hook bent on it) up into the hole hugging the bottom feeling for the upper fish tape this usually doesn't stir up the insulation to bad and I have been successful every attempt. It is really not as difficult as it sounds.

 

[RadarTech]

I think the old work boxes may really be the way to go due to the molding.