Carlon has an 1 1/8" deep plastic box but most (all?) of the very shallow boxes have clamps for non-metallic cable (Romex) OR armored cable (AC/MC) which would create a problem transitioning from one to the other. You have to get to about a 1 1/2" deep box before you get to 1/2" knockouts where you could use external cable clamps. You also need to consider box fill, which doesn't allow for much in the super shallow boxes.

1. Whatever the AHJ says, goes. If you doubt the contractor, check with your code enforcement folks.

2. Answered above.

3. Yes.

If you're looking for a more finished appearance, you might consider something like Wiremold.

Generally speaking unqualified persons are prohibited from doing work in other people's homes and multifamily dwellings. If your contractor isn't a licensed electrician he shouldn't be doing the work.

A 1.125 inch box is going to be pretty large if it has internal clamps (counts as 1 of the largest wires in the box, likely #14 in this case) to met box fill requirements.

Think at least 4 in x 4 in.

Consider puttin a smaller but deeper boc \\x ontheback wall of the cabinet and the low voltage power suply inside the box.

Pegasus lighting has 60 W, 12 V supplies that fit n a single 'device' size box.
You could also use a short piece of EMT for protection and then paint it.

Hi Brickeyee,

I wasn't really planning a power supply. Planning 120V lights, most likely fluorescent. I'll look at putting the box in the cabinet.

He could use shielded cable (armored) or WAC has small juction boxes (this is what I used for our under cabinet low voltage lighting).

doug, can you give me a link to the junction box you used?

My non-electrician opinion:

I typically see NM cable installed nice, flat and straight to the fixture, and everybody is happy.

The inspectors probably flag it when it's a sloppy install.
I think armored cable would look ridiculous and be nearly impossible to work with for short runs in tight spaces. The space is too confined to bend it as necessary.

Even you can find smooth jacketed MC cable you would have an easy job.

It is only about 1/4 inch in diameter with a smooth aluminum jacket.

Here is the WAC link:

http://www.waclighting.com/USA/products/?categoryid=18&productid=143

Thanks for the link, doug_gb, but I don't think that will solve my 120V wiring problem (maybe I don't understand it).

I'm going to suggest to my contractor that he uses brickeyee's suggestion of sinking a standard depth box into the back of the upper cabinets, then bring the MC cable from there. I'll likely need a 90 where it connects to the light.
Contractor may have another idea on the subject.

Why hasn't the contractor offered his own solution to this problem? Is he an electrician? You might reconsider making suggestions based on this thread. If you're not happy with the result, he's just going to say "well, that's what you said to do."

If you were to position the fixtures mid-way under the cabinets (from front to back), nobody is going to see or be bothered with a short length of NM cable that feeds it.

"If you were to position the fixtures mid-way under the cabinets (from front to back), nobody is going to see or be bothered with a short length of NM cable that feeds it."

More aimed at the OP than homebound. Think about maintenance. In an active kitchen the underside of cabinets can get pretty sloppy. The smoother it is, the easier it is to keep clean. In this case a cleaning job that might take a few seconds can go to to a few minutes with a lot of crapola hung on the underside of the cabinets.

It's hard for me to visualize this as an inconspicuous solution and I'd like to understand this for the future. You don't think that stuff in the cabinets (how many cabs, btw?) will bother you?

For example, if my guy told me he wants to put a couple j boxes under some cabinets for my clients, I envision big, ugly, metal boxes and I know they would go nuts.

Alternatively, if he were installing some boxes "flush with the back of the cabinets", then I envision extra work, cost, holes (including recess in the wall behind cab), and at the very least, a little elbow in the cabinet that bumps into the dishes or whatever. Do you see what I mean? What am I missing?....or are these j boxes going behind the cabinets before they are hung?

That's why I would think using wire mould under the cabinet would be the simplest, cleanest way to achieve the protection you need. But that's me. Not to cause you trouble or doubt, but I just don't understand this as a good solution for line voltage (as opposed to thinner , low voltage wire.) and I would like to understand it. (Sorry!)

Thanks for the post. Please post pics and let us know how it works out. Good luck with everything.

This post was edited by homebound on Tue, Jan 8, 13 at 8:50

"are these j boxes going behind the cabinets before they are hung? "

The boxes must remain accessible.

If you placed a screwed down panel over them on the cabinet back it would be acceptable, but no nails.

homebound, imagine a wall switch. Remove the cover plate and switch, and put a blank panel on it. That is how far the box will stick into the cabinet, something like 3/16". It sticks out less than the inside back bottom rail of the cabinet, so nothing will be touching it. I could even veneer the cover to match the cabinet interior, but will likely just buy a close match.

One thing you are missing is that the electrician left some of the NM cable a bit short, either assuming that the lighting connection would be on the side toward the wall rather than on the end of a forward mounted fixture, or he just screwed up. In a couple of cases, there will probably have to be a box somewhere anyway, to lengthen the connection.