Adding Electrical Outlet

last year

I have a closet that I'd like to have wired so I can charge a hand-held vacuum cleaner in it. On the other side of the thick wall, there's another outlet. I suspect my drywall is plaster over metal mesh, but it could be horsehair plaster or modern drywall. Can I just cut a hole from the closet side until I hit the box of the outlet in the room on the other side of the wall? Or are there other concerns?

If I hire someone, should I expect the electrician will cut the hole or do I need to have it cut first?

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Comments (5)

rwiegand
last year
No concerns except what might happen while sawing into a wall with live electrical wires, what could go wrong? ;-) If you accidentally cut into the existing wire you will have created a significantly bigger job.

What you want to do should be easy for an electrician, barring somethign unforeseen. I'd let them cut the hole as long as you're bringing them in to do the wiring. You'll want to offset the new box from the one on the other side of the wall; most walls aren't thick enough for back-to-back boxes. Depending on the existing box fill you might need to replace it with a bigger one to allow additional conductors to be added.
Sigrid thanked rwiegand
K Laurence
last year
last modified: last year
I hired an electrician to do that., went quickly. ( I had an outlet added to my walk in pantry for a wine cooler )
Sigrid thanked K Laurence
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wdccruise
last year
1. Turn off the electricity
2. Remove the cover plate and outlet from the old electrical box.
3. Look inside the box to find where the electrical box is attached to the stud, where the electrical cable enters the box, and the height of the box from the floor.
4. In the closet, determine where to put the new electrical box considering that it must be on the same side of the stud as the old box, must not interfere with the old electrical cable, and should (probably) be the same height from the floor as the existing box.
5. Remove a knockout from the side of the old box that will face the new box.
6. Buy an old work electrical box and cut a hole for it.
7. Run a piece of 14/2 Romex (electrical cable) from the old box's knockout to the new box and clamp it to both boxes.
8. To the outlet in the old box, reattach the old and new electrical cables.
9. To an outlet in the new box, attach the new electrical cable.
10. Attach the cover plates.
11. Turn on the electricity.
12. Grab the dog and run out the door so you don't die in the fire.
ci_lantro
last year
You could consider a surface mount electrical box since it will be hidden inside of a closet, too, if there is a stud in the way of where you want the new box.
wdccruise
last year
last modified: last year
ci_lantro: "You could consider a surface mount electrical box"

Right, if the old electrical box had a knock-out on its back, you could run a short piece of Romex from the back of the old box through the back of the new, surface-mount electrical box. But cutting a hole for an old-work electrical box would give a more professional appearance.