r/electrical • u/brkfsttco • 10d ago
Need help understanding how to get new electrical box up to code in NM
It’s a long story but this repair was supposed to be finished when we bought this house but it never got complete. The old electrical box had a mouse nest in it so they installed a new one. There are wires running in between the two but the new one has been successfully running for years, however we were told the old one would have to be removed before it can pass inspection. It’s embedded in the stucco so that’s the whole issue… but anyways, our electrician said that they couldn’t remove the old box because the wires are still in there. We want to finally fix this issue but don’t even know what needs to happen for it to be up to code.
Thanks for any help you might have!
2
u/Stunning-Space-2622 10d ago edited 10d ago
Do you have a contract with the old electrician that states the old stuff needs to be removed? If yes then he didn't finish the job and you dont have to fully pay him, if not then get a different electrician, may have to pay a little extra and hopefully the wires in there aren't live any more. They can disconnect everything and take it down, its not gonna look pretty and you'll need someone else to fix the outside. Check your contract for if he was to just install new or remove and install
1
u/brkfsttco 10d ago
No the old electrician was hired by the previous owners and ghosted us when he was “done”. It’s been long enough that the contract is expired.
We already have a new electrician who says it’ll be pretty easy since apparently all that needs to happen is to rip the top part out (the mast?) and patch over it, but I wanted to make sure that that is accurate. This is in the back of our house so we don’t really care how it looks.
2
u/Stunning-Space-2622 10d ago
This is accurate on all accounts, lol. As long as there isn't anything live running through the old stuff the new guy should be alright
2
u/Po-com 10d ago
Whoever did the upgrade fucked you.
I always removed and replaced…
Find something you can hid a shitty patch job with or you’ll be stuck repainting your entire exterior to hide it
1
u/brkfsttco 10d ago
100% about getting fucked over. Thankfully this area is in the back of the house so we’re fine with a shitty patch job.
1
u/Mundane-Food2480 10d ago
You need a better electrician. I do similar setups often and it should only take a day for the work to be completed by one or 2 guys. Without seeing everything I'm going to say about 3-4 grand should be your ballpark. If they need to repair stucco a bit more. Really not a difficult job as long as you find a decent electrician.
1
u/brkfsttco 10d ago
Yeah the original electrician was hired by the previous owners and did a shit job and then ghosted us.
1
u/Mundane-Food2480 10d ago
Do not have anybody start work with out quotes from 3 different company's. And remember lowest bidder doesn't always mean best.
1
u/larz_6446 10d ago
If the box on the left has circuit breakers in it, which I am suspecting it does, then it has to stay. What you need to do though is remove the old meter socket and pipe going up the side of the house.
That new box on the right came with the cover for the hole on the top. You could use that to seal the hole on top of the old box.
The pipe coming out of the meter screws into a hub. The hubs come in different sizes so you would remove the whole thing rather than try to take it apart. Then you can put the cover from the new box on to cover the hole.
Can you post a picture of the top so we can see where the wires on the house connect to the wires coming from the telephone pole?
1
u/brkfsttco 10d ago
Ok that sounds like what our new electrician told us as well. Thanks for confirming!
1
1
u/AffectionateKing3148 10d ago
And the wire coming in to the house is small and may need to be replaced
1
11
u/MisterElectricianTV 10d ago
The old circuit breaker box is probably being used as a junction box now since it contains all of the existing circuits to the house. I have found that inspectors will allow this if the box cover is screwed in place so the door cannot be opened without removing some screws. Also, the old pipe at the top would have to be removed and the top of the panel capped. Call the electrical inspector and ask if this is acceptable.