Covering up Electrical J-Box

[Cubby]

Hiya Folks, I'm in the process of putting some cabinets up in my laundry room. In the process, I am putting in a pantry and there is a receptacle that could be covered up. I know that all junctions need to be accessible so I am initially planning to cut a hole in the side of the pantry to access the receptacle. But one question comes to mind and for the life of me, I cannot find my NEC code book. If this receptacle is at the end of a circuit, can I simply remove the receptacle, cap the wires and put a blank cap over it? There would then be no "junctions" per se and I could try to track down the other ends of the wires and disconnect them too. Keeping in mind that a pantry will then go over the blank plate. I suspect the answer is no but thought I'd ask the collective wisdom of the group. Thanks much. Cheers, cc

[gfretwell]

You have to disconnect the wires at the feed end

[RBM]

I agree with you. If there is no splice to come loose, what would be the problem? I believe to do it properly, you'd have to disconnect the conductors at the previous junction.

[Cubby]

Thanks. I have yet to open it up to see what's inside as I currently have a freezer sitting in the way. Just my luck will be that it's not at the end of the ckt. But it makes sense to me that if I disconnect at the previous junction, assuming it is at the end of a ckt, I should be fine to cover the J-Box up. Cheers, cc

[Mikepier]

Why not just cut the outlet into the cabinet? Theres nothing wrong with that, in fact thats how microwaves above the stove are hooked up, with an outlet in the cabinet above.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

What if vibration caused the wire nut to fall off? Sure, it is one in a million, but shit happens.

[RBM]

I would use tape on the wires, not nuts

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Tape can chafe, adhesive on tape can loosen, especially at elevated temperatures. No matter how you justify taking the easy way out, there is always the possibility a problem can arise, next week, next year, next decade.

Codes are written for a reason. Don't expect us to give you a blessing to circumvent them.

[aemeijers]

I'm no expert, but I believe that if he disconnects the wires at the upstream box, clips off the stripped ends, and pushes it out of the box to drop down in the wall, no inspector would consider it a violation. He could then completely pry out or otherwise obliterate the end box on the run and not be in violation. Wire runs are abandoned in place all the time- you just have to make it obvious to the guy 20 years from now that the wire is not available for use.

But having said that, I agree with the others- cut a hole in the new cabinet, put on an extension ring, and make an outlet inside the cabinet.

-- aem sends...

[Mark]

Have you considered extending the outlet into the pantry cabinet in a way as they do with outlets for over-range microwaves and vents? It could come in handy at some point to have an outlet available, particularly if the work you are doing will leave you with less than you do now. Perhaps you could then use a plug-strip and mount it on the outside of the cabinet (if it wouldn't look too stupid) and route the cord thru a hole into the cabinet to plug it in....

[Cubby]

As fate would have it, this was not at the end of the circuit so I couldn't abandon the wires and cover it up. If that had been the case, I would have traced them back to their feed and disconnected those and sent them into the wall. So, I did in fact cut a hole in the cabinet but am not planning on putting a recept. in. Just plate it off. Thanks much for your help. Cheers, cc

[Cubby]

That's what I ended up doing although I didn't install a recept in there, just a plate. Cheers, cc

[RBM]

I am only stating my opinion, not asking for any approval, or suggesting anyone circumvent the code

[Jeepwolf]

If you disconnect the wires from the circuit at the other end, there no longer is any code involved, because it's no longer wiring, just something to decorate the inside of the walls. On the other hand, can you reverse it so it can be used on the other side of the same wall (in the adjoining room)? There never are enough outlets and this might be easier than finding the source to disconnect. Just a thought.

[Jeepwolf]

I always like the idea of leaving notes inside things like that for future people. Of course you can be nice, or you can scare the shit out of them. For example, a note inside the box reads:

"To the future owner of this dump. These wires were disconnected after the outlet exploded, sending a shower of sparks all over the place, which ignited the drapes and set the place on fire. The fire department determined that the electricity entering this box comes from an unknown foreign source, and is not standard to the U.S. codes. Connecting these wires to any device could detonate a nuclear reactor explosion. DO NOT TOUCH THEM.".

That ought to scare the pants off some future kid who just started his first day on the job as an electrician.

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