For the second time now an electrical contractor had to break out the stucco in order to feed a couple more circuits up into the attic. Since the box is not fully expanded, before I patch the holes this time, I'm wondering if I could pull through a couple more cables and just leave the ends hanging in the box and 50' coiled up in the attic. Is this a bad idea or against the code, or both?
Another thought is trying to squeeze a length of 1/2" flex coundit (steel or the water-tight plastic stuff) up through from the box to the attic. That will be tough though, as the box is right at the corner of the house and space is very tight where things have to pass through the cap board of the wall.
Just so I understand what you mean, is the box you refer to just a metal box like one would use for a wall switch or receptacle but mounted in the attic?
And, is it necessary to put a breaker in the main service box and hook the cable to it now, or can I just tape up the cable and let hang in the main service box until I need the circuit? I don't like to do the hookup myself in the box.
Install a 3/4 (or 1/2) flex armor conduit from the panel to a junction box in the attic. This is called a "future" , for any wiring to the panel,just add conductors to that conduit Todd
"Just so I understand what you mean, is the box you refer to just a metal box like one would use for a wall switch or receptacle but mounted in the attic?
And, is it necessary to put a breaker in the main service box and hook the cable to it now, or can I just tape up the cable and let hang in the main service box until I need the circuit? I don't like to do the hookup myself in the box. "
If you decide to do this, use junction boxes on both ends of the spare cable. Leave the cable at the panel box end long enough so that if you need to use it, you can then remove it from the junction box and route it into the service panel/breaker and connect it. It's also a good idea to put a note in each box, so that if some future owner comes across it, they will know what it is and where it goes.
Guess I'm really dense, but I can't quite picture what you are saying.
Let me try to clarify what my panel box and cable routing setup is, then maybe you can clarify for me exactly what you are advising.
The panel box is embedded in the outside stucco wall. It's a GE box, dating from late 1960s, if that helps. The breakers are in one side of the box, and the meter on the other. The line from the utility is underground, so comes up from below intot he meter section of the box. Cables for all of the circuits go up out of the breaker box, through the double
2x4s forming the cap bards at the top of the wall frame, and into the attic. Since the service boxes are mounted very close to the corner of the house, they enter the attic right where the rafters meet the joists. Things are very crowded, making it hard to see where I could drill a new hole without risk of tearing up existing cables. Nearly all these cables are bare 12-2 NB-H (2 wire plus ground) with soft rubbery sheath. Only one, probably the one going to the AC unit, is in steel flex conduit.
So, given this setup, where are you advising me to put these junction boxes? To me it seems the easiest thing to do is to knock out a plug in the breaker box, feed a couple 12-2 cables from the breaker box to the attic through the existing holes in the cap boards, and just let the ends hang in the breaker box, hooked to nothing. So far, no one had said specifically that this is against the code.
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