Safe to leave outlet/switch box in wall as cover

Jun 15, 2020 3 Replies

Closing on a new home, and the previous owner had wall lights and outlets for paintings all over.



An electrician has capped off all the wires already.



I'd like to just patch the areas (I don't have a clue how I'd turn off the power and remove the wires).



Is there a way to safely patch them?



Thanks.


If an electrician has already capped off all the wires, just patch over them. No need to remove them.

It is perfectly safe to have switches that don't do anything but might be frustrating. As long as you can verify that they were disconnected at the source, you can remove the boxes and patch the drywall. It sounds drastic but some times it is easier to fix a big hole than a little one so you might even think of removing whole sheets of drywall if there are several places to patch in one. If you are not a drywall person, hire one. Otherwise you will have an ugly patch that looks worse that just having a switch there that goes nowhere.

ONLY if they have been "decomissioned" as it is ilegal under ALL codes to have a hidden box with live wires.

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