Hi, In putting up 4x8 sheets of beaded ply, I need to make holes for electrical outlets in the middle of the sheets. Is there an easy way of doing this correctly? This will be visible so I need to get the placement of the hole pretty exact the first time.
If it were easy, they wouldn't call it work.
Try to install a sheet first that has no cut outs. Get this sheet installed, glued, nailed, plumbed, etc. If there is no such sheet, then draw a vertical line with the help of a laser, plumb bob, or carpenter's level that represents one of the edges of your sheet. Measure from that full sheet or line to each side of the electrical rough in box (make sure you remove the finish plate). Decide whether your sheets are more important to have fit at the top or bottom. If the fit at the ceiling is most important, measure from there to find the top and bottom of the electrical rough in box.
If you are cutting this out of the sheet with a circular saw or jig saw, it would be best to make these marks on the back side of the sheet. Be careful, it can get confusing - stand the sheet up as it will install and write on the back side: top, right, etc. Lay out the measurements. Cut carefully, do not cut past the lines. I usually cut my box holes slightly undersized which may require pulling the screws completely out of the receptacles and bringing the recep out through the hole in the panel (kill the recep, tape off the side screws, or BE Careful). An electrical inspector can demand no flammables exposed to the recep. They sell a thin box extension like this:
"NetWorker"
"NetWorker"
Here's how we did it with drywall...
Locate a spot on the sheet that will be within the box area. Doesn't have to be exact, just inside the box.
Tack the sheet into place with a few screws. If the box sticks out from the stud then don't put any screws near the box.
Cut through the marked area with keyhole saw to the edge of the box.
Now just cut around the outside of the box and put in the rest of the screws.
Chris
Remember, you can have a quarter of an inch all the way around the box and still have the cover plate cover the hole. So that kind of accuracy shouldn't be too hard to achieve.
Here's the best link I have seen in a long time for the DIY guys:
Good luck!
Robert
Why do you imagine this would be a Code violation?
The "slop" in the drywall hole necessary to align the outlet cover with the bead board (next sentence in the post) may (again I say, may) cause there to be largish gaps between the drywall and the box. (Box would be free floating until mounted to panel, instead of fastened to stud.) This gap would be hard to fill (but not, I grant you, impossible) after installation of the paneling. If the wall in question is a garage wall in an attached garage (firewall, in some jurisdictions) then some inspectors want everything sealed tight. Code violation would be building code, not electrical. But, as always, it depends on where you live, who your inspector is, and whether or not I put the word "probably" before the words "against code."
I've torn out a few commercial installations like this, and it almost never works out well. Unless the wall paneling is 3/8" thick or so, the box ends up pulling the paneling away from the wall every time you unplug something. Then chunks of plaster or drywall fall down behind the panel, causing it to stick out, and continually applying outward pressure to nails/glue/fasteners holding the paneling on. Over time, it just gets worse and worse.
"Chip"
That's wrong. It's supposed to go:
If it were fun they would call it "play", this is work.
:-)
In article , NetWorker
Ahh, best so far. Plus, you get to buy not one, but two new toys, if you don't have them.
I guess bending over in front of the laser contributs to the "dead-nuts" aspect...
"Chip"
Hehehehehe...
Make that THREE new toys... Lead-lined lederhosen.
Back in 1974 when Georgia Pacific paneling ruled the world, I was building my first house by myself. My older uncle who was a old carpenter showed me at least three ways to do it.
(1) Mark and measure
(2) Chalk lip of box and slap paneling against lip leaving a mark.
(3) Nail paneling up and cut around box with keyhole saw.
Mark and measure is the single best way...... Use a framing square and don't forget which side is the correct edge.
I still hate paneling and the ex-wife that picked it out.
Buy a Fein MultiMaster and never look back.....
Tack a piece of carbon paper, carbon side out, in front of box. Push wainscot against box. Remove wainscot and cut from back side.
with drywall, you can place it and push to make an imprint. You could stick something imprintable to it, and press, when in exact position. Great method, and better than measuring.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I think I will have to go with the laser/measuring. The boxes are mounted to the studs, installed, inspected and approved. And since I have installed in all 16 boxes with 32 individual outlets - you can never have too many outlets, this is a smallish two car garage - I'm not about to make any changes :)
One issue is that the little "Mickey Mouse ears" on the outlets that sticks out past the box needs to catch the bead board to prevent putting a load on the plastic cover if the outlet is a little on the tight side.
I have a Craftsman laser, and I used it in putting the boxes up, so measuring one side and using the laser for the other should work. And my Dremel with one of those RotoZip-like bits should help things along.
Thansk again for your suggestions and help. But lead lined lederhosen is not a toy. Not even by the most liberal interpretation of the word :)
Now I don't feel alone . . . I am building a new workshop . . . 20' X 22' with 10' ceiling . . . .
Main panel with 220VAC & sub panel with120VAC
(16) 220 VAC outlets - (35) 120VAC outlets (22) twin bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures . . .
Inspector could not quit laughing . . . ask me if I had every seen an extension cord . . . .
Steve
"NetWorker"
These are all connected to the switched outlets (as are the fluorescent lamp fixtures (some of these have their own pull-chain switch as well) so that one switch shuts it all down.
Were I to do it over, I would double up on my duplex outlets to have four outlets at every point I installed just two (with the exception of the ceiling where the duplex outlet has proved sufficient).
All my lighting fixtures are the cheap ($6-$8 dollar) "worklight" 4' hanging fixtures which are cheaper to replace than a ballast and hang on hook eyes and plug into the ceiling-mounted duplex outlets.
One shop feature I ran across after I'd completed my construction was a piss tube. This fellow had installed a piece of 2" PVC into a corner of his shop and used an end-cap to close it off when (mostly) not in use. A great feature for the older male woodworker.
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