Replies

1. 
   Ralph_Wicklund | Jun 07, 2001 05:18am | #1

   *
   Cutting the tile is the easy part. A small diamond blade in the mini Makita would work fine to score and cut the tile. Once the tile is out of the way a little action with a pointy drywall saw and you have your new hole next to the old box. (Make sure you cut on the side OPPOSITE the stud). This is ASSUMING you have tile over drywall. Plaster will be a little harder.

   Then you have a 4"x4" hole partially occupied with an electrical box which you must try to remove without further damage to the tile.

   How is that attached to the studs??? If it's a nail-up plastic or fiberglass box you could try to carefully pry it out or slide in a metal blade powered by a sawzall to cut the nails (or by hand, one of those hacksaw blade holders). If it's a metal box with the nail-on flange that attached to the face of the stud you've got a LOT of sawing to do.

   Don't damage the wire (should go without saying, but....).

   When the hole is clear, use an "old-work" box with the swing out tabs or something similar, thread the wire in a knock out and finish. The wall plate will cover any minor oops you made cutting the hole and if the oops is bigger there are bigger cover plates available.

1. 
   Ken_Jones | Jun 12, 2001 06:49pm | #2

   *This is tile over plaster. So, when you say mini-Makita, I am a little unclear. Is there a model # you can point to? A friend suggested that a high-powered Dremel-type device with the appropriate cutting surface would score the tile nicely.As for the electrical boxes, the good news is that the other side of the wall is a closet with drywall that I can easily open up to access the studs, run the wire.

1. 
   Don_Hamel | Jun 12, 2001 08:43pm | #3

   *An abrasive blade in a reciprocating saw or jig saw works well, also. This was the method I used last summer to install a disposal switch. As Ralph pointed out, make sure you know where the wires are before you start cutting.Good luck.

2. 
   Ken_Jones | Jun 12, 2001 08:43pm | #4

   *
   I want to expand an outlet in my kitchen from a single outlet to a double box outlet. I need to increase the size of the hole for the additional outlet. The outlet sits on my tile backsplash. What is the proper technique for cutting the tile, increasing the size of the hole?