Attached is a cut section thru a rim joist. I’m trying to get wire to a new electrical box from the basement. I drilled a small locator hole thru the floor into the basement, about 1-1/2″ out from the face of the plaster. When I found the coat hanger poking thru in the basement, it was right up against what I’m assuming is a rather thick rim joist. How would you go about getting wire pulled through?
My idea:
Drill into the rim joist from the basement with about a 3/4″ hole, make it about 2-3″ deep. Then, drill down thru the wall plate from the top and pray that I hit the hole I just drilled through the rim.
What’s the odds of that working out?
The kicker is that the plaster on this wall is pretty pristine and I really don’t want to get into the hassle of trying to get the baseboard off without destroying the plaster, just to drill a dozen holes through wall studs to get around the corner. I really need to go straight down into the basement, if at all possible.
Any other bright ideas? Thanks, gents (and ladies).
Replies
"My idea:
Drill into the rim joist from the basement with about a 3/4" hole, make it about 2-3" deep. Then, drill down thru the wall plate from the top and pray that I hit the hole I just drilled through the rim."
Is there some reason why you can't just use a longer drill bit and angle it straight through to the middle of the inside wall? You'd have to estimate the correct angle but it looks like your drawing practically does that for you.
charlie -- "Count your blessings....it could always be worse!"
The drawing is deceptive in that the stone foundation is probably twice as thick as I have drawn, so getting my versa-bit to angle up that hard might be near impossible.
Maybe have better luck coming in from the box and angling it down and inward?
I really need someone just to tell me what they've done before and to just go for it.
Thanks.
Maybe have better luck coming in from the box and angling it down and inward?
Not very likely..you'll likely just mess up the plaster at the top of the box. You can do the 2-holes-meet-in-the-middle thing if you're careful. It doesn't take a lot of skill, just a bit of time.
If you haven't cut the outlet hole yet you could put it in the baseboard rather than up in the wall. Lay it horizontally and right above the sill plate. Then you'll be closer to it for drilling down, significantly easier.
But the first and best choice is still to drill up from below. Those diversabits bend some you know. Put a big bow in it to get up above the foundation wall.
And you could also come in laterally at an angle rather than straight in......... you sort of lay the bit somewhat into the space between the foundation and the joist. More measuring involved. The tip needs to be pretty sharp too or it won't bite.
Ed
Edited 10/25/2007 10:31 pm ET by edlee
Yeah, if you could manage the angle then drilling all the way through from the bottom would seem to be the most logical approach. It's really best to avoid a bend in a hole for wires if you can avoid it, as it creates a real bottleneck for pulling.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
I would agree- Drill up from below. A d'versibit might be helpful here...
I see the porch but how high will the box be, above grade? You should be able to drill from the basement or from outside. If you drill slightly upward when you're outside, water will have a harder time getting in, since it doesn't flow uphill very well.
Is this in a two story house? I know it would be the looong way around but could you maybe go up a different wall than come down from the attic?
Like I said, I know its the long way to the box but some of those old rim joists just made retro wiring impossible.
I've done a similar problem with a log house. I managed to get the holes to intersect. then used a piece of bare ground wire with a small loop and wiggled it through, then fished the wire I needed.
Good luck
Cliffy
Can you go in from the outside?.......make your outside cut large enough to accomodate an outside GFI recepticle drill through at an angle for your feed from the basement and install 2 recepticles one outside and one in or just install a box and cover outside.
Another thought is that it may be more workable if you start the drilling through the joist just outside of the foundation, then this will get your bit up into the space above the foundation for the real hole.
What size are those triple rim joists?
If they are 2x10 or so I would get a forstner type bit and drill a 3" hole about half way into the triple band, and then use your d'versibit from the top. You shouldn't have a problem hitting a 3" wide hole from the top then and the depth of the hole will be in the right place to drill down to. Also a 3" hole is not going to hurt the strength of the rim band any.
If the rim joist is really three 2x10's, then the thickness of the three is 4 1/2", same as the thickness of bottom plate and plaster of the wall above. That means you only have to drill 3" through the sub floor and bottom plate at maybe 30* angle to reach the wall cavity.
I should think that a hole hog with a short spade bit would clear the stone foundation. Of course it might break your wrist in the process, but what the heck! :)
It looks like your drawing is to scale, 2 of the rim joists are about the width of the sill. If you measured down 1 5/8" on the visible rim joist and with a 45 degree jig or measurement drilled up you'd be in the wall cavity. If the interior foundation interferes and doesn't allow for the drilling angle you need cut the foundation back until you can get the 45 degrees needed.
I've done this a number of times without difficulty by drilling a straight hole from the bottom. Since you seem to have your dimensions figured pretty accurately, you should be able to figure a starting point and angle for the drill bit. (A full-size drawing helps with that.) All you really need to be sure of is that your hole misses the outside of the base and shoe and winds up inside the stud cavity. I drill a 1" hole and run a short length of EMT through it to protect the wire in the future since it'll probably be close to the surface under the base and shoe. Once you figure the starting point and angle, the whole thing should take about 10 minutes.
In cramped locations, I have had to use a right angle drill and start the hole with a cut-off spade bit, and switch to a longer bit once that bottoms out, to get some extra clearance for the drill.
I've never had much luck with trying to get holes to meet when drilling from opposite directions. Guess I'll never get hired to dig a subway tunnel. ;-)
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
You just need to get a set of those laser-guided bits.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
My son's new old house has the same set up. I drilled from basement on angle up into the wall with D'versibit. worked like a charm.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
Success!
Just wanted to let you all know that I got it. Only took two tries, too. The way the foundation was, I was able to get my d'versibit to take a pretty good bend, and started it from the bottom, bent it hard up and to the side (laterally). There was a bit of bile in the mouth when it finally broke through (figured it went through the siding...), but it actually popped out right in the middle of the sill plate. Easy pull down to the basement.
I appreciate the suggestions, all. To let you know, I did try to intersect two holes, one from the top and one from the bottom, and that didn't work for me. I'm not that accurate with the drill though.In conclusion, the d'versibits, while shockingly expensive, can do some amazing things.
Got mine long ago. You mean you haven't got yours yet? ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Yeah, I've just got the old first generation, coal-fired ones that are a PITA to use.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
I hear ya. But don't dispair. Hold out for a new light sabre. They'll work even better in tight spots. ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA