I am in the process of finishing my basement. The builder left a partially finished portion in the middle of the basement, along with 5 lights on chains in the unfinished part. My problem is how to “remove” the wiring that was initially put in. I seems as if the electrician who did this initially looked at the basement as part of the floor above when he wired and just dropped down to feed power then back up. I can’t see any logic to it from what I have seen.
Because none of the wiring that is in the basement now is where I need it, I would like to pull it out and run circuits for the basement specifically. But I can’t leave junctions hidden in the basement ceiling obviously. Are there any good ways to trace and remove circuits through the house even though they are hidden when they run to the floor above? Or am I in way over my head? Is this even possible?
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I take pity on your plight. Being not sure of what you mean, I will at least credit you with the realization that you cannot bury the boxes. Is the ceiling in the basement open? Maybe just run new ciircuits for your basement.
~Peter
Unless looks are that important, why not remove the lights and remake the connections inside j-boxes with blank cover plates for future access and code compliance. I sometimes shut down all power and use a telephone signal generator/tracer to locate all the places a pair of wires run. You can also use the line voltage powered tracers designed to locate which breaker serves a branch circuit. Another suggestion is to make friends with an electrician and buy a case of good beer for the after party.