miacane86 OP t1_j11zyy3 wrote
Reply to comment by EmpressH in Vanity Light Falling Forward by miacane86
Now that I know what to look for, I can see the wings are snapped off. Must have given way. I assume I can just pick up another one at the hardware store, rotate so it’s behind some drywall, and pop it in?
Alwayssunnyinarizona t1_j120co1 wrote
Round ones are surprisingly hard to find. You may have good luck at Ace, but I had to order a pair from home depot a couple of weeks ago, which took a week to arrive.
My local Ace has them listed now in stock for ~$2 more.
miacane86 OP t1_j121zej wrote
Looks like our local Home Depot’s have a ton, thankfully.
Alwayssunnyinarizona t1_j122cvv wrote
That's good. Both my nearby HD and Lowes have been low on all junction box stock for a while now.
ntyperteasy t1_j125nnl wrote
The "wings" are pretty generic. You could buy two single gang boxes (2 wings each) and transfer the 3 wings you need to your box.
And, it should be obvious from what happened, but don't drive the screws so hard that the wings break off or the drywall gets crushed! Just snug... Not the place to try out your new Christmas impact driver!
You will have a minor problem mounting your light fixture - some want the mounting holes to be in one location (vertical or horizontal) and some have rotating mounting plates that don't care how the box is oriented. If you have the first type, rotate the electrical box 180 degrees - since it has three wings, that should give them all some drywall to attach to. You might have to turn the power off and loosen the wires. If the light fixture is adaptable to any angle, then you have nothing to worry about...
Hawkeye072 t1_j127ysx wrote
Years ago I worked as an residential electrician's helper in high school and college. About 10 years in total.
If the light fixture is heavy you may want to place some thin metal/plastic stripping between the ears of the new Old Work Box and the sheetrock. Heavy fixtures tend to do exactly what this one did over time. Placing something rigid between the sheetrock and the ears prevents this by increasing surface area and keeping the edge of the ears from cutting through the sheetrock.
Most hardware stores sell some sort of flat strip with holes in it. Cut the strip to length, and use a finishing nail (very thin, easily pushed through/removed from sheetrock) to hold the strip in place while you place the box.
NOTE: Make sure the nail will not mar a wire.
TIP: Try to Find an area that will be covered by the fixture and place the nail there.
Once the box is installed and the ears are holding the strip in place, remove the nail.
There are other methods to keep the strip from falling into the void, but this one is easy if the holes can be hidden.
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