Gang Boxes

I worked 9 to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, from August 29 through September 18.  This schedule did not leave me a lot of time to write about my experiences.

In retrospect, here is what happened:

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The first step I took on with regard to wiring my house was to install all of the gang boxes.

A gang box is the thing behind the drywall which holds outlets, or switches.  They are also used to hold light fixtures or ceiling fans.

If you are actually interested in this, a great intro video is available here:  Gang Box Video From Ask This Old House.

Gang boxes can be single wide (holding one outlet or switch), double wide, or even triple wide.  They also can be round, which is used for light fixtures.  You can get specialty round ones which hold up a lot of weight (like a ceiling fan).

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In a new construction situation like mine, these install pretty easy,  There are a couple of nails which are used to attach the gang box to a stud (which is a vertical wooden member that make up the walls of a house).  I had a couple of friends show up and help me install these boxes.  All that was needed was a hammer, a tape measure, a pencil, and a plan.

There were a few challenges that were encountered:

Placement:  How high off the floor do you place these?  Both outlets and switches.

How many do you install?  There is both a convenience factor and an electrical code requirement which dictates the number and the placement.

Another issue was working around the existing structure of the house.  I might have wanted a switch to go in a particular location, but if there isn't a cavity in the wall in that location, then there is not a lot of option.  In a couple of instances, I wanted an outside light fixture, but there was important house structure at that location which prevented a light being positioned there.

Positioning gang boxes in the kitchen and bathrooms was a bit challenging as well.  In the bath rooms, we needed to make sure the outlets fell between the mirror and the counter (both of which are coming a lot later).  In the kitchen, I needed to be aware of the final counter height and the cabinet positions. 

Even now, the positioning of these gives me the sweats...worrying that I did not place them accurately.

After the gang boxes were installed, then came the work of installing all of the wire.  And that was the bulk of the work.

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