Have the box locations changed to the location you prefer. It will never be easier than now. I agree that your electrician apparently did not think through this very well. I wonder what plans on paper he was given.

Even fixtures on plans sometimes need changing during construction since it doesn't always work out like it is drawn.

Our electrician was very good about getting things the way I wanted. After the initial electrical walk through (him marking walls as we said what goes where - no house plans in sight) we went over things again after lines were pulled and before boxes were mounted.

For example: our DR chandelier is not centered in the room. It is centered over the table. For this room and the Breakfast room I was very specific about what went where. Same with sconces in foyer, powder room, MBR and great room.

I can't say it's all the electricians fault, since the GC and homeowner should stay on top of the details....because, in the end, most (but not all) tradesmen really don't give a flip. They just want to get in/get out.

My advice is to have the boxes moved or you will always be kicking yourself.

I agree- I did the walk through with electrician and GC. I told them I wanted the lighting over the vanities. Of course never did I think that I would then have to indicate that the lights I would probably choose would then have a 10 inch drop. They are not uncommon- your typical bar with 2 or 3 shades extending down. The only way this set up works is bar with the bulbs/shades extending straight out. You are exactly right though..... most subs want in and out. Unfortunately our electrician has some other things to repair also- we have several lights not working/dead switches and some we can't turn off (!). Fortunately our GC is a perfectionist/stickler and a great advocater for the home owner. He's on vacation until Friday.

And as much as I would like to take my fair share of the blame I keep coming back to the issue of professionalism. If the electrician brought me a dog to spay he shouldn't have to specify what type or suture I should use, as the expert, I know what is the best choice. He has wired a lot more homes than I have. He should know what a standard distance from the floor these boxes should be. We didn't pick anything different .... be interested to see what he says.

In the meantime I have come up with several ideas.... one would be to go ahead and do recessed medicine cabinets. The hole would be incorporated in the new larger hole. Just have to do the boxes above. The other option is good sized mirrors. Then we just cover the lower hole with the mirror. Still have to add the new holes but don't have to go crazy patching the old ones.

It will all work out... off to measure away....

PD, I'd have them changed. As you said, I would think there are "standards" for lighting placement and I don't understand why there are so many problems with this type of thing.

We're dealing with something similar, although luckily we caught ours fairly early. The electricians put all the junction boxes in the house way too high. Originally I decided to just leave them be, and try to find lights that hung down, putting the light in the right place. After shopping for a week and finding nothing that would work, DH decided he would move them for me. Now they're in a "normal" place and lights will be easier to find.

Our Master Bath and Guest Bath vanity lights are still up in the air, literally, since we don't know what we're putting there yet but they look awfully high too. I guess it's a common issue with electricians! I blame some of it on us though because we should have caught these things earlier, I guess we just didn't notice and were too busy with other issues.

Good luck!

No doubt. Move them where you want.

It is so simple to patch wallboard (including texture and paint touch-up) that we don't think twice if we change a feature or fixture.

As bus_driver said: "It will never be easier than now."

Jim

Thanks everyone.

GC will be back tomorrow.. it's the first thing on my list.