How to remove OLD switch box (1910s-1950s?)?
I'm a n00b trying to install a bathroom exhaust fan. Part of this requires me to install a timer switch next to the existing light switch. The old switch box doesn't look like it's made for me to attach a new metal switch box to the side of it. I'm trying to remove the previous switch box but I don't know how. My house was built in the early 1900s (I'm in Los Angeles) and some additions were made somewhere along the way, so I'm unsure how old this switch box is, but it's sometime after electricity was invented. :oP
The switch box appears to be attached to 3 flanges (first picture). The flanges come from some metal plate somehow attached to the stud. There are also 4 holes at the back of the box (you can see 2 of them in the second picture), and the box seems to be nailed through the lower left hole. Nailed to what? I'm not sure exactly, but I think some wooden board about the size of the switch box. I can see it peeking out below the box and it's definitely not the interior of the other side of the wall because I can see there's space behind/around it. So I guess the back surface of the box is nailed to some piece of wood that's attached probably to the stud.
Anyone familiar with this old style of switch box that can give me some hints as to what's the least destructive way to remove it?
Thanks!
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User
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoFrom what I have seen from old work, the tabs are what hold the bracket onto the box from before they just welded the bracket to the box. It should look similar to this.
You also have conduit coming in both the top and bottom of the box which will make changing the box without destroying the wall finish almost impossible.
menk thanked Usermenk
8 years agoThanks for everyone's feedback! This was helpful.
Your suggestions have prompted me to think about alternative options, especially considering how difficult it would be to detach the conduit (I thought I just loosen the nut thingies, but looks like that's not the case).
I figured there's no way to replace or expand the current switch box, so I'll find a way to just add a second one alongside it and use two separate switch plate covers.
After opening the wall more, it seems there's just a board running between the two studs (see pic) that the current box is nailed to. I plan to get another box that's the same depth and just screw it to the same board. Punch the holes between the two boxes, connect wiring through there.
Not sure how many electrical codes I'll be violating haha...
User
8 years agoYou may get lucky and be able to push the conduit up and down enough to replace the box. It just depends on how well it is anchored. Just remember to tighten the nut thingies down tight to the new box, as that is a grounding path that needs to be electrically continuous. Since I can now tell that that is drywall, and not any lath or plaster, patching what you mess up won't be that difficult. It is really hard to tell from the pictures on my phone, but the box may be more this style.
menk thanked User
PROGraham and Sons Professional Electrical
8 years agomenk thanked Graham and Sons Professional Electricalmenk
8 years agoBit the bullet and opened the hole up more. I'm sure my wife loves the way this is going, noticing my "progress" every time she visits the bathroom.
Current plan is just to replace the old with a 2-gang switch box (or connect 2 old-work steel boxes). I'm guessing the conduit is ground since there's only 2 wires. I used a multimeter to touch the hot and the metal switch box and it measured 110v (I did this a while ago before I carved everything up).
After this: Learn how to patch drywall ha (I've watched a couple YouTube videos and doesn't seem too bad - also why I tried to cut a perfect rectangle).
randy427