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The wife and I are doing a bathroom remodel project and you would be surprised at what you can run into. I will not bore you with all the details, but I do have a question and need some help on identifing this light mount. A small bit of background first, should it be needed. The house was built in 1982 and the builder just didn't put a 100 percent into it. To make it short, quality was not job 1. The picture shows a 3" ceramic fixture mount (the only term I can think of) and to that mount the light fixture is attached. If you look close, you'll find that it is secured to the stud with a couple of roofing nails. My question is .... what is the actual name for this mount and how long was it in use...? Not being in residental construction, I would think this thing is way outta code. I do plan on replacing it with a handy box. Heck, a few years ago I replaced a ceiling fan and found the same thing.
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Wierd, it looks like a 'keyless' light fixture, installed backwards and used as termination point.
Never seen one before, looks like a throw back to tube an knob wiring! -
Pancake Mount
But I have never seen on in ceramic? Much less roofing nails used to secure it, most often used in ceiling mounts........along w/knob & tube fabric insulation!
It almost looks like the ground wire is coming from behind the fixture itself?Comment
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Bruce, when he gets it out I wouldn't be surprised to see this, we're looking at the bottom of it.
It could be a pancake box but like you, I've never seen one in porcelain, just steel and plastic.Comment
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Creepy
No text for this one!Comment
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Bruce, you have correctly identified the object in the picture. It is an electrical pancake box. This one happens to be 1/2" deep by 3" diameter. The volume of this box does not meet code (per the NEC) with the size and number of wires that are to be spliced within. It has now been replaced with with a larger handy box. After doing a bit of research, it appears they were once commonly used ....... but not as desirable today. They do serve a purpose when you cannot get a deeper box mounted, but in this situation it was not necessary. I would assume the builder was taking short cuts and using the least expensive materials he could get by with.Comment
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...or found in his truck...Comment
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pancake
looks like you have just one layer of GWB against your sub-ceiling material so a pancake box would be the only way to make an electrical connection in that 1/2" or 5/8 thickness without cutting a hole in the substrate for a deeper j-boxOriginally posted by bosco View PostComment
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Not in this case. I guess I should have done a better job of explaining the situation. The pancake box is mounted in the wall above the vanity. It's for the old light fixture that is above the mirror which again is above the vanity. This picture should show you what was originally done. Poor job in my opinion.Originally posted by monkeymissile
looks like you have just one layer of GWB against your sub-ceiling material so a pancake box would be the only way to make an electrical connection in that 1/2" or 5/8 thickness without cutting a hole in the substrate for a deeper j-boxComment
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not how I would've done it
agreed, not the best craftsmanship. The odd thing is that it looks like everything was in place to do it correctly. Maybe the guy was lazy and just had that pancake box sitting in his tool box.....Originally posted by bosco View Post
don't you hate fixing other people's mistakes?Comment
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Only one water line in there? No hot? Or using an 'insta-hot' heater?Comment
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Sorry, I didn't get back to this sooner. There are pipes for both hot and cold. The old galv pipes are being replaced with copper. Just wasn't finished with the piping when the pic was taken.Originally posted by MoparNorm
Only one water line in there? No hot? Or using an 'insta-hot' heater?Comment
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