Attic Junction Box Under Insulation

Be careful when stripping the insulation from the wires that you use the proper notch on the wire strippers.

Attic junction box under insulation. Blank cover plates are readily available for less than a buck. A lynn underwood a licensed contractor and building code official in norfolk va responds. The junction boxes that contain splices and are not accessible from the ceiling below should be exposed not covered by insulation. Mounting junction boxes in attic are both of these locations.

Junction box mounting locations there are two options for mounting boxes that are wholly contained within the attic. Junction boxes splicing romex. You can attach them to the joist s side surface called the face or to the joist s top surface called the edge. As i ve mentioned in past blog posts i hate having to look up anything in the national electrical code nec.

If enough slack is present in the cables between the boxes you may be able to raise them up a bit and mount them on trusses or other exposed framing members without having to run new wire. Yes every box requires a cover plate. Remove inches of insulation from the ends of the black and the white insulated wires. To prepare your attic for insulation you need to draft proof any electrical boxes in it.

You can t have a cavity with individual wires and wirenuts enjoying a view of the attic. And a steel box needs a steel cover plate. While there are no prescriptive prohibitions against covering junction boxes or electrical cables with insulation there is always the issue of heat buildup around any electrical device or wiring. According to article 314 29 of the nec junction boxes must be accessible without removing any part of the building if you consider insulation part of the building it shouldn t cover a junction.

Since insulation is combustible you must install face plates on all attic junction boxes to prevent contact between bare wires and insulation materials. Also i happened across a great photo of a junction box buried by vermiculite insulation while looking through old photos for last week s blog post on vermiculite insulation. There is no restriction that i m aware of about covering a junction box with insulation. Blue plastic receptical switch boxes used as junction boxes.

There are only a few styles and sizes and i just keep one or two on hand.