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New boxes, wires, outlets and drywall. How do I keep the drywallers from rotozipping through the wires in the boxes? I've already had to deal with that before.

We gutted our house after the great flood and I'm now replacing EVERY outlet and half the wiring. Water damage, 70s house, bad previous workmanship, updated code, etc. I have an electrician through my contractor that will supervise/check my work and install a new panel. I'll ask him the same question when he gets here, but wanted other opinions. I'll be doing the "grunt" work of running wires, replacing fixtures, boxes, outlets, and such.

kyle
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    When building a new house it's normal to run the wiring before plastering/drywalling leaving plenty of excess wire, then cut back to the sockets afterwards. Given that you're replacing the drywall can't you adopt a similar approach here? Remove the old drywall, run the new wiring, put up the new drywall/plaster then finally fit the new sockets. – ChrisF Dec 04 '16 at 18:11
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    I guess you prevent it by hiring competent drywallers. – DA01 Dec 04 '16 at 19:26
  • The problem with experienced drywallers now is there's so many jobs that they're rushing to get it done. 60k homes just in my parish. And just because they are highly recommended and rated doesn't mean they didn't just hire some goofball because there's so many jobs to do and need the help. – kyle Dec 04 '16 at 21:16
  • ChrisF, that's what I did last time. I pulled the excess through and cut off the bad part. – kyle Dec 04 '16 at 21:17
  • See [this answer](http://diy.stackexchange.com/a/64502/27099) if you want another idea :) – ThreePhaseEel Dec 04 '16 at 22:26
  • If your drywall hanger, isn't pushing the wires back into the box, with the handle of his hammer, BEFORE he cuts the sheet; he's doing it wrong. – tahwos Dec 05 '16 at 00:20
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    In our area, the liscensed electrcians are the ones who make sure their wires are neat and propely set back in box to prevent damage to their wires; not the non-liscensed lower paid drywaller who was hired to install drywall and not hired to fix our electricians wires. – Damon Dec 11 '16 at 10:13
  • *"I'll be doing the "grunt" work of running wires, replacing fixtures, boxes, outlets, and such."* ................ I know this thread is old, but I find this comment comical, and see it often. The "grunt work" is the code intensive hard part. If you can do the grunt work you can do it all. To think the "grunt work" is the easy part is fooling yourself. – Speedy Petey Mar 27 '17 at 22:23
  • I've done the "grunt work" many times before. I've installed subpanels and I just have to get the inspector to approve. While I _can_ do it all, the licensed electrician keeps me legal when dealing with a live feeder. In my area, they're the only ones allowed to disconnect and reconnect a meter (besides the company). This way, I only have to pay the guy for a few hours rather than 2 days. – kyle Mar 27 '17 at 22:51

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The way you insure that wires are left in good order when they are done, is that you do not pay the drywallers in full. If you hold off on paying them in full and wires need to repaired, the amount of the repairs will come off the amount owed to the drywallers.

Jack
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  • Competently hire competent drywallers. Plus one. – Mazura Dec 05 '16 at 03:08
  • A normal person would set the depth of their cut out tool to the thickness of the drywall, therefore the only way to damage wiring is using wrong tools or using tools wrong. In both cases it is drywallers fault, withholding payment seems reasonable. – anm767 Feb 03 '21 at 01:13
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I would suggest a piece of plywood the size of the opening and placing it in the box before drywall goes on.

user63450
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  • There is a commercially available shield that fits in the box, protects the wires, and has a projection that marks the drywall sheets when they are pressed against it – Jim Stewart Dec 04 '16 at 23:03
  • Here is one such product https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEWkAIWXaqA. – Jim Stewart Dec 04 '16 at 23:12
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    Also, that will keep them from painting all your wires white and turning them all into neutrals. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Dec 04 '16 at 23:51
  • In some of these videos the box is recessed from the room side of the drywall. Is that now considered acceptable practice? I thought that the box was supposed to be flush with the room surface of the drywall. – Jim Stewart Dec 05 '16 at 00:16
  • Not absolutely flush necessarily, but definitely not recessed so far that framing is exposed. – Craig Tullis Dec 05 '16 at 03:54
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I recently invented a new product called the Cut & Guard Gang Box Lid specifically to protect the wires as well as to simplify the cutout process. It’s an inexpensive simple lid that goes on top of the electrical boxes to protect all the wiring. It also makes it easier to cut around the electrical box with a rotozip because you no longer have to jump the drywall bit from the inside to the outside edge. The lid prevents the drywall bit from plunging into the top of box or from cutting into the box from the sides. Another benefit is that it keeps the box clean from mud and paint. Hence making it easier for you to finish wiring. enter image description here

JFarn
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  • Can you disclose any affiliation you have with the product? (If you don't, just say so) – ThreePhaseEel Feb 03 '21 at 00:41
  • Yes I invented this product specifically to protect the wires and also to make it easier to cut out the drywall around the outlets. I have built several homes and even with professional drywallers I would have several damaged wires. – JFarn Feb 03 '21 at 01:51
  • Ah, good thinking -- do add that to your post though using the [edit] link on its bottom left – ThreePhaseEel Feb 03 '21 at 01:53
  • Sounds good. I am new to this forum. Thanks. – JFarn Feb 03 '21 at 01:56
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If you tuck the wires tightly to the back of the box, and hire experienced drywallers, chances are you won't have a problem.

Connor Bredin
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