Moving an electrical switch about 3 inches up

October 10, 2014 11:55 AM

So, my apartment complex installed a new exhaust fan in our unit. This is great! it's powerful and will be an excellent addition to the kitchen! However, they inconveniently placed the switch for the fan about 2 inches too low for comfort (pictures inside). When the oven is pushed in the switch gets covered up. Is this the sort of thing I can move myself? Or is this the sort of thing I should pay an electrician for? How much? (And for the sake of argument, let's assume my apartment complex is fine with me doing this.)

Here's what it looks like with the the oven pulled out.

Here's what it looks like with the oven pushed in.

All in all I should just get over this--all apartment's have their quirks--but it's really really (really) bothering me. I called an electrician who said it'd be between 150-200. I'm also handy enough that if this is a "no big deal" thing, I'll do it myself. Thanks!

posted by beep-bop-robot to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

Response by poster: And, follow up: I drilled an exploratory hole just above where the current switch is. It seems to be empty all the way up from where the switch is.
posted by beep-bop-robot at 11:56 AM on October 10, 2014

No offense, but if you have to ask Metafilter to decide whether or not you should move the switch, then I'd say that you shouldn't.

If I had access to the breaker (and a drywall saw, wire nuts, etc), then it's something I would do myself, though.
posted by suedehead at 12:04 PM on October 10, 2014

Best answer: It's probably not a big deal. They make gang boxes that are designed to be put in after the fact. The only thing that might get you is if the wires inside are tight and there isn't enough play to move them up. All you'd do is take a little hand saw and cut away the drywall above, put the new gang box in and move the lower box contents up then put a blank plate over the old box.
posted by cmm at 12:06 PM on October 10, 2014

Best answer: Yeah, it's a pretty simple job for even the marginally handy. As cmm notes, the only caveat is if the wires don't permit that much movement. Check that before you cut a hole in the wall and you should be fine.
posted by dg at 12:09 PM on October 10, 2014

First step is to call the landlord and tell him/her that, as installed, it's unusable. Maybe they'll send someone back to move it.
posted by vitabellosi at 12:16 PM on October 10, 2014 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: @suedehead, no offense taken (I mean, a little, but it's all good)! Sounds like this is the sort of thing to do with someone who has done it before.

@vitabellosi, already did. They won't do it for monetary reasons, but I'll eat those costs for sanity reasons!
posted by beep-bop-robot at 12:21 PM on October 10, 2014

I'm pretty sure the current location would be against code, so I would call the property manager and gently nudge them to move it into a proper location.
posted by Gungho at 12:27 PM on October 10, 2014 [2 favorites]

They won't do it?

Hire an electrician. Dock the amount you pay the electrician from next month's rent and submit the receipt with your reduced rent to the landlord.

This is something I'd feel reasonably comfortable doing myself, provided I had access to the circuit breaker or fuse box.

Then again, in my house I have an outside light for which the only switch is behind the refrigerator, and I haven't gotten around to moving it yet.
posted by tckma at 12:28 PM on October 10, 2014

Could you replace the switch with something like this, and only wire up the top switch?
posted by Hatashran at 12:48 PM on October 10, 2014

They make light switch extenders.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:21 PM on October 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

Considering it looks like a 5-year-old did the installation, you can just do it yourself.

Turn off the breaker. Check the wires with a voltmeter before moving.
posted by flimflam at 1:28 PM on October 10, 2014

Best answer: As an electrician, this is some pretty bonehead work.

A handy could correct this without too much trouble. This is a pretty simple job.

I would say though, I think it will be easier to use the current switch box as a junction box, and install a new switch box several inches above that (rather than trying to move the existing box).

To install a new switch:
- turn off the circuit and remove the switch
- cut a hole for the new box several inches above old box
- fish wire from current switch box to new hole
- Install new box and switch in new hole
- splice the newly fished wire to the existing wire
- install blank cover on old box and turn power back on

If you do not absolutely understand these instructions, hire a handyman.

I would not try to get involved in moving wire. It is supposed to be stapled and secured. And pulling on wire could damage the insulation. Plus, moving the existing box could be problematic in other ways. Easier to just install a new switch and box.
posted by Flood at 1:36 PM on October 10, 2014 [5 favorites]

If the circuit comes from above the switch and is only a switch leg you would be shortening the wire which is not a problem.

I am not an electrician but was a remodeler for ten years.
posted by vapidave at 1:48 PM on October 10, 2014

The box you need is called an "old work box". It attaches to the drywall or plaster, not to a stud.
link
link
posted by H21 at 1:55 PM on October 10, 2014

Switch aside, is someone telling you that that exposed exhaust fan is a "Finished" installation? My apologies if I'm missing something.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:17 PM on October 10, 2014 [2 favorites]

What kind of doofus put this in? that's a hilarrible shitty job, holy fuck.

I'd lean on the code angle, and possibly even call a city inspector. They need to pay an actual electrician or handyman to come out and fix this, not their 15 year old son who wanted some money to buy PS4 games.

I wouldn't touch this with someone elses 10 foot pole, because the entire thing screams "keep your deposit, blame you for fucking it up, and use the deposit money to pay someone else to fix it so the apartment is presentable to rent". THEY need to fix this now, not you. And take lots of pictures.

I might be a bit paranoid, but this is exactly the kind of stupid shit that's 100% the landlords fault that evil landlords have kept my deposit over, to the point that it was either go to court or write it off. The "monetary reasons" thing really scares me that this is a totally shitty landlord too, in addition to the awful job they did putting it in. "Fixed it!" jobs like this go hand in hand with crap landlords.
posted by emptythought at 2:37 PM on October 10, 2014 [3 favorites]

Dear lord! I was going to say it isn't that hard to move a switch, but then I looked at your photos and started counting code violations! It does indeed look like a 5 year old did it.
It is perfectly legal to do your own work on your own private residence (which you own).
Anything else requires a licensed electrician/plumber etc. I could not even do the work on a duplex I owned and lived in because I rented out the other half!
Emptythought wins the ceegar in my book.
posted by rudd135 at 5:52 PM on October 10, 2014