In floor electrical box repair / replace?

[MJK]

Hi All,

I came home today to find that a roughly 4.5" circular in floor electrical box had all three ears that hold the brass cover to it snapped off. See photo.

Before I go and screw anything up, is there an easy/proper way to fix this without pulling up tile? Replace the box somehow? Or is does the 'lid' containing the ears screw off? Plastic epoxy the ears back on?

Any education here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and Best Regards.

 

[AntonLargiader]

That's a bummer. Looks like the box is not flush with the floor and the ears got stressed when the screws were tightened. The guy installing that tile should have turned the cover down on a lathe so it fit the box properly. Probably would have been nicely recessed and flush with the floor after that.

No ideas on repair; sorry, but it looks like Raco makes some rings and covers that you might be able to adapt to it.

 

[grounded-b]

That's the wrong type cover for a flush tile job. Should have used a diameter cover which matched the diameter of the box/adapter ring.

Then the adapter is adjusted up/down, so the cover is flush with the tile. The tile guy then grouts around the brass cover.

The cover you have, is meant for carpet installation. It is larger, so the cut edges of the carpet are hidden by the cover.

The large diameter cover, was sitting on top of the tile., with an edge sticking up. This edge may have gotten caught by something and stressed the ears.

It may be possible to remove the adapter, and replace it. Depends on the brand of box.

 

[MJK]

Thanks guys! All the pointers are greatly appreciated.

That's the wrong type cover for a flush tile job. Should have used a diameter cover which matched the diameter of the box/adapter ring.

Then the adapter is adjusted up/down, so the cover is flush with the tile. The tile guy then grouts around the brass cover.

The cover you have, is meant for carpet installation. It is larger, so the cut edges of the carpet are hidden by the cover.

Interesting - that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. I think the house was built with that tile in place circa 2001, but the same box was used in other parts of the house that had carpet. Seems like a 'yea, well this is what I have' moment.

The large diameter cover, was sitting on top of the tile., with an edge sticking up. This edge may have gotten caught by something and stressed the ears.

That would be a 60lb GSP and 95lb Lab playing on 'their' sofa which resides on top of this.

It may be possible to remove the adapter, and replace it. Depends on the brand of box.

Late Edit: Looks like a Lew Electric box. From what I can tell the ring looks separate, but I can't see/feel any threads on the under side, so I have no idea how it is attached. Hoping it isn't glued and/or flanged under the tile but that may be an unrealistic hope. I. plastic epoxied the ears back on, but somehow I think I will be doing this again soon.

...it looks like Raco makes some rings and covers that you might be able to adapt to it.

Got a link? I have no idea where you find replacement parts for such things, but it seems like an insert that slid in or got glued in may work.

 

[Norcal]

Parts from different manufacturers are not likely to interchange, I tried a Raco cover for a Hubbell box, even though Raco is owned by Hubbell, they do not interchange, had to wait a month to get the one I wanted.

The floorbox seems to be a plastic model, find out who made it & buy a new insert, then the hard part will be to remove the old one without destroying the existing box, getting a proper cover will be helpful also, I prefer the sheet metal or cast iron floorboxes this thread shows a prime example why.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Got a link? I have no idea where you find replacement parts for such things, but it seems like an insert that slid in or got glued in may work.

I don't know what you have, but things like this or this could be useful. Depends on the dimensions of what you have, what the exact damage is, and your creativity.

EDIT: I'm interested in this because I have a floor box to install in a month or so.

 

[MJK]

Thanks guys.

I now know it is a Lew Electric box. And I am pretty sure this is it - or at least the modern equivalent.

Any ideas on how to successfully remove it, or what to best replace it with?

 

[johnnyradiant]

There are ways to unglue PVC

If you do the cut n pry method with a sawzall Milwaukee and I'm sure others make a jigsaw blade with a sawzall mount end on it which would fit into your 'box' a lot less likely to damage your wiring.

 

[Marctrees]

Just clean up the edges and glue cover on w like 4 dabs of RTV 12, 3, 6, 9 o clock

Actually, looks like cover seats on the tile... so maybe full perimiter RTV against mop water... a razor slid under will allow future removal.

Can always pry it off later if needed.

Done.

Any further effort seems pandoras box pointless to me.

Marc