I recently had my basement walls finished. I am not sure about this at all, but I do have a slight suspicion that one of my electrical receptacles might have been closed up behind the drywall. The room has an abundance of them, so that's not an issue, but I assume it's dangerous and illegal to have it closed up. I don't really want to pull down the wall just to check for this, especially since I'm probably just being paranoid and there is no receptacle. Is there any kind of tool or method for locating a receptacle behind drywall, just so I can be sure?
Electrical – way to locate a receptacle closed behind drywall
drywallelectricalreceptacle
Related Solutions
While Article 406.11 Tamper-Resistant Receptacles in Dwelling Units. existed in NEC 2008, it was revised as Article 406.12 Tamper-Resistant Receptacles in Dwelling Units. in NEC 2011. And it says Tamper-Resistant Receptacles are required in all areas listed in Article 210.52
National Electrical Code 2011
ARTICLE 210 Branch Circuits
210.52 Dwelling Unit Receptacle Outlets.
(A) General Provisions.
- kitchen
- family room
- dining room
- living room
- parlor
- library
- den
- sunroom
- bedroom
- recreation room
- or similar room or area of dwelling units
(B) Small Appliances
(C) Countertops
(D) Bathrooms
(E) Outdoor Outlets
(F) Laundry Areas
(G) Basements and Garages
(H) Hallways
With the following exceptions.
Ex.: Receptacles in the following locations aren’t required to be tamper-resistant:
(1) Receptacles located more than 5½ ft above the floor.
(2) Receptacles that are part of a luminaire or appliance.
(3) A receptacle located within dedicated space for an appliance that in normal use isn’t easily moved from one place to another.
(4) Nongrounding receptacles used for replacements as permitted in 406.4(D)(2)(a).
My experience says to use the rotary tool, but I have always used metal boxes with plaster rings. I have no experience cutting drywall over plastic boxes. I do have three pointers for cutting with a rotary tool:
- Put as little pressure on the box from the drywall as possible. The more pressure against the drywall, the more likely that you'll get tearout near the edge of the box.
- Leave any NM cable sheathed and set the depth of the cut to the minimum possible to reach the box plus a half an inch (keeping in mind that the drywall will be at an angle to the box).
- Always take a few seconds to visualize your cut. Have a good idea of where your corners are so you can anticipate direction changes. Do a sanity check and make right sure you know which way counterclockwise is. Start out going clockwise, and you'll spend a lot of time repairing drywall.
If you still don't want to use the rotary tool, there is another option. There are tools that attach to plastic electric boxes. You put them on and then position the drywall where it will be installed. Press the drywall against the tool, and it will place small perforations at the outside corners of the box. Connect the dots and cut. The image below is of one of mine, but I haven't had the chance to use it yet.
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Best Answer
The code states that the outlets need to be no farther apart than 12' and within 6' of a door. If you had more than what code required, that makes it a little more difficult. If you find one at the door then go 12' from there, literally measuring the wall length you should find one at every 12'. If you have a space larger than that you may have a covered receptacle. Your building plan should reflect this, referring to my comment about code requirement. Or it should show how many you have, if it has more than code would require. I presume the electrician had something to go by to reflect your needs.
With that out of the way, and you have a spot you suspect there is a covered receptacle there, use a straight edge, or anything with a straight edge that is 4' or maybe longer. Run it at the level you suspect where the outlet is and if there is a covered outlet, there will be a noticeable hump in the wall. For the screws will draw the drywall pretty well to the neighboring studs but obviously not so where the covered outlet is. If you find one, the highest spot will be the outlet.