That time a junction box was buried behind drywall on a kitchen reno

I was opening up a wall in a 1978 split-level to add a new outlet, and my sawzall hit metal about six inches in from where the old outlet was. Pulled back the drywall and found a completely covered junction box with three 12/2 cables spliced together, no cover, just taped up. Had to cut power, open the wall more, and install an accessible box with a blank plate. What's the weirdest hidden thing you've found inside a wall?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_knight512mo ago

Classic homeowner special right there... just bury the evidence and hope nobody ever needs to open that wall again. It's like they thought electrical code was more of a gentle suggestion. Finding that must have been a real heart-stopping moment when the saw started sparking. You'd think a blank plate would have been cheaper than all that drywall mud and tape. Some people's idea of a finished job is just wildly different from reality.

susan_hart172mo ago

My uncle did that in his 1970s kitchen reno. Honestly, the wiring was so old and brittle, putting a blank plate over it might have been MORE dangerous long term. Sometimes covering it up IS the safer fix if you know the circuit is dead.

grant_ross271mo ago

Buried junction boxes are a special kind of stupid. Found a full pack of smokes and a beer can from 1962 once, left by the original framers. But the worst was a bundle of knob and tube, just cut and shoved into insulation, still live. That wasn't a surprise, it was a fire waiting to happen. People treat houses like a puzzle where you can just hide the pieces you don't like.