That afternoon, Efiwym, my wife, and I went out to return the ridiculously priced wire nuts and get some drywall patching material and insulation spray foam. We went to the big box home improvement store to save 11%. I picked up what I needed and Efiwym found the pendant lights she wanted in clearance. (Read my blog post, DIY Project – Installing Stone Countertops – My DIY Projects – Searching for Pendant Lights, to get the details.)
That evening, I put a one inch by one inch piece of pine across the electrical box and screwed it directly to the studs in the wall. The box went nicely into the hole as I screwed the wood to the wall. The box was now flush, and I screwed the box to the wall stud. Efiwym took some credit for this idea. I still needed to fix the holes in the wall and screw in the switch/outlets.
To fix the holes around the electrical box, I screwed a piece of wood behind the opening at the top to hold the patching compound. I proceeded to patch the top portion. Before I patched the bottom half, I sprayed the expanding insulation foam into the opening at the bottom of the electrical box. I pushed the nozzle deep into the hole and sprayed and sprayed again to make sure the insulation would fill up the gap behind the box where there was once fiberglass insulation. I then patched up the bottom part of the drywall. I cleaned up and I thought I was done for the night. My plan was to get the switch/outlets installed and the cover in place tomorrow morning before I went to work.
However, throughout the evening the foam insulation kept oozing out of the hole under the box. I wiped off the excess with a paper towel several times. I then went to bed.
The following morning, I headed downstairs to get the project finished. I went to the basement and shut off the breakers. I had a wooden stick in my hand to help push the switch/ outlets into the box. It was going to be a tight fit with all those wires in that box. I took a quick look and discovered that the foam insulation had invaded the electrical box. The foam had seeped through the holes for the wires and filled up the box. There was foam insulation covering the inside of the box and the wires too. I would never get those switch/outlets into the box. So, I proceeded to scrape out the insulation with a screwdriver and I was careful around the wires. I eventually got most of the insulation out.
The information on the can of the spray foam insulation stated it was “minimally expanding.” It was different from the one you use for windows and doors that do not expand, so I bought it. A little expansion would help fill the gap in the back behind the box. With the capability of the foam insulation to expand into the electrical box, I was confident it filled out the void. However, it did create another mess for me.
With a screwdriver in one hand and the piece of wood in the other, I was able to muscle the switch/outlets into the box. I still needed to connect the black wire for the lights, but I did not think I would have a problem getting the light switch/outlet back into the box. I put the cover on the box, turned on the breaker, checked for power and I was done with installing the electrical box for the pendant lights.
I still needed to get the pendant lights hooked up before the countertop install, but I have a leaking shut off valve that needs replacing. I am not looking forward to that project.