An old work box is a device or fixture box that clamps to the drywall or plaster itself, with swing-out wings, flip tabs or separate Madison clips that grip the back of the board as its screws are tightened. It lets an electrician add a switch, receptacle or light in a finished room by cutting a hole and fishing a cable to it, without opening the wall. Most are plastic, and round fan-rated versions exist for ceilings.
Customer wants a switch by the back door, cut in an old work box and fish the cable up from the basement.
Also heard as
- cut-in box
- remodel box
- retrofit box
- old-work box
Do not mix it up with
- Gem box: A gem box usually fastens to a stud at rough-in; an old work box clamps to finished wallboard.
Related terms
Battleship
Thin metal F-shaped clip that holds a cut-in box in drywall by gripping the back of the wall.
Gem box
Single-gang metal device box with removable sides, so several can be ganged together for a row of switches.
Fish tape
Long flat steel or fiberglass tape on a reel, pushed through conduit or walls to pull wire back.