I think I may have drilled into our fuse box a little bit from the other side of the wall. Yes, I know...dumb ... let the heckling begin...
I was drilling a pilot hole before putting in a drywall anchor. I came to something hard and thought it was just a stud. So I pushed harder to drill into for a little bit. But didn't really seem to get anywhere. I pulled the drill out and on the tip of the drill bit were a few hairs of metal. I think it maybe was the back of the fuse box on the other side of the wall. I only drilled in about 1/2 of inch from this side of the wall. I think most of that distance was through all drywall.
Could I have drilled into the fuse box? Could this cause a dangerous situation with wires / fires?
2006-12-06 07:29:20 · 6 answers · asked by markatger 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Don't worry about it. You did not short anything when your were drilling and there is no reason for anything to spontaneously short in the future. If you had drilled in to a conductor you would have noticed the resulting sparks and flame I am sure.
2006-12-06 09:45:28 · answer #1 · answered by semdot 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The metal thickness is anywhere from a 32nd of an inch to 1/16 of an inch. You could of very well drilled into it. But you must of drilled at least 4-5 inches of wall first to reach the box. If you didn't get zapped or caused a problem while doing this then you more than likely don't have a thing to worry about.
2006-12-06 07:46:06 · answer #2 · answered by jepa8196 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is the fuse box recessed into the other side of the wall?
The standard depth of a box is 3 3/4", so that it will fit flush if that's how it was done. If you didn't drill through it, you are ok...and if you did drill into it, and are here now telling us about it, you didn't hit anything nasty.
From the sound of it, you didn't do any damage at all...if you had actually drilled into the box, your bit would have pushed in suddenly.
2006-12-06 08:36:18 · answer #3 · answered by roadlessgraveled 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your lucky you didn't already kill yourself. yes this could be very dangerous even now. who knows what damage you have done. you could have drilled into the bus bar or something. i would have licensed electrical contractor come out and check it out thoroughly. have them remove all your breakers ( i know you said fuse panel but those are so old - do you really have fuses ?)
and check for any damage. you didn't mention what kind of metal "hairs" was it steel or copper or aluminum ?
2006-12-06 07:53:39 · answer #4 · answered by bbq 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not dangerous unless your drill hits a live wire. Other wise do not worry about it
2006-12-06 07:32:59 · answer #5 · answered by aussie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The main thing is you didn't shock yourself, as far as the hole in the box, won't hurt a thing.
2006-12-06 15:12:00 · answer #6 · answered by blacktrain11 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋