Junction-box- do i need access to them after I drywall the ceiling?

Question

I am drywalling the ceiling in my basement.
Should I rerun the electrical to eliminate junction boxes and the cut line?
Do I need access to the juncion boxes? Is this necessary?
thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, you must have access to JBs, in ceilings and walls. The easiest way is to use a blank cover. If you can move them all safely do it, but that can be a huge chore. You commonly see suspended ceilings in basements for this reason (and also because of water valves you also want access to).

Answer 2

Not totally sure of the question.
If you are rewiring directly from the breaker box to a new location, then you can bypass the existing junction box.
If that box has the end of the wiring, why run a new wire?
You can splice into the wires with wire nuts and tape if you like and continue to a new location.
Then close the box with a cover plate.
You may not need access to the box, unless a problem arises at some point in the future.

Not sure this is your answer.

Answer 3

The electrical code requires that you have access to those junction boxes, ugly as they may appear. What you need to do is rerun the electrical before you drywall.

Answer 4

I don't know what you mean by a cut line or rerun the electrical. What is in the j boxes? There is not enough info to give a correct answer. For instance an empty box does not need to be accessable.

Answer 5

I would leave access to them in case later down the line you want to install some different kind of lighting or either a fan of some kind, even just having electric plugs up there to use for whatever you may want. If nothing else, at lease draw on the drywall where they are in case you want access to them later.

Answer 6

It is against the code to cover junction boxes.

Answer 7

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