outlet works but....

[homie27]

Hi all, so I got the receptacle and went to install it. I removed the existing receptacle and noticed that the screw hole at the top of the electrical box was damaged. the electrician who did the electrical in my basement used a bad electrical box. he knew it because he had to use a bigger screw to screw the receptable to the top of the box and wound a small piece of romex cable around the screw so that it would stay in. Now I can't screw the top of the new receptacle into the electrical box. I can screw the bottom part no problem. So I'm going to call them up and see if they can fix this, but I have a feeling I'm going to get some resistance. In the meantime, is it safe to just have the bottom of the receptacle screwed in, screw in the top plate and use the receptacle that way? so all the wiring is done properly, its just the receptacle isn't screwed down to the top of the electrical box, but the bottom part is. I can use a piece of tap to tap the top of the top plate onto the wall. I know this sounds crazy but it should work.

[GregS]

Have you verified that this electrical outlet is now functioning fine?

As for the electrician 'using a bad electrical box'.. most likely it was just fine when they put it in. But stuff happens between then and when they actually come to finish, so you do what you need to do to make it work.

Is this a metal box or a plastic box? Is it an inside wall or an outside wall?

[homie27]

Originally Posted by GregS

Have you verified that this electrical outlet is now functioning fine?

As for the electrician 'using a bad electrical box'.. most likely it was just fine when they put it in. But stuff happens between then and when they actually come to finish, so you do what you need to do to make it work.

Is this a metal box or a plastic box? Is it an inside wall or an outside wall?

ya i put the power back on and it works. i did the wiring perfectly, its basic stuff.

no, the guy knew it was bad cause the screw he used to screw in the original receptacle was a bigger screw and he wrapped a piece of romex wire around it so the receptacle would stay in. at the time i didnt realize why he did that. i didnt see the damaged screw hole when i removed the bad receptacle. the box is metal. the new receptacle is screwed into it at the bottom, so if it needs to make contact with the box, it is.

the basement walls were already insullated to code so they didnt remove the insullation. instead they built the walls in front of the insullation. so that means all walls are inside walls.