March 4, 2016

Today's task at hand was completing the electrical work for new track lighting in the office.
First, I determined the location of where I wanted the ceiling box by punching two holes in the ceiling
with a screwdriver.

The holes helped me determine how best to run the new wiring, and where to drill to snake
the switch wire down the wall. Another reference point was the return A/C vent in the hallway.
We'll deal with THAT wallpaper on a future project.

Removing a sheet of plywood subfloor and cellulose insulation in the attic gave me the access
I needed. The nail in the left bay is the location of the top of the office wall, and the dot at the
center of the cleared spot to the right is where the ceiling box is going.

Another view of the attic workspace. The silver box at the top of the photo is the return A/C vent.

With the access I needed in the attic, work commenced on the new switches. First, I needed to
remove the old switch and switch box.

With the power off, first I removed the switch from the box, and the metal box from the wall.
To do this, you unfold the metal tabs inside the box, remove the tabs, and pull the box out.

With the box out of the wall, I went back to the attic, drilled down through the top plate of the wall...

...and snaked a new wire down the stud bay to the switch opening. The second hole I punched
earlier in the ceiling was used to reference the proper stud bay to drill.

Next, I traced the size of the new two-switch gang box, and carefully cut the drywall to size.
I held the wires out of the way, while always sawing away from the wires.

I then removed the old wire from the metal box and fed both it and the new switch wire into the gang box.

Next up was the ceiling box. I already had the reference hole in the ceiling, so I cut the circular
template out, and pierced the center of the template with the same screwdriver.

I pushed the screwdriver back up into the reference hole and traced around it with a pencil.

Using a keyhole saw, I cut along the line and discovered...two ceilings?! Apparently the ceiling
in the office is shimmed below and older ceiling. Maybe it was to level it, or maybe there's a story.

Either way, I had work to do, so I returned to the attic and cut a square in the "hidden" ceiling
around the hole to allow me to install the ceiling box without extra obstacles.

Labeling wires is important to keep things straight. Here, I labeled the wire from the ceiling box to
the wall switch. Even though the wires inside are white and black, because it is a dedicated switch
wire, both wires are treated as black ("BOTH BLK" on the wire).

Next, I had to power the new ceiling box by tapping into an existing line. I found one nearby
which ran across the floor of the attic behind the A/C return. It was on the hallway ceiling light
circuit, so it was the perfect candidate. I installed three Romex connectors on a square junction box.

Then, in the attic, cut the existing line and spliced in the new power to the ceiling box (top-most wire).
Here, I've secued the box to the floor with screws, and connected the neutrals (white) and the ground
(bare copper). I also connected a ground wire to the metal box itself.

After connecting the "hots" (black), I wrapped the wire nuts with electrical tape and tucked everything
neatly into the box. The electrical tape is not mandatory, but I do it on all my wire nuts for extra safety.
It is important to note, again, that the power was off as I did the work.

With the new line tied in, the box cover is secured.

I then ran the switch wire and the power wire to the ceiling box, and tied them together.

The switches were then installed. The toggle switch (left) controls a nearby plug, and the switch
to the right is the digital dimmer, which will control the track lighting.

Before turning the power back on, I wire-nutted the white and black wires and tucked them
back into the ceiling box. I'll again turn the power off when it's time to install the tracks.

And by the end of the day, I had installed and wired a new switch box, a new ceiling box, and
three new switches -- three, because I also replaced the switch to my closet (right).

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