Serious question about electrical boxes in poured concrete walls

I framed up my basement in Denver last month and a retired electrician walked by and told me I was burying my junction boxes way too deep in the forms. He said if the concrete shifts at all you'll never get a flush cover on there and I had to chip out 3 inches of dried mix from one box to fix it. Has anyone else had to deal with boxes sinking or twisting after a pour?

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3 Comments

samwalker4mo ago

Dude that's rough, I had a similar thing happen with a buddy's pool deck where we set the boxes in wet concrete and they all drifted like an inch sideways before it set. Ended up having to use offset mud rings on half of them just to get the covers straight, looked janky as hell. Concrete does whatever it wants once it's poured, especially if your forms aren't braced like Fort Knox.

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norathomas4mo ago

Nah, concrete doesn't actually drift that much if you brace the boxes right before it starts setting up.

3

norathomas3mo ago

Drift really isn't that bad if you pour it stiff enough (you know, low slump).

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