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I'm replacing a couple switches in a bathroom with smart switches and ran into a problem. The previous owner redid the bathroom and the switch box in question had 5 Romex cables (four 12/2, one 12/3) going into it. Only one of them had any sheath past the integral clamps (my understanding is there should be a minimum of 0.25 inches). When removing the switch box to see why I couldn't get any slack, I found that the rest of them had between 2 and 5 inches unsheathed before the box.

Am I supposed to add a junction box above it in the wall to splice all of the cables to add new cable that is long enough, raise the switch box 6 inches, or something else?

Edit: pictures added for 1. Inside junction box 2. Small divot cut out to make finding sheaths easier 3. NM splice kit

James Endicott
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I would get some white heat shrink slide it over the conductors and make sure it extends inside the box the 1/4” and at least it’s width past where the sheath was removed.

I have skinned the outer sheath several times in the past. The inspector only asked to verify if it was listed and then asked me to change from the black shrink tubing to match the color of the existing outer sheath. Way cheaper than tyco splices. My jurisdiction allows this others may not.

Ed Beal
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