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I'm looking to add a new receptacle for a TV. The nearest existing outlet is a new work metallic box nailed to the stud with barely room in the knockouts for a new piece of wire to go to new receptacle.

As luck would have it, the wire that feeds that existing receptacle runs right by where I want the new receptacle.

Can I cut the existing in-wall wire and make a splice with pigtails inside an old work receptacle box in order to add a new receptacle? If not, why not?

My concern would be insufficient length in the wire I cut, but the wires I put into the new receptacle would be pigtails so perhaps that's not an issue.

If this isn't an option, is the best practice to remove the existing new work metallic box with a plastic old work box, that would give me more room to add a piece of Romex going up to the new receptacle?

I can look to add photos but hopefully the description is sufficient. Location is Michigan, USA.

user118412
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In rare instances like this, I have added two junction boxes about 14 inches apart and two outlets instead of the one I needed. I cut the existing wire so there was enough wire going into each box and added new wire going new box to new box. I did this to avoid removing/modifying existing boxes that would have done damage to existing walls. Plus, there's never enough outlets for entertainment systems nowadays.

JACK
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By the time you cut the cable and put the ends in the new box, you might have 1/2 inch of wire to play with.

What I would do is tie something to the cut cable and pull the cable out of the old/further away box and pull a new longer cable though.

This should give you plenty of wire/cable in the new box to connect the new outlet up.

crip659
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You can add a splice in an electrical box. That's what they are there for.

However you need to worry about box fill. This limits how many wires you can have entering the box.

If your existing box isn't large enough to add 2 conducting wires and a ground then you will need to replace the box with a larger one, or find a different place where you can do the splice.

ratchet freak
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Just did this, use a new cable with the goal to daisy chain from the bottom. ... String a thin rope down from the top and use a vacuum cleaner to suck it out the bottom. Tie onto new cable and tape together, then pull the new cable back up. Thread the new cable through the new box. Install the box, daisy chain the bottom and install the top. Done!

OldDIYer
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