Quote:
Originally Posted by garyofnyc  ...I cannot open the wall to do any work
... I don't want to/cant replace any of the ancient wiring that exists.
...Without ripping out all electric and replacing/re-running wiring (not allowed by building), how can I safely wire the cabinet, wall sconce and existing outlet? |
Have you heard the phrase "Mutually exclusive"?
Well, you've already gotten the warnings that you expected. Because you live in NYC, in an old building, you have a potential liability exposure for any work you do, besides the threat of Don Corleone's electrician leaving a horse's head in your bed.
I don't live in New York. I wouldn't advise anybody to mess with old wiring anywhere, because it gets brittle and once the insulation starts cracking and flaking off, you're going to have bigger fish, or should I say framing, to fry!
Nobody can look at your photos and judge what is or is not safe, regardless of the jurisdiction. Small bathrooms are a lousy place to experiment with electricity. You already know all that, right?
That said, a solution that might approach compliance would be to:
1. Shut off the power. Disconnect the surface outlet and toss it in a drawer.
2. Put a Wiremold extension ring over the octagon box.
3. Run Wiremold to a suitable spot for a GFCI receptacle.
4. Put another wiremold box in that spot and mount your GFCI there. Or, maybe there's a wiremold box that is capable of mounting over an octagon box AND has room for a GFCI recep.
5. Use the feed-through terminals on the GFCI recep to feed your cabinet lights & recep. To do this you would have to find a compliant way of getting from the surface-mounted Wiremold system into the wiring area of your cabinet fixture. If that fixture has a 1/2" knockout somewhere that might be easy. If not, you'll have to figure something out.
6. Turn the power back on.