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I have a 3.5 inch round electrical box in the garage that is being used as a junction box. The inspector says that it has to be covered. However, I am unable to find a 3.5 inch pvc cover for this box. Anyone know if such a thing exists? I bought a 4 inch cover at home depot, but it is too big.

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  • what does this mean? ... but it is too big
    – jsotola
    Commented Aug 2, 2019 at 3:04
  • @jsotola meaning a 4" round box cover will not fit a 3.5" round box.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Aug 2, 2019 at 4:43
  • i understand that the cover is larger than the box, but it could be drilled so that the screws could be inserted .... did the inspector say that it could not be used because it is larger than the box? ... if there is no objection from the inspector, then it is not too big
    – jsotola
    Commented Aug 2, 2019 at 6:12

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Your problem is your supplier

There shouldn't be any trouble getting the cover you require. However it's a rarely requested item, so Home Depot's central office has determined it's not worth the shelf space to stock. You can take your chances with other big-box or hardware stores, but any competent electrical supply house has about a 90% chance of stocking it, having you out the door in 3 minutes, and be cheaper to boot. (Home Depot charges gotcha pricing on anything that isn't a hot commodity).

Also you have 8 hots and neutrals splicing up here. All grounds together count as one wire. 14 AWG wire requires 2.00 cubic inches per "wire", so you need 18.0 cubic inches. Make sure the box is at least that large (it should say on the inside) - if not, look for a 3.5" box extension to get you some more cubic inches. You'll definitely need an electrical supply for that!

If all else fails, put a pull-chain lamp socket there and don't use it for anything, but that will need 4 more cubic inches.

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    Would the pull chain socket have to be connected to power so it could power a lamp or could it be used simply as a cover?
    – Jim Stewart
    Commented Aug 2, 2019 at 11:44
  • Thank you for your response. My local electrical supply store did not have the part. I did find a 3.5 in round metal cover at Ace Hardware. None of these places had a 3.5 in PVC cover. Nor could I find one online. Ace Hardware told me that I can use the metal cover. I guess it makes sense that the cover is hard to find since that type box is usually used for some kind of ceiling fixture which wouldn't use a cover.
    – L Fitz
    Commented Aug 3, 2019 at 0:21

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