I am changing out the vanity light, above a sink and mirror, in a bathroom.
The old light fixture had it's own wall plate screwed to the wall that the wires ran into from a hole in the drywall behind.
The new light fixture (just under 10lb in weight) requires an electrical box (as well as being a code requirement.) This house was built in 1980 and does not have an electrical box in the wall so I need to add one.
There are no studs within a few inches (the light needs to be directly above the sink) so I could use a braced box like this:
But I'd like to avoid tearing a large hole in the drywall if I can safely avoid it.
So, I'm thinking I could attach strips of plywood behind the hole to spread the weight out over a larger area and add one of these:
The ears of this would rest on the plywood. This way I don't need to make a hole larger than the box.
Do you think this setup will hold a 10lb fixture (assuming the drywall is OK) or should I just rip the hole and add the braced version?