What the heck is this in my wall?


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Old 05-21-16, 08:39 PM
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What the heck is this in my wall?

I have an older house, built in the 1920s. I was going to replace a worn out rotary dimmer in our dining room with a Lutron Diva. Wall appears to be standard 2x4 framing with plaster.

I knew the switch was screwed directly to wall without a box, and planned to pop a box in. However I was surprised to find a finished wood 'something' inside the wall. Is this an old abandoned pocket door?

Link to pic:

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Old 05-21-16, 08:54 PM
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Does it sound hollow when you tap it? Whats on the other side?
 
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Old 05-21-16, 09:49 PM
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It doesn't sound hollow. Thought it would be loose and have a little give like a pocket door does, but it doesn't. Maybe screwed down?

The wall divides the dining room from the living room. Nothing on other side.
 
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Old 05-21-16, 10:20 PM
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If it was me I'd start by drilling a ¼" hole to see how thick it is. If it is thin and still seems holow then next I'd go to a 2' hole saw and see what there is to see.
 
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Old 05-22-16, 08:32 AM
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It looks too tight against the wall to be an abandoned pocket door. I would expect there to be a gap between the door and wall framing. Granted, I don't have a better answer as to what it is... but I do like Ray's process to figure it out. The current wiring makes me shiver a bit - good that you're updating it!
 
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Old 05-22-16, 09:01 AM
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You can see the wood better, but the picture looks like the wood isn't finished. It looks like the wood has taken on a patina over the years and is just naturally beautiful. I think it's a 2 x 4 like any other.

Many old homes have nice wood like this, I have an entire roof made of old growth pine planks and it's a shame they're all covered up.
 
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Old 05-22-16, 05:40 PM
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Looks like a nailer for the other side of the wall. What happens on the other side of the wall? Is there a corner?
 
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Old 05-23-16, 06:05 AM
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If that wall is 2X4 install a new box and be done with it,is the wall on the other side plastered?

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Old 05-24-16, 07:36 PM
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Hi guys, sorry for the late response...busy weekend outside of the house.

I took a 1/2 bit to it. Got about 2 inches into the suspect board, and the Chuck was hitting the plaster, so I quit. It's solid.

I snapped some more pics - take a look at the linked album. (Pardon the mess)

As I think more about it, I wonder if it's a post? As it looks like a beam going across the ceiling in the pic with the yellow chair?

PS - thank you all for your thoughts and ideas. I really appreciate it.

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Old 05-24-16, 08:29 PM
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Is the opening at least 1½" deep? If so I'd just screw a box to the mystery piece. If less than that here is a 1" deep box. You could just cut the side mounting brackets off and screw to the mystery wood through the back of the box.

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http://www.homedepot.com/p/Raco-1-in...04SP/204855688
 
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Old 05-24-16, 09:02 PM
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That's probably the best idea. I'll have to remeasure - it's close. But how deep of a box do I need for a lutron dimmer switch?
 
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Old 05-24-16, 10:00 PM
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how deep of a box do I need for a lutron dimmer switch?
Hopefully one of the pros can answer that. Aesthetics wise you might not like it but you could fill i most of the hole except around cable and install a surface mount Wiremold box.
 
 

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