Advice needed
 

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I’m doing some improvements on a property I own. Changing a fixture in the bathroom has presented a problem. No box in the wall only wires that are not long enough to get the fixture centered. The old fixture was always off and I need to address the short wires. Any suggestions?

You can get an adjustable bracket with a box that mounts between the studs for old construction You’ll have to cut a hole in the drywall large enough. Feed the wire through the box. The new fixture can attach to the box.

What about a wide fixture with a few bulbs? Could you feed the wires in the back at one side?

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Use the existing wire for 1 sconce, and add a tail for a second sconce same distance from center. Then center a mirror to fit.

The connections of the feed wires and the fixture wires really should be enclosed in a metal or otherwise fireproof box. Most fixtures have a box that isolates the wire connections. So yeah. Of course, if it’s a heavy fixture, you’ll want it supported by the studs. Most fixtures aren’t that heavy, though.

This place was built with so many oddities. One hurdle after another. Under the sink all the trap and plastic pipe was glued even though it was threaded. Simple jobs turn into hours of retrofitting.

You can always document everything and make a YouTube channel out of it. All that trouble might turn into something.

Raise or lower the fixture height.
If the wires come from below, lower the fixture height to allow enough line to center the fixture.
If wires come from above, raise the fixture height.

This will require that you get into the wall and probably remove a staple that holds the wire to the stud. But it doesn't look like need to move it too far to center it, and you might have enough line if you change the fixture height.

It's a compromise and will require a bit of drywall work. But it beats fishing a new line.

As luck would have it. The wire comes from the side. I went and got a cheap 24 inch bar light. Wired it then stuffed the wires into the wall cavity and attached the light to the studs. How much money did the builder save not putting in mounting boxes. Oh…. The master toilet flange was 15 inches from the back wall. Had to pay $350 for an off set toilet. Looks a lot better when the tank on the toilet is close to the wall.

Since electrical connections cannot be hidden, and you want one light fixture, I’d make a junction box to extend the wires and then cover with a mirror.

If a light fixture has a knock out like a box, then you can run cable into a cable clamp on the backside of a fixture that has enough room in the canopy or the box in the case of an elongated fixture and make up the wires inside the fixture. The only reason this is not a good idea is the next guy might not have the fixture needed with enough volume for the wires.

Same principle as wire fill requirements. The light fixture must have a solid back, not open.

Your picture looks like the wiring is 14/2 romex which is standard for lighting circuits. You can open the wall and use a splice kit which is NEC approved for inline wiring repairs (and can be hidden in walls.) It will allow you to extend the wiring to be centered over the sink. You will obviously have to do a little sheetrock/plaster wall repair however.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Tyco-Electronics-Romex-Splice-Kit-2-Wire-1-Clam-A22899-000/202204326

I did not know one could splice wires without a junction box. That link to Home Depot also stated that they are out of stock and not available anymore.

Was it a flip before you bought it? I've seen some weird stuff in homes flipped by amateurs.

This is why we have wire nuts......

You could add an "old work" electrical box. You cut the round hole to size, insert box and twist the tabs to lock it in behind the drywall...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Carlon-1-Gang-18-cu-in-PVC-Round-Old-Work-Electrical-Box-B618RR/100404072

No I don’t think so. It’s a townhouse with a few hundred units. My guess is that the builder cut corners wherever he could. The cheapest single pane windows were installed. I replaced all the crap windows with double pane. I couldn’t believe the difference.

The fixture needs to be rated as a JB. It's not a common thing except under cabinets and even that is changing with newer, better under-cabinet lighting fixtures.

You can never go wrong with a junction box.