"Tom Horne, Electrician" wrote in message
ink.net...
Toller wrote:
I want to put up a new fluorescent fixture in my basement. Right where I
would put a box for an outlet, there is a cable for an appropriate
circuit.

The circuit was put in pretty sloppily, so I was able to get 4" of slack
right where the new box would go. Is that likely to be enough wire to
add an outlet? Seems adequate, but I don't want to cut it up and find I
needed 5".

If it turns out not to be enough, I would have to either put in a
junction box to add some wire, or pull out the last 10' of cable and
replace it with an 11' cable. That would be a lot of work since it all
passes through floor joists, but it would save a junction box. Is it
worth it?

Pull out that last eleven feet. You will need at least a foot of slack to
install a code compliant outlet box. I think that avoiding extra J boxes
is always a good thing but that is a personal preference.
--
Obviously there should be more material than the 4" I have (someone above
thought it was 6") to make it easier to work with, but as long as I have
nice secure connections, is there a safety reason for the 6"?

Sometimes code has a safety reason that I wouldn't have thought of, but
other times it is just convenience like the number of outlets in a room.