I am doing a remodel and needed to move an electrical outlet box (4S Box) up
as it was too close to the vanity top. It it wired with romex. When I
moved it I merely unscrewed the box from the stud and pushed it up about
1-2" and then refastened it. I did not undo the box connector and pull the
romex through. In order to move it this way, I had to push the romex into
the middle of the stud bay and kind of bend it around a bit. In other words
I couldn't just push the romex up and keep it straight. I guess it was
stapled to the stud somewhere above. I am wondering if this added bit of
pressure on the box/connector is in any way a problem. I have already put a
drywall patch on it and put the first coat of mud. I guess I thought that
if I did it this way and ever wanted to move that box, I would have some
romex in the wall? It is going behind tile so it will be hard to get to
unless the tile is removed. Any advice? It is kind of bugging me. I don't
really want to redo but will if I need to.

Michael Roback wrote:
I am doing a remodel and needed to move an electrical outlet box (4S
Box) up as it was too close to the vanity top. It it wired with
romex. When I moved it I merely unscrewed the box from the stud and
pushed it up about 1-2" and then refastened it. I did not undo the
box connector and pull the romex through. In order to move it this
way, I had to push the romex into the middle of the stud bay and kind
of bend it around a bit. In other words I couldn't just push the
romex up and keep it straight. I guess it was stapled to the stud
somewhere above. I am wondering if this added bit of pressure on
the box/connector is in any way a problem. I have already put a
drywall patch on it and put the first coat of mud. I guess I thought
that if I did it this way and ever wanted to move that box, I would
have some romex in the wall? It is going behind tile so it will be
hard to get to unless the tile is removed. Any advice? It is kind
of bugging me. I don't really want to redo but will if I need to.

Not a problem; don't worry about it at all. You should see the way
romex is bent behind some wallboards!

When I first started doing electrical work I took some romex and abused the
hell out of it; bending it sharply back and forth dozens of times, hammering
staples in way way too tight, etc. I then cut it all apart and found it was
all fine.

While I don't recommend treating it roughly, it is very durable stuff.

(on the other hand, a mouse chewed through a piece and nearly burnt my house
down; go figure)

According to Michael Roback :

... When I
moved it I merely unscrewed the box from the stud and pushed it up about
1-2" and then refastened it. I did not undo the box connector and pull the
romex through. In order to move it this way, I had to push the romex into
the middle of the stud bay and kind of bend it around a bit. In other words
I couldn't just push the romex up and keep it straight. I guess it was
stapled to the stud somewhere above. I am wondering if this added bit of
pressure on the box/connector is in any way a problem.

Exceedingly unlikely to be a problem.

Inspectors don't like seeing the wire "tight" - there should always be a bit
of slack - many electricians leave an inch or more of slack. In some cases,
you'll see a lot more than an inch... I usually leave a couple inches.

By "pushing" on the cable, you formed (or enlarged) a bit of a loop between
the box and the nearest cable clamp (or hole in the stud). Unless you had to
wrench _really_ hard at the cable to bend it (ie: a cable staple was _very_
close), there won't be any problem whatsoever. Most times there's about
4-8" between the box and the nearest staple. Plenty of room for giving
a bit of a push without hurting the cable.

That being said, if the wire is real old (ie: the 40's), the insulation
can sometimes be rather fragile. If the stuff didn't come apart in your
hands, it's fine.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.