Moving dining room light switch a few inches

Hi,

I'm getting some new molding/trim put in, and need a light switch moved several inches.

This is for the dining room. I have an unfinished basement. I'm not electrically savvy myself (I've installed light fixtures and replaced switches and outlets in 2 houses). There are 4 wires coming into the box from one of the holes, and 2 from the other (which I believe are going to the outlet below).

I have heard that the difficulty of the job depends on whether there is any wire going all the way back to the electrical panel. What I'm wondering is whether I should hire a licensed electrician to do this, or whether a contractor/friend who may not be licensed would be able to do this (based on complexity)?

Thanks!

 

This depends on whether or not any slack was left behind the wall.
If all the cables have extra slack, then you just kill the power and move the box.
If not, moving it may require running new wire.

 

Rarely is any extra cable left in the wall to allow for the box to be moved. You may need to have new cables installed. the complexity depends on how and where the cables come from.

 

Can your trim carpenter not "mold" around the switch? Good ones usually can.

 

Unless you open up the wall to see how it was done It's hard to say.
May be as simple as pulling a few staples, pulling the nails in the box and adding a 2 X 4 block to move it over.