How to disable and remove doorbell?
The outdoor button is cracked.
The resister thing buzzes constantly.
The Bell unit in the hallway is big and ugly.
I never use it and has not worked in many years. I'm about ready to paint the inside of the house and I want to completely remove everything about it.
What would be the best, safest and easiest way to remove this unit?

Can I just turn off the power to the house and then just cut the wires and cover the ends with a nut and electrical tape and tuck them back into the wall and fill the hole?

 

Unless you can find both ends of the 120 volts the box can not be buried. You can put a blank cover plate on it.

Try turning off each 15a and 20 amp breaker till the transformer stops buzzing. (Turn the breaker back on if you determine it isn't for the transformer and go on to the next. Start with the 15 amp breakers.) When you have found the breaker find everything else that goes dead when that beaker is off. You can then start opening those boxes for a clue to where the other end of the 120v to the transformer is. Start with the box closest to the transformer.

Please open the box and post another picture so we can better help you.

 

Don't know where your transformer is physically located, but disconnecting the low voltage wires will disable the push button and chime. Those wires can just be stuffed in the wall and forgotten.

Turn off the power to the transformer and remove it. Cap the wires in the box and install an blank cover. Turn the power back on.

 

You can cap off and tape the wires, but you can't drywall over the hole. It needs to have a blank cover so it remains accessible. The blank cover can be textured, painted, whatever.

If you have an attic you can terminate the cable up there. It will have to be in a box with cover and secured to a ceiling joist or other framing member. (nut and tape also inside box)

If you go the attic junction box option, just be sure you cut the correct cable

After J-box is installed in attic, you can abandon this box and patch over it.

 

If you have access to an unfinished attic above Brian's solution is the easiest.

 

Sorry it took so long to respond. I will go up into the attic and see where all these wires are and hopefully I have easy access to them. I know I have that pink cotton ball insulation all over, so it's gonna get messy..

The main power to the door bell system will connect at the transformer first correct? (it's mounted inside the living room closet)

Once I find transformer power wires, I can just cut those wires at the open end and take the ends to the nearest junction box and nut and tape them to the inside of that? (assuming the wires are not leading off to anything else)

I will try to get more pictures while I'm up there.
I don't know house wiring at all and I hate messing with it, but I will try I will be sure to be 100% sure what I'm doing is the correct way before I cut or tape anything.

Thank you for your help. I should make it up into the attic within the next couple days.

I would rather not use a cover plate on the interior walls, so using a junction box sounds like a more finished job. If I need to install a junction box, what kind would I need? I seen like 60 different ones at Home Depot... Or I will just get pictures first and you can get a better idea of what is going on up there.

 

In a closet I would just cap the wires in the box and put a blank cover over the box.

 

Agree with Pugsi since this is a closet just cap and use a blank cover plate.

If that just won't do. No. Disconnect the cable at source, remove from box and cut the cable too short to go back in. In other words remove both ends of the cable from the boxes it is in. Once disconnected on both ends and pushed out of the boxes no need for wire nuts. (Note a properly done wire nut does not need tape.)

 

I would not push the wire back into the wall without shorting them out on each end with a wirenut so there is no chance of some Nitwit reenergizing them.
Just my opinion.
Geo

 

What is the source? like at the fuse panel?
Or will the wires for the transformer be spliced in at a junction box that has a power wires for something else?

I don't really want to just cap off the hole since there is a big door bell box in the hallway that I need to get rid of also. If I was to just cap it off, I would use that as a last option if the other way becomes too difficult.

 

You have two circuits in play there. There are 120 volts going into the transformer and something in the vicinity of 12-24 coming out of the transformer. The 120 volt wires going to the transformer are the ones that you have to have a cover on, and, being in the closet, it sounds like that would not be a concern; correct? As Ray suggested in post #2, the first thing to do is go through your breakers, one by one, until you are able to identify which circuit the power to the doorbell is on. With that power off, you can disconnect all of the wires from the transformer, cap the the 120 wires going to the transformer, tuck them in the box, and put the cover on. With the transformer now removed, the low voltage wires have been abandoned, so they can be pushed back into the wall, so that you can drywall, tape, and paint over where the chime is.

 

Only the box powering the transformer needs to have an accessible cover. Once the transformer has been disconnected and removed all of the other doorbell equipment can be taken down and covered up. The box powering the transformer usually will be on the same circuit as lights or a similar circuit serving the living area of the house, so complete abandonment of the junction box is not all that practical.

 

More likely your house has a breaker box not a fuse panel but it is more likely the cable comes from a ceiling light or wall receptacle.The wiring to that is harmless low voltage wire and you can do whatever you want to with it once the transformer is removed. The advice in this thread is about the 120 volt cable to the transformer. We are only concerned with the box in the transformer is on. The rest is low voltage.


Attachment 46799

 

OK I got it. Thank you all for your help. Seems very simple, but I just wanted to be 100% sure when it comes to this type of electrical.

I was not able to remove the box since whoever installed it, used some kind of cement type stuff to attached the box to the ceiling.. So instead of cutting it out, I just left it and will get a cover plate for it after I fill in the gap and clean around it. Probably put some white insulation weather strip on the plate when I screw it down since the box is not flush with the ceiling..

I tried to pull out all the small wires, but they are stapled in hard somewhere and wasn't able to just pull them out and I didn't want to crawl around in the insulation.
At first I was thinking the door bell transformer had its own power source with nothing else attached to it, but it was spliced into the power to the living room.
Best part was it was right next to the access in my ceiling, so I didn't even have to step off the ladder.

Anyway. I got it done and wanted to thank you all for the help.

Here is some images.

 

That was on the ceiling in a closet.

The box looks to be held to the joist with two nails. Could make a mess to remove.
You can use a regular blank or a slightly oversized blank and it will cover the entire hole.
The plate they had on there was not correct and was too small.

Thanks for stopping back and updating us.

 

Yeah I see it now. Not sure why I didn't notice the 2 nails.. I looked at them, but thought it was something else part of the box.
I might be able to remove it, but it looks like they may have gone overboard installing the box.

I live in one of those houses where there's so many things that make you say "Why would they do that"..

What kind of box do I need if I buy one? Just any softball sized box I can mount to a stud? So many different types at Home Depot and I'm not sure how big of a difference there is between them all or if it even matters that much. Does it need to e fully enclosed with removable cap on the box itself?

 

If you can pull the nails out..... flip the box over and re-mount to the joist and put a blank on it.

 

It would by fairly easy to pry that box away from the framing with a screwdriver. Flip it upsidedown so it faces up and you can patch the hole. Re nail the box and install a blank cover.

 

Use a hacksaw or Sawzall blade with one end wrapped with tape to cut the nails.* Mount the box pointing open side up on the top of the ceiling joist with a couple of screws through the back of the box.

*The nails can be cut from below if that is easier for you. Just slip the saw blade between the joist and the box. I'd normally use a Sawzall, not just the blade, but I don't know your skill level and there is the danger of cutting a cable if you slipped.


Restaple cables after moving.

 

The nails pulled out very easily.
I got a new box, nuts, staples and cover plate. Not much room to work with on one of the wires since I didn't want to mount the box right next to the ceiling access hole, but just enough to install it where it is now. Is there a certain amount of the white wire insulation that needs to be inside the box? 1 of the wires only have about 1/2" max inside of the blue box, is that ok? Not sure if there is a code spec for that or not.
How tight against the wires do the staples need to be?

Any tips on washing fiberglass of my forearms?

 

You're done.
This could have been done much easier. But hindsight is 20/20.
The important thing is you have done this in what appears to be a good workmanship quality.

Good job!

P.S. I use a scrub brush and soap on the arms, but it really doesn't get rid of all the itch.

 

Good to know, thank you I figured if I was going to tackle a job that I have not really done before, I might as well do it close to as best I could do.
I plan on keeping the house, so the extra effort is worth it

 

Main thing with cleaning up fiberglass itchys...cool or cold water. Warm water opens the pores and then lathering just rubs them in.

Rinse, rinse, rinse in cold before rubbing or using soap.

And next time at least wear a long sleeve T-shirt.

 

Not to be a wise guy
But If you're keeping the house, you may want to add a doorbell

Seriously though, if you get the time or have the desire you can relocate transformer and chime. You have the junction box now installed for the power and can move transformer anywhere in the house.

 

Will wash with cold water now, thanks

 

I never liked doorbells. Makes the dog bark and makes me jump haha. Usually it's peopel trying to sell crap I don't want who ring the doorbell anyway.
I looked for other options before I cut all the wires and there is many good wireless doorbell options with music and tones to choose from. The house is not to big, so any door knock can usually be heard.