Locate Wires Behind Wall?

[adzyp]

I can see on one of our walls at the top of the stairs where a socket has been removed and repaired over at some point in the past before we moved in. I want to know if there are any electrical wires still behind it 1. for future reference and 2. If there are, i might turn it back into a socket.

Whats the best way for me to find out if there are any wires still behind it? Not sure on the reliability of stud/wire detectors?

 

[flameport]

Not sure on the reliability of stud/wire detectors?

Somewhere between mostly unreliable and entirely useless.

Even if you found one which actually works, it is still useless as it would just indicate the presence of a live wire - not that it was suitable for a socket or anything else.

 

[john4703]

I'd never trust a stud/wire detector. Try one and if it shows a live cable there probably is one, if it does not I'd still not drill any holes there. The best way to see if there is a cable is to carefully chip away the plaster from inside the box and see what is there. If there is a cable, or cables, then you can test them. The word carefully is important, if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing then turn off all power before you start and work slowly with hand tools.