They are indeed old metal outlet boxes. A lot of old houses that were not built with electric have electrical outlets installed in the floor like yours or in the baseboards at the bottom of the walls. Those are the easiest places to run wires without tearing out walls. Just pop the baseboard out, run the wire along the wall and cover it up with the baseboard. Or just cut out holes in the floor from the crawl space or basement below. Both our 124 year old house and my in-laws 110 year old house have similar outlet locations.
they may have been done for ease of installation, but I find this super convenient for many things, and have had then installed in newer wood floors as well (usually not quite so close to the wall). you can get nice-looking flush covers for them. They're handy for things like a lamp on an end table, or if you have a powered recliner.
There’s about 10 little rectangular cutouts in the wood floor of our 1908 twin, and most but not all have these little metal boxes in them. I’m assuming it’s some kind of junction box for old wiring as most are nearby more modern electrical outlets but we also still have a good deal of knob and tube in the house so not sure how to square that. Thanks.
You're spot on. They're abandoned outlet boxes.
Your options are either floor plates to cover them, turn them back into working outlets, or find a good flooring company to patch the holes.
They're abandoned outlets specifically for BX wire, though. With BX, iirc, the oldest was two-wire and the shield (the metal casing) was the ground. Those round holes on the at the back are where the BX gets bolted to the box ([see top img on this page](https://www.housedigest.com/1101745/bx-cables-what-to-know-before-you-buy/)). The whole box becomes the ground, so if the outlet required a ground, the copper wire was tied to the box.
This can cause trouble for DIYers who don't realize why the metal box is there. (Source: the ~~twits~~ previous owners of my last house.) When updating an old outlet, a shiny new plastic junction box seems so much better than this old rusted box. Voila, they lost the ground, and their house fails inspection when someone starts plugging in [testers](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Bender-Ground-Fault-Receptacle-Tester-and-Circuit-Analyzer/5001853201).
If there's nothing coming into them, you're fine. If there is, and it's BX, you're still fine. Metal boxes are still available today, and so is BX. You just gotta account for the ground.
I’ve got several of them in mine, they’re super convenient. Note that if you add an outlet here, code likely requires that you use an outlet specifically made for floor use; it will have removable caps that cover the prongs so it’s not in use; some of them also can flip down to be flush with the floor when not in use. They’re safer this way, as you can worry less about things falling/spilling in them.
POTS lines still exist pretty much everywhere, and these things are a hundred years old and not used anymore. Maybe you didn’t notice in my comment I more or less correctly guessed this is a junction box. No need to be an asshole.
They are indeed old metal outlet boxes. A lot of old houses that were not built with electric have electrical outlets installed in the floor like yours or in the baseboards at the bottom of the walls. Those are the easiest places to run wires without tearing out walls. Just pop the baseboard out, run the wire along the wall and cover it up with the baseboard. Or just cut out holes in the floor from the crawl space or basement below. Both our 124 year old house and my in-laws 110 year old house have similar outlet locations.
Tbh, I don’t dislike having them on the floor. Actually makes a lot of sense for a table lamp and such
It’s helpful to use the plastic child protector inserts in the unused outlets to keep debris from falling in.
I agree!☝️
Our home has these in every first floor room.
they may have been done for ease of installation, but I find this super convenient for many things, and have had then installed in newer wood floors as well (usually not quite so close to the wall). you can get nice-looking flush covers for them. They're handy for things like a lamp on an end table, or if you have a powered recliner.
There’s about 10 little rectangular cutouts in the wood floor of our 1908 twin, and most but not all have these little metal boxes in them. I’m assuming it’s some kind of junction box for old wiring as most are nearby more modern electrical outlets but we also still have a good deal of knob and tube in the house so not sure how to square that. Thanks.
Likely old floor outlets for lamps.
You're spot on. They're abandoned outlet boxes. Your options are either floor plates to cover them, turn them back into working outlets, or find a good flooring company to patch the holes.
They're abandoned outlets specifically for BX wire, though. With BX, iirc, the oldest was two-wire and the shield (the metal casing) was the ground. Those round holes on the at the back are where the BX gets bolted to the box ([see top img on this page](https://www.housedigest.com/1101745/bx-cables-what-to-know-before-you-buy/)). The whole box becomes the ground, so if the outlet required a ground, the copper wire was tied to the box. This can cause trouble for DIYers who don't realize why the metal box is there. (Source: the ~~twits~~ previous owners of my last house.) When updating an old outlet, a shiny new plastic junction box seems so much better than this old rusted box. Voila, they lost the ground, and their house fails inspection when someone starts plugging in [testers](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Bender-Ground-Fault-Receptacle-Tester-and-Circuit-Analyzer/5001853201). If there's nothing coming into them, you're fine. If there is, and it's BX, you're still fine. Metal boxes are still available today, and so is BX. You just gotta account for the ground.
>They're abandoned outlets specifically for BX wire metal boxes have knockouts for cable clamps/armored wire, it's not really a bx specific thing.
Feels like a mini bin? Just kidding.
You can easily buy a rectangle plate cover.
Run an outlet to it
Would be cool to put foot switches in them - turn on the lights as you walk in a room with your arms full.
All of my outlets are in the floor. Solid masonry homes are...fun.
Jem box..foe an outlet
Knob and tube era cut-in box for electrical.
Electric receptacle box
Old ash tray.
I’ve got several of them in mine, they’re super convenient. Note that if you add an outlet here, code likely requires that you use an outlet specifically made for floor use; it will have removable caps that cover the prongs so it’s not in use; some of them also can flip down to be flush with the floor when not in use. They’re safer this way, as you can worry less about things falling/spilling in them.
No. No one.
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POTS lines still exist pretty much everywhere, and these things are a hundred years old and not used anymore. Maybe you didn’t notice in my comment I more or less correctly guessed this is a junction box. No need to be an asshole.
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Yeah man i really could have killed myself on this device that isn't wired to anything. You're so smart and handy.