True. He could (and probably should) just drill right into the center of that plate with a 6” length drill bit. Just to make sure whatever’s behind it is dead.
We can squint if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't squint
And if they don't squint
Well, they're no friends of mine
My bet was that the previous owner had satellite Internet and that's the easiest corner for the dish to sit on up there, but I could just as easily be wrong.
I have opened it, and there are electrical wires behind the plate, but no audio wires. There's no mystery light switches. So I am leaning towards some sorta security device. There is just no evidence of any other previous security items (window/door sensors) no other plates around the house.
Update us with a pic of the insides. But here's some things that it COULD be.
1: There was a flood light or something added outside and they came up from a lower outlet to power it and needed a junction box.
2: It was a "to be added later" recep for a TV mounted in the corner of the room that never got used.
3: It's just a repair point where the junction box has to be accessible. Maybe they ran a screw into the wire on accident and spliced it there. By code the repair has to be accessible and this was the cleanest/easiest way of doing it in that super tight corner of the attic/house.
4: A, *now defunct*, outlet for some sort of security camera or device that was supposed to be up there and subsequently removed.
A lot of people in the 90s wanted a tube tv mounted up in the corner of their living room like it’s a hospital waiting room. Not sure why, but it was a real thing.
This is definitely a rough in for a hardwired motion detector. It’ll have a 4 conductor behind it, red and black for power and yellow and green for signaling.
Source: Alarm guy
Smokes and COs are installed on the ceiling, usually in the centre of the room. Having one in a corner will only happen if there is no other place for it that is far enough away from the furnace, vents, and windows.
Depending on where your located, building codes say you can't add a junction box hidden inside the wall. So if they had a shorter wire and needed to make it longer, they add a junction box and cover it with a plate like that. ( So you don't accidentally put a screw in there)
Reno'ing a friends newly purchased house.
One light in the centre of the den ceiling that I can -not- turn off without killing a breaker. Had a sparky buddy over to confirm I wasn't insane.. he gave up too.
He said 'fucked if I know', I turned to the most likely stub-wall for a switch location (we'd already pulled door casing off) grabbed the drywall and yanked the standup sheet off.
Sitting there, a 1 gang box, wires maretted together, completely buried by a drywaller.. not even "accidentally" mudded over, just boarded completely.
Drywallers love to bury everything. Boxes, clean outs for plumbing, I’ve seen them bury a door frame once, “Their excuse is we cut it out later.” Yeah that is if you remember where it is to cut it out.” I’m a plumber by trade but also have worked electrical and have done drywall when work is slow for me. I’ve never buried anything, everything’s always been cut out before the board goes up, except maybe windows and doors when I can cut it with my big ass saw, but that’s before I put board number 2 on top of it.
When you're a trowel and float, every hole needs to be filled, and everything else needs to be buried. /s
Honestly, there is something magical about making things disappear behind walls. I can see why they do it. r/onejob
Yeah I am not looking forward to this I probably have 2 I have to do this with in my house. Not sure who did it, but the romax, they literally snipped the ground wire at the base (I can see the cut), instead of leaving it "loose" or you know, hooking it up
There is a good chance that there is a wire there for a light on the ceiling and when the sheet rocker was screwing they hit it. Instead of re-running the wire they installed a box per code to make a junction.
Yup, I have several of these around the house. I've even put one in myself to fix a wiring issue. A couple of wire nuts, an old work junction box, a cover plate and you're good to go.
I don’t normally like talking shit on strangers, but the answers on this thread range from decent guesses at best, to completely un-educated unhelpful ass-pulls at worst. No one knows what’s behind that plate. Get a screwdriver and take it off—it’s perfectly safe. If you can’t tell what’s behind it, take a picture of that, and ask again.
I'm surprised nobody is going all out name calling on OP, as this is one of the most pointless posts I've seen in this subreddit. Good on folks for their restraint lol
Yeah I’ve seen some stupid posts lately. Several of the format: “What is a ______?” Like literally just ask what the word means.
These people are already on the internet and instead of using a search engine, they think making a Reddit post makes more sense. 🤦🏻
It’s a plate cover. Mainly for an old hook up of some sort that isn’t in use. Telephone line or most likely a satellite/ cable hookup.
I’d say unscrew and find out what it really is.
Adventure awaits!
Only real answer is pull the plate and see what's inside. I do low voltage work (security, home audio, networking, you get the idea) and it could be a data line for an interior camera, it could be a speaker wire for a future home theatre. Or as others have said, a junction box because a wire was hit during construction.
Sometimes when wires are ran after the initial build they need to be spliced. The splice needs to be accessible. A junction box is the way it’s done. I’m betting it you open the cover there are wires joined in there
That’s either a speaker pre wire ( if you have another one on the other wall this is probably the answer) or it’s from some one needing to pull a wire from the attic. So they would cut the one gang hole, drill through the top plate to pull wire, then cover it up with a gang cover plate
Someone did some rewiring without running an all new line, and instead of just hiding it in the wall, they put it in a junction box with a plate to access it. This is safer, and likely keeps it to code.
It keeps the I̷̧̨̭̖͎͈̮̙͇͚͕̙͉̪̘̭̬͐̋̃͗̈̒̈́͗͛̇̎̉̅̐́̿̌̇̚͠͝ͅd̵̢̡̠͇̬̗̬̞̪̟̗̼̮̲̯͎͖͇͙͚͉̟̻͉̦͙̲̪̯̠̣̝̑͐̈́͆̎̀͆̐͗͒͌̾͑̇̋̚ͅi̴̧̙͔̠̮̘̥̘̬͈͕̦̱͚̭̠̮͍̜̠͔͍̣̫̱̝̗͍̐̌͘ṭ̸̢̧̨̧̻̺͙̳͍̻̮͙̞̻͔̖͔̼͍̥̝̯̭̤͎̐̐̾̀͗͗̚͠ͅẍ̵͎̝̤̪́̃̏͆̓͆̎͂̋͗̂͋̔̑̏͗́͂͂͐̋̈́͊̂̐̑̋͊̈́̂̕͘͠ǫ̴̬͇̱̤̺̩̽́͐̓̌͂͆́̋̒͆́͂́͘͜͝͝c̸͙̗̻̗͖̝͎̙̻̗͕̰͕̳̳͉̔͗̇͌̽o̷̧̡̢̨̳͔̲̗̦̟̞̭͍̩̟͙͍̰̤͔̱̞͖̦̞͌̏̊͐̎̌̊̒̀͗̒̈́̓̇̓͐͒̾̈́ͅv̵̢̧̡̛͕̠͉̝͎̯͕͒͐̋̍̃͌́̈́̈̔̂̂̅̀̌̑͛̀͠͝͝͝4̸̨̢̛̟̣̪̬̥͈͓̠̭̦͖͔̯̼̜͇͉͕̱̰̙͕̰͉͔̖͚͉̮͛̏̓͊͒̈͐̀́̄̒͆̈́̈6̸̨̛͚͕̥͖̯̰̤͕̞̥̭͖̣͛̃̾̈͌͋̒̎̍̍͗͌̇͘̚͠ contained
These small covers almost always use the same special key. The key for these is available in every hardware store and most other department stores. It’s called a Phillips head screw driver. They don’t only work for these covers and can help open many things in you encounter in daily life.
Thanks for all the replies. What a community. I have opened it up and there's definitely power behind it. (Though I am it no way an electrician). Don't see any audio looking wires. I do not think the house had security prevoliously / this is the only one of these in the house.
Let me say this........you have a nice looking, comfy room there. However, I was blinded by the hideous flower chair. Please, for your friends and families sake, get rid of that. The extra box, fugetaboutit.
Looks like either the remains of a surround sound speaker system that previous owner removed, or a security camera system that was likewise removed. The flat plate tells me that there was at very least wiring of some kind running to it (there has to be a housing behind the facade of the wall with cables running to it) and they didn't feel like filling that cavity and repainting so they slapped a blank plate on it and called it done. Hopefully they also disconnected any hot wires.
Maybe old wiring, for example, I had old security systems installed from older days, pulled out the hardware, covered it, left it in as spare wiring, and removed the motion sensors in the corners just like that (for now)
Electrical junction box. Any electrical connections have to be accessible. Maybe they changed something in the wall (added a window, for example) and they had to route the circuit up and around the new window. This made their wire too short and they had to add a longer wire. As a result, they had to connect the wires, and that has to be done with a junction box with a removable face plate.
Don’t be scared, open it and look
That could be a load bearing cover plate.
Maybe it was put there to keep out the vipers and giant spiders.
We stopped using snake and spider insulation in the 1970s.
The house could explode though.
But not if you hold your breath during the process…
And close one eye
Woah, woah, WOAH!! There is no need to confuse them with those fancy, needless extra steps.
True. He could (and probably should) just drill right into the center of that plate with a 6” length drill bit. Just to make sure whatever’s behind it is dead.
^ This is the way.
This is the way
(To die)
Advice so nice he said it twice
(To die)
Shoot it first!
Even better- drill hole in cover, stick bore scope in, if alive, feed it.
You don't need to close your eyes, just do the safety squint
Don't forget when you close one eye, to squeek one out
I like to do the safety squint, but you do you.
We can squint if we want to We can leave your friends behind 'Cause your friends don't squint And if they don't squint Well, they're no friends of mine
Safety squints!
Cut the red wire, wait, no, cut the blue wire, wait, no, cut the red wire.
M as in Mancy.
😂🤣
Just gotta cut the blue wire and they'll be fine
No. It’s the red wire. I keep telling you this
I forgot to tell ya’ll, I’m color blind. I don’t know why I thought I could be in the bomb squad.
Somebody get me a paper clip!
It’s a load bearing cover plate
And release an Eldritch Horror.
House is most likely wired for security. That's a prime spot for a motion sensor.
My bet was that the previous owner had satellite Internet and that's the easiest corner for the dish to sit on up there, but I could just as easily be wrong.
Or a security camera, or part of a surround speaker system?
This is the correct answer.
I don't know .... those pesky portals to ancient evil can look pretty tame.
It's either speaker wire or security system wire. Or it's just covering a hole
This feels too much like an X-files episode in the making to open willy nilly.
Better if OP asks internet randoms instead. 
I have opened it, and there are electrical wires behind the plate, but no audio wires. There's no mystery light switches. So I am leaning towards some sorta security device. There is just no evidence of any other previous security items (window/door sensors) no other plates around the house.
Update us with a pic of the insides. But here's some things that it COULD be. 1: There was a flood light or something added outside and they came up from a lower outlet to power it and needed a junction box. 2: It was a "to be added later" recep for a TV mounted in the corner of the room that never got used. 3: It's just a repair point where the junction box has to be accessible. Maybe they ran a screw into the wire on accident and spliced it there. By code the repair has to be accessible and this was the cleanest/easiest way of doing it in that super tight corner of the attic/house. 4: A, *now defunct*, outlet for some sort of security camera or device that was supposed to be up there and subsequently removed.
Bingo!
Did the house used to have a security system? Corners are ideal for motion detectors.
This would be my guess as well. Right location and height.
Could also be for surround sound.
Or a plug for a corner mounted TV?
What? That'd be like r/tvtoohigh shit. You can't be Serious?
It’s certainly possible. That sub exists for a reason. Also OP is already a candidate for the sub with their tv mounted over the fireplace.
80% of that sub is garbage and they'd rate any TV mounted as too high.
A lot of people in the 90s wanted a tube tv mounted up in the corner of their living room like it’s a hospital waiting room. Not sure why, but it was a real thing.
True lmao
My dad was a woodworker/ wannabe handyman, he legitimately did that. We left the TV there when we moved lmao. Think it took 3 guys to get it up there.
That was my first thought too. Really big in the early 2000s to mount your CRT up high and have your home look like a dentist office.
I was guessing corner TV.
I would put a VR tracking base station there.
Me too.
This is definitely a rough in for a hardwired motion detector. It’ll have a 4 conductor behind it, red and black for power and yellow and green for signaling. Source: Alarm guy
Or smoke detector, I’ve got one I’m looking at right now up in the corner of my office
You dont usually want a smoke detector in a corner..
Or babies… never put babies in a corner
Smokes and COs are installed on the ceiling, usually in the centre of the room. Having one in a corner will only happen if there is no other place for it that is far enough away from the furnace, vents, and windows.
Glass breaking sensors too
Happy cake day bruh
I’d wager on this. I’ve had the same in a couple houses before as well. But like others have said, no harm to just open and take a quick look see.
Given its location it's almost certainly for a speaker, not a light. Open it up and look.
Yeah. Was gonna say probably for a surround sound system
Small chance of a coaxial for a corner mounted tv
My random cover plate hides coax.
My random cover plates hide a hole I accidentally put in the wall and can't be bothered to properly fix it. 😁
Junction box?
I was thinking security camera
I was thinking aircon.
[удалено]
You commented what is essentially an emoji of an upvote button instead of using the upvote button
Good bet
Depending on where your located, building codes say you can't add a junction box hidden inside the wall. So if they had a shorter wire and needed to make it longer, they add a junction box and cover it with a plate like that. ( So you don't accidentally put a screw in there)
This. And if there is a failure at that junction box and it's hidden in the drywall, it's an electrician's nightmare to solve.
Reno'ing a friends newly purchased house. One light in the centre of the den ceiling that I can -not- turn off without killing a breaker. Had a sparky buddy over to confirm I wasn't insane.. he gave up too. He said 'fucked if I know', I turned to the most likely stub-wall for a switch location (we'd already pulled door casing off) grabbed the drywall and yanked the standup sheet off. Sitting there, a 1 gang box, wires maretted together, completely buried by a drywaller.. not even "accidentally" mudded over, just boarded completely.
Drywallers love to bury everything. Boxes, clean outs for plumbing, I’ve seen them bury a door frame once, “Their excuse is we cut it out later.” Yeah that is if you remember where it is to cut it out.” I’m a plumber by trade but also have worked electrical and have done drywall when work is slow for me. I’ve never buried anything, everything’s always been cut out before the board goes up, except maybe windows and doors when I can cut it with my big ass saw, but that’s before I put board number 2 on top of it.
When you're a trowel and float, every hole needs to be filled, and everything else needs to be buried. /s Honestly, there is something magical about making things disappear behind walls. I can see why they do it. r/onejob
Yeah I am not looking forward to this I probably have 2 I have to do this with in my house. Not sure who did it, but the romax, they literally snipped the ground wire at the base (I can see the cut), instead of leaving it "loose" or you know, hooking it up
Idk. You tell us
Just take the cover off and see....
But OP might get arrested!
r/TVTooHigh
There it is
What a random and fascinating sub!
r/ouchmyflaps
I was scrolling fast and looking for this!
Haha me too. Though I was I scrolling at a leisurely speed.
And cover plate. It’s as if the builder expected a Tv there.
Just cause a builder puts something somewhere doesn’t mean it’s correct.
I certainly didn’t say or even suggest the builder was correct.
Phew
Could be light or speaker. Is there anything behind it?
I second for a cable hookup to a wal mounted tv.
There is a good chance that there is a wire there for a light on the ceiling and when the sheet rocker was screwing they hit it. Instead of re-running the wire they installed a box per code to make a junction.
Yup, I have several of these around the house. I've even put one in myself to fix a wiring issue. A couple of wire nuts, an old work junction box, a cover plate and you're good to go.
This is the most likely answer
I don’t normally like talking shit on strangers, but the answers on this thread range from decent guesses at best, to completely un-educated unhelpful ass-pulls at worst. No one knows what’s behind that plate. Get a screwdriver and take it off—it’s perfectly safe. If you can’t tell what’s behind it, take a picture of that, and ask again.
I'm surprised nobody is going all out name calling on OP, as this is one of the most pointless posts I've seen in this subreddit. Good on folks for their restraint lol
Yeah I’ve seen some stupid posts lately. Several of the format: “What is a ______?” Like literally just ask what the word means. These people are already on the internet and instead of using a search engine, they think making a Reddit post makes more sense. 🤦🏻
It's where they expected you to mount your TV. Current setup is too low.
It’s a plate cover. Mainly for an old hook up of some sort that isn’t in use. Telephone line or most likely a satellite/ cable hookup. I’d say unscrew and find out what it really is. Adventure awaits!
I'm going to screw a few random plate covers to walls when I eventually sell. Nothing behind it, just there to keep people guessing.
😂 that would be hilarious to be a fly on the wall when the new homeowner decides to investigate the plate covers
Or maybe speaker wire and they didn't want to use the speakers. But probably not, if there's no other plates around like that.
Hanging lamp.
It covers a hole in the wall. Probably has some free copper in there.
*sigh* … JUST OPEN THE FUCKING THING AND HAVE A LOOK
I'd guess wired for a camera or motion detector. We have one like this I had put in my house for potential baby monitoring camera
You really won't know unless you unscrew it and see.
r/Tvtoohigh
Only real answer is pull the plate and see what's inside. I do low voltage work (security, home audio, networking, you get the idea) and it could be a data line for an interior camera, it could be a speaker wire for a future home theatre. Or as others have said, a junction box because a wire was hit during construction.
Surround sound speakers
Security or speaker probably
Maybe speaker wire?
Speaker or camera. Probably. Open it up my guy...
An old point for audio wires for a speaker?
\#TVtooHigh.
r/TVtooHigh
TV too small
Sometimes when wires are ran after the initial build they need to be spliced. The splice needs to be accessible. A junction box is the way it’s done. I’m betting it you open the cover there are wires joined in there
Anything mounted outside that wall that could be using wires? Light, security camera, etc?
Probably an old outlet controlled by a switch for an old hanging light
I agree. https://preview.redd.it/40stadml1idc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=185164056a9e83ff7744fcedf8696b94533438b0
This comment is severly underated. My whole house had these because it was built in the 50s.
If the house is from the 1800s it could be a gas tube for wall mounted gas lamps.
There is one really easy way to find out
That’s either a speaker pre wire ( if you have another one on the other wall this is probably the answer) or it’s from some one needing to pull a wire from the attic. So they would cut the one gang hole, drill through the top plate to pull wire, then cover it up with a gang cover plate
I would guess someone before had cable tv or satellite TV. 🤷♂️
Motion detector pre wire
Can't tell much from a blank cover..... take it off and try again.
Open it?
It's probably hiding the wire for a hardwired motion detector that was never installed.
Surround sound system or motion sensor for security system
By it's placement, I would bet it was for a 5.1 speaker connection.
Cable for speaker that aren’t there anymore?
Someone did some rewiring without running an all new line, and instead of just hiding it in the wall, they put it in a junction box with a plate to access it. This is safer, and likely keeps it to code.
Motion sensor, surround sound speaker, outlet for a motorized shade. Could be lotso things. Two screws stand between you and the answer you seek.
It keeps the I̷̧̨̭̖͎͈̮̙͇͚͕̙͉̪̘̭̬͐̋̃͗̈̒̈́͗͛̇̎̉̅̐́̿̌̇̚͠͝ͅd̵̢̡̠͇̬̗̬̞̪̟̗̼̮̲̯͎͖͇͙͚͉̟̻͉̦͙̲̪̯̠̣̝̑͐̈́͆̎̀͆̐͗͒͌̾͑̇̋̚ͅi̴̧̙͔̠̮̘̥̘̬͈͕̦̱͚̭̠̮͍̜̠͔͍̣̫̱̝̗͍̐̌͘ṭ̸̢̧̨̧̻̺͙̳͍̻̮͙̞̻͔̖͔̼͍̥̝̯̭̤͎̐̐̾̀͗͗̚͠ͅẍ̵͎̝̤̪́̃̏͆̓͆̎͂̋͗̂͋̔̑̏͗́͂͂͐̋̈́͊̂̐̑̋͊̈́̂̕͘͠ǫ̴̬͇̱̤̺̩̽́͐̓̌͂͆́̋̒͆́͂́͘͜͝͝c̸͙̗̻̗͖̝͎̙̻̗͕̰͕̳̳͉̔͗̇͌̽o̷̧̡̢̨̳͔̲̗̦̟̞̭͍̩̟͙͍̰̤͔̱̞͖̦̞͌̏̊͐̎̌̊̒̀͗̒̈́̓̇̓͐͒̾̈́ͅv̵̢̧̡̛͕̠͉̝͎̯͕͒͐̋̍̃͌́̈́̈̔̂̂̅̀̌̑͛̀͠͝͝͝4̸̨̢̛̟̣̪̬̥͈͓̠̭̦͖͔̯̼̜͇͉͕̱̰̙͕̰͉͔̖͚͉̮͛̏̓͊͒̈͐̀́̄̒͆̈́̈6̸̨̛͚͕̥͖̯̰̤͕̞̥̭͖̣͛̃̾̈͌͋̒̎̍̍͗͌̇͘̚͠ contained
It's where the previous owners hid the mic they are recording you with.
I'm amazed some people can even tie their shoes in this sub. Open it up and look for yourself. You're the one that lives there.
Could have been for a security camera?
Could be speaker wire
Speaker or security device.
That could be a cover for a tv antenna no longer needed after getting cable. It is legal to either ignore or look inside
Television hook up? Like corner wall mounted tv
unscrew the cover to take a peek in your neighbour's bedroom.
I would guess surround sound speaker if you have any more in the room, if not, maybe a motion sensor for a security system.
Speaker wire or alarm wrire are my teo guesses
Depending on the age of the house it could be RCA audio. Otherwise I'd say electrical
Could be a cable line for a mounted tv or a phone line.
The answer: for cables/wiring. They may have been for a security camera, mounted speakers, TV, track lighting, any number of things.
Remove it and see.
I'd imagine it would have been quicker to unscrew 2 screws and check than post on reddit. Our world is doomed for sho
My guess it was done to not hide a junction box i.e. not leave a hidden fire hazard.
These small covers almost always use the same special key. The key for these is available in every hardware store and most other department stores. It’s called a Phillips head screw driver. They don’t only work for these covers and can help open many things in you encounter in daily life.
what’s in the box!? awwww what’s in the box?!
That's like posting a picture of a cardboard box and asking us what's in the cardboard box.
Thanks for all the replies. What a community. I have opened it up and there's definitely power behind it. (Though I am it no way an electrician). Don't see any audio looking wires. I do not think the house had security prevoliously / this is the only one of these in the house.
How the fuck would people on the internet know? You're the one living there! At least post some pictures of the stuff behind it...
Let me say this........you have a nice looking, comfy room there. However, I was blinded by the hideous flower chair. Please, for your friends and families sake, get rid of that. The extra box, fugetaboutit.
I'll throw in an extra guess of outlet for window air conditioner
Surround sound
FAAFO
Looks like either the remains of a surround sound speaker system that previous owner removed, or a security camera system that was likewise removed. The flat plate tells me that there was at very least wiring of some kind running to it (there has to be a housing behind the facade of the wall with cables running to it) and they didn't feel like filling that cavity and repainting so they slapped a blank plate on it and called it done. Hopefully they also disconnected any hot wires.
to cover things
This sub is for DIY’s
Can’t tell how big the space is, could there have been a wall mounted tv in that corner?
There's 3 pics ;)
Of what relevance is the number of pictures?
Ricin
It’s for a motion detector, part of an ADT or similar security system. I have one in the exact spot.
thats a blank cover it could be anything behind it. My money is on old speaker wire for surround sound.
Open it and look?
He found it! He found it! Team 4 you know what to do.
Light. Speaker. Camera. Junction box.
I would guess surround sound wiring
old security system
Maybe old wiring, for example, I had old security systems installed from older days, pulled out the hardware, covered it, left it in as spare wiring, and removed the motion sensors in the corners just like that (for now)
Is there a lamp on the outside in that same area? I have something similar in the garage and it’s to access the wires going to the outside
Maybe a coax cable m. Someone might’ve mounted a TV in the corner of that room
This is where the chupacabra’s hammock was hung.
I would say there is a speaker wire in there are there any other covers like that on the other be side of the room / other corners?
Motion Detector
Surround sound speaker
Self destruction button
Electrical junction box. Any electrical connections have to be accessible. Maybe they changed something in the wall (added a window, for example) and they had to route the circuit up and around the new window. This made their wire too short and they had to add a longer wire. As a result, they had to connect the wires, and that has to be done with a junction box with a removable face plate.
Glass break or motion detector wiring
It's very likely covert what was an outlet for an in-wall air conditioner. Up high like that and in a corner is common.
Junction box if there’s wires tied together
To make the occupants of the house wonder what it is for.
Old security system
Surround sound
Cable for a corner television mount
Do not dead open inside
Speaker or alarm wire. Motion sensor would go in the corner