So I completed the repair. After giving it a tug (that's what she said) it was clear there was at least one staple. I cut a small hole between the studs by the x and was pretty surprised to see how bad the shorted wire was burned up. It kind of scares me because the breaker did not flip and there was power going to the short for an undetermined but extended period of time. When I pulled on the wire from up top to see if I could get enough slack to feed it through the box to the exterior it broke very easily from burning through. Because of this I just decided to run a new piece of romex--it was only about a 3' run.
Of course there was a block. Of course there was a second staple under the block. Of course I cut a second hole below the block after dicking around with it tryna fish it through. The holes were easy to replace though and a lil mud and tape and it will be done for good.
That said, I don't know exactly how to feel about the wire issue. It seems that the breaker failed? Any insight on this? Here is another pic of the burned wire.
ETA this is the wire after I pulled it and broke it, but after posting the pic I noticed the black on the stud. I feel pretty lucky the house didn't go up.
Last edited by Johnny Truant; 09-17-2017 at 07:33 PM.