Adding Fixtures and Outlets to "Finished" Garage

[Fungus]

I am an aircraft electrician by trade and have no experience with home electric wiring or codes. Hence my dilemma.

Long story short, I bought a house that the wife loved and happened to come with a decent sized 2 car garage. Ceiling is about 12 feet and the garage has a living space above it. The house is new construction, and thanks to the builder and my inattention when inspection came, I am stuck with a sub-par electrical and lighting situation.

The house is in Washington State (for code reasons) and the garage has 2 "green" lighting fixtures consisting of circular shaped fluorescent lights, maybe 50 watts combined lighting. Plus when the garage is cold, you can barely see at all. Now on to the electrical outlets. There are 3 in the entire garage. One for the garage door opener in the ceiling and one on each wall opposite each other. That is it.

Here lies my problem. I am finally coming home from deployment and the garage is my first project to tackle. With it already being drywalled, what is the easiest way to add more outlets and light fixtures and how do I tie these into the breaker box (also in the garage)?

Any help is appreciated, as I said before I am a total noob at this kind of electrical work. I have changed light fixtures and switches before but this is outside my expertise.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Jeff Ivers]

First problem lighting - Determine how many lights/outlets on the same circuit breaker and capacity of breaker. Total the watts of the lights and what might get plugged into the outlets and divide by 110 to determine approximate amp load to compare to breaker. If you are under the breaker load, you might be able to replace existing lights or add lights to that circuit. You can use a stud finder to determine what direction your ceiling joists run and can probably fish wires from the existing light to additional lights providing you stay within the same pair of joists.

Second problem outlets - The key issue here is the problem of fishing wire to new outlets with the walls closed. You should probably consider running new circuits for the outlets using surface mount outlets and conduit. Run the conduit to above the breaker box and hire an electrician to connect the circuit to a newly installed breaker or two. If you plan on using much power equipment in the garage, I would run at least two circuits for outlets.

This is a brief response, but hopefully it will get you started.

 

[kbs2244]

Go to the local big box home improvment store.
The will have a collection of DIY books.
Find the one about wireing.
It will get you pointed.

If you can wire an airplane, I am pretty sure you can wire a garage.

 

[Fungus]

Thanks guys. I can assume that outlets are run in series and just daisy chain them together? I am fine with surface mounting everything. I will have to double check the amperage for each breaker. I know there are more spaces on the bottom of the breaker panel. Do I need to hire an electrician to add a breaker to the box? Thanks for all the help guys. I'll pick up one of those DIY books too!

 

[MeentSS02]

I'm still in the process of adding a whole bunch of new outlets to my attached 3 car - I added 4 circuits, all 20 amp. The walls and ceilings are finished, but I have attic access to most of the garage walls. It should have been a fairly easy task, but I still ran into issues trying to fish the wires down the walls, especially for one outlet that shares a wall with the kitchen.

I found a really cool electrician that was very receptive to discussing options and trying to get me exactly what I wanted, but at the same time pointed out a few issues I might run into. I hired him to make the wire runs from the panel to where I wanted the outlets, and in that process, he ended up having to make a couple access holes in one of the finished walls to help get the cable where it needed to be. Those access holes made all the difference in the world, so don't be afraid to cut a few holes here and there to save you the aggravation if you plan on flush mounting the outlets.

The easiest thing to do might be to try a surface mounted solution, but that wasn't a great option for me since I have to walk along those same walls to get in and out of vehicles - I didn't want anything sticking out of the wall that I'd have to fight with.

A DIY book helps tons, but nothing beats getting in there and trying to figure things out with your own two hands, and in my case, hiring an electrician that was willing to do exactly what I wanted made all the difference in the world.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Some localities require a licensed electrician to do all work and require a municipal inspection of the work. My locality allows a homeowner to do their own wiring. I install my own breakers. However, I have extensive experience with wiring. Remember, unless you cut the power to the meter, you have live power inside that breaker box no matter what breakers are shut off. It is easy to have screwdriver on a hot lead and get your arm too close to the box and receive a good shock right through the handle of the screwdriver. My original response was geared to pointing you in the safe direction. Technically, outlets are wired in parallel, not series. As someone else pointed out, I only run 20 amp circuits for a garage or shop and that requires 12-2 with gound wire.

Thanks guys. I can assume that outlets are run in series and just daisy chain them together? I am fine with surface mounting everything. I will have to double check the amperage for each breaker. I know there are more spaces on the bottom of the breaker panel. Do I need to hire an electrician to add a breaker to the box? Thanks for all the help guys. I'll pick up one of those DIY books too!

 

[Berserker]

Some localities require a licensed electrician to do all work and require a municipal inspection of the work. M.

This is only if they know.

You could just run conduit or raceway on the walls or in areas where it is difficult to get behind the drywall.

In some areas you can cut holes, for lights, outlets or just to get your hand in, and fish wire through.

Is it insulated? If not maybe tear the drywall down insulate, and run wires. This would be easier if you weren't moved in and have it full of junk already.

I am not a big fan of drywall in garages. Its to wussy and gets dirty.

 

[Berserker]

Its not all that hard to patch holes in the drywall. its a garage not your living room, so not a big deal if it doesn't look perfect.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I just ran pvc conduit and surface mounted all of it. Quick, easy, and I've modified it several times, which is super easy to do.

 

[toolman1967]

I think surface mounting is the way to go for you unless you are planning to repair the drywall you cut into to place the fixtures and outlets. I turned a closet into a computer center with the surface mount outlets and it looks very professional and is functional. If you use the proper size wire everything should be fine.

 

[thrifty bill]

Surface mount is your fastest option.

I would install several circuits, breakers are cheap, and once you are into the job, you might as well do it all. Also, consider what you plan to do about an air compressor. I run a dedicated 220 circuit for mine.

Better to have a few extra circuits, than not enough.

Map it out first before you do anything.

I bought a "Wiring Made Easy" book many years ago, its been my guide ever since.

If you have any concerns, just hire it out.

I never trust push in wire terminals on outlets. I have seen too many with loose wires/disconnected. Test your outlets when you are done. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receptacle_tester

 

[Fungus]

Thanks for the help guys. I am going to tackle this garage soon. When I get home I'll post pictures so you guys can see what I am working with! Thanks again!