Advice on electrical Plan Needed?

[Bobbyd38]

Hi Guys,
So I have my Framing done, and starting to create an Electrical plan for my 24x48' Garage designed to hold 4 Cars, a future 4 Post Lift, and a Shop Area along the back 24' Wall (see attached image). Looking for any advice for something I might have missed?
So far I have:

• 44 Recessed Cans for 60 Watt equiv LED bulbs (9 watts ea)
• 110v duplex Outets at 4' height approx every 6'
• 110v duplex Outlets at 8' height every 8'
• 110v Quad Boxes every at 4' every 4' along back/shop wall
• (4) 110v duplex oulets in Ceiling
• 220V Outlet for wall mount AC
• Exterior Lights at all Entrances
• Exterior 110V duplex outlets around perimeter
• (2) Smoke/Heat Detectors
• Outlet for Garage Door

Any advice is welcome for something I might have missed, or possible future equipment. I also plan to run Cat5 for home network and Cable to the home Distro panel for possible TV in future.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[rockwithjason]

other than special equipment outlets like for a welder or such i think you have a pretty good plan

 

[wyliesdiesels]

No compressor?

 

[MadMike78]

What made you decide on all the can lights rather than flourescent shop lights? Id definitely say energy efficient. I like the idea!

 

[happy2rv]

What size service are you running to the garage?

How many outlets on each breaker and in what order? In other words if you have 8 outlets down one wall will they all be on one breaker, 2 breakers 4 in a row on one breaker, then 4 on another or every other outlet on one and the remaining outlets on the other? I would make each quad in the shop a dedicated circuit for sure.

What are the 8' high outlets for? Will they be dedicated circuits? If so, will each be a GFCI outlet or fed from a GFCI breaker? Doesn't seem like fun trying to reset them at that height.

How are you going to break up the lighting? I know you are planning to use 9w led bulbs, but assuming they are standard cans that accept standard bulbs you will have to size the circuits/lights per circuit as if someone were going to screw in "real" 120 watt bulbs (or the max rating of the can) per can. Are you going to have lighting "zones" ie front back middle per switch or staggered or you could control multiple circuits with contactors switched by a single switch.

Are your ceiling outlets going to be dedicated circuits? If you know where you want your lift to go, you probably want to go ahead and run a dedicated circuit for it. Most of the 4 post lifts are OK on a dedicated 15-20 amp 110v circuit.

What kind of garage door opener are you going to use? If you use a jack-shaft opener (mounts to either end of the rod with the spring) you will need an outlet located for that. These typically support a remote ceiling mounted light that plugs into a standard outlet and have a wireless on/off signal. If you want this located in a specific spot, you would need an outlet for that. Otherwise you will need an outlet located for the typical opener location.

So far I have:

• 44 Recessed Cans for 60 Watt equiv LED bulbs (9 watts ea)
• 110v duplex Outets at 4' height approx every 6'
• 110v duplex Outlets at 8' height every 8'
• 110v Quad Boxes every at 4' every 4' along back/shop wall
• (4) 110v duplex oulets in Ceiling
• 220V Outlet for wall mount AC
• Exterior Lights at all Entrances
• Exterior 110V duplex outlets around perimeter
• (2) Smoke/Heat Detectors
• Outlet for Garage Door

Any advice is welcome for something I might have missed, or possible future equipment. I also plan to run Cat5 for home network and Cable to the home Distro panel for possible TV in future.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Bobbyd38]

No compressor?

Yes I already have a Compressor with 220V already in a Bay adjacent to this Addition. I plan to keep it there, primarily for Noise reduction, and pipe through the wall into the new area.

Bob

 

[Bobbyd38]

What made you decide on all the can lights rather than flourescent shop lights? Id definitely say energy efficient. I like the idea!

For a couple reasons, my ceiling height is just over 10', so with the recessed/Flush mounted cans I can maximize headroom for the lift. I have a second floor space above this, and If I had exceeded 10' the Addition would have started to Dwarf the house.

The other reason was definitely energy efficiency, I calculated with all 44 cans on I use 396 watts, even CFL's would be double that, and Fluorescent Tubes even more, and again with Tubes I loose a few inches of Ceiling height. I recently purchased 60W equiv. LED's at Lowes for $5 each.

Bob

 

[Bobbyd38]

What size service are you running to the garage?

How many outlets on each breaker and in what order? In other words if you have 8 outlets down one wall will they all be on one breaker, 2 breakers 4 in a row on one breaker, then 4 on another or every other outlet on one and the remaining outlets on the other? I would make each quad in the shop a dedicated circuit for sure.

I PLAN TO LET THE ELECTRICIAN, calculate the loads and make sure they're to code. I do like the idea of putting the Quads on dedicated circuits, thanks.

What are the 8' high outlets for? Will they be dedicated circuits? If so, will each be a GFCI outlet or fed from a GFCI breaker? Doesn't seem like fun trying to reset them at that height.

THE 8' HIGH OUTLETS ARE ACTUALLY for Lighted/Neon signs/Automobilia I may add in the future. GFCI Breaker makes sense, another good idea!

How are you going to break up the lighting? I know you are planning to use 9w led bulbs, but assuming they are standard cans that accept standard bulbs you will have to size the circuits/lights per circuit as if someone were going to screw in "real" 120 watt bulbs (or the max rating of the can) per can. Are you going to have lighting "zones" ie front back middle per switch or staggered or you could control multiple circuits with contactors switched by a single switch.

I PLANNED ON TWO ZONES, ONE PERIMETER, and one for all the others, but that may change if the Electrician calculates I need more. I also have an extra row of 4 cans in the Shop area, those will be on their own circuit.

Are your ceiling outlets going to be dedicated circuits? If you know where you want your lift to go, you probably want to go ahead and run a dedicated circuit for it. Most of the 4 post lifts are OK on a dedicated 15-20 amp 110v circuit.

AGAIN, GOOD IDEA... I'M WRITING ALL OF THESE DOWN, AS I REPLY http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

What kind of garage door opener are you going to use? If you use a jack-shaft opener (mounts to either end of the rod with the spring) you will need an outlet located for that. These typically support a remote ceiling mounted light that plugs into a standard outlet and have a wireless on/off signal. If you want this located in a specific spot, you would need an outlet for that. Otherwise you will need an outlet located for the typical opener location.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT A WALL MOUNTED OPENER, but the Garage door guy didn't recommend them for a 16' door. So I think I'll go with a standard ceiling mount and be sure to add that to the plan.

THANKS FOR ALL THE REALLY GREAT IDEAS!

BOB D.

 

[MadMike78]

Post some pics when you get started!

 

[pattenp]

I WAS THINKING ABOUT A WALL MOUNTED OPENER, but the Garage door guy didn't recommend them for a 16' door. So I think I'll go with a standard ceiling mount and be sure to add that to the plan.

THANKS FOR ALL THE REALLY GREAT IDEAS!

BOB D.

Don't use a garage door guy who shy's away from a jackshaft opener for a 16' door. I have a Liftmaster 3800 on a 18X8 and it works just fine.

Also if you do get a lift, get one with a 240V pump, so wire accordingly.

 

[Delta74]

looks good, just a thought thou, the North wall, maybe add another outside Plug and WP cover middle or west side near the corner for tools, and on the south wall there is a plug about center, consider adding another outside plug there too. a lot easier to do them now.

any thoughts to a switched plug up near the eaves for Christmas lights, or GJ open house free beer sign?

only other thing to add, again north wall looks to be pretty dark at night, there are lots of motion sensor lights out there, could even get a similar style to your outdoor lights, and just have them on motion for animal or worse thieves, or just use your preferred light wired to a motion sensor.

otherwise Looks great, hope you will share pictures soon we even like the Under construction ones.

 

[Bobbyd38]

I have some pictures of construction here in an album, hers' the link:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=4028

Thanks for all the advice, lot of good stuff1

 

[happy2rv]

I WAS THINKING ABOUT A WALL MOUNTED OPENER, but the Garage door guy didn't recommend them for a 16' door. So I think I'll go with a standard ceiling mount and be sure to add that to the plan.

THANKS FOR ALL THE REALLY GREAT IDEAS!

BOB D.

Don't use a garage door guy who shy's away from a jackshaft opener for a 16' door. I have a Liftmaster 3800 on a 18X8 and it works just fine.

Glad to help. Sounds like an interesting build.

I agree with this. If the door spring is properly tensioned, it shouldn't be a problem. I have a Liftmaster, not sure of the model number at the moment, on a 18x9 in my detached garage I built 2 years ago and my son uses that door for his daily driver. I haven't had a problem and haven't seen any indications from Liftmaster's documentation that its not recommended. Personally I don't think I will ever install another "regular" opener. Besides the obvious advantage of clearing the overhead space between the tracks, the jackshaft opener is quieter.

 

[CNGsaves]

More things to consider adding:

. . . . . outlet in ceiling or wall where hanging heater will go
. . . . . black pipe steel run in wall/ceiling for natural gas hanging heater
. . . . . switched outlet in underside of exterior soffet for Christmas lights !!
. . . . . wiring for common motion sensor that would set off exterior lights
. . . . . outlet in ceiling for electric cord reel
. . . . . airline run in ceiling for airhose reel (copper or black pipe steel)

 

[happy2rv]

I PLAN TO LET THE ELECTRICIAN, calculate the loads and make sure they're to code. I do like the idea of putting the Quads on dedicated circuits, thanks.
...

Are your ceiling outlets going to be dedicated circuits? If you know where you want your lift to go, you probably want to go ahead and run a dedicated circuit for it. Most of the 4 post lifts are OK on a dedicated 15-20 amp 110v circuit.

A couple of additional thoughts. If you leave it entirely up to the electrician, he may run outlets as it is convenient for him which may or may not be the "best" for you. For instance, it is perfectly acceptable to put all of the outlets along one wall on a single 20A circuit (within some reasonable limit. Disclaimer: I'm not an electrician by trade and haven't looked up the code specifics.). If these are located only for convenience, that may not be a problem. However, if you are plugging heavy loads into adjacent outlets it could be a real issue. Say for instance, you wanted to run a space heater, a saw and a heavy duty vacuum in the same general area, you would have problems if all of the outlets were on the same circuit. Think about how you plan to use the outlets and convey that information to the electrician.

When my house was wired in 1999, the electrician the wired it ran every outside outlet and 1 bathroom on a single gfci circuit. That circuit must have been several hundred feet to the end. The bathroom and final outside outlet wouldn't support any real loads due to the voltage drop.

I commented on the GFCI breaker for the 8' outlets. The same thought applies to the ceiling outlets as well, including the outlet for the door opener. If you don't do GFCI breakers, they make GFCI devices that don't have an outlet that could be mounted on the wall at a reasonable height to reset the ceiling outlets or you could feed the ceiling outlets from a GFCI outlet mounted on the wall.

Hope this was helpful. Good luck with your build.