Electric Options

[natev]

I recently purchased a home that has (2) 2.5 car detached garages. One of them already has heat and electric. The other one is a clean slate.

I purchased the home from an older lady whose late husband did work on Jeeps. In the process of building the garage in question, he passed. A buddy of his finished up the drywall in the garage and painted it, BUT did not run electric through the building. There is a panel in the building that is hooked up and operating.

Now to my question... Because there is drywall hung throughout the garage, what do you guys think I should do for running electric? What would be the best/cheapest option for running the electric through the walls for outlets? I do not want any exposed conduit, because I plan on running the electric behind the drywall. I have some ideas, but I'd like to hear some more options.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Is the ceiling drywall as well as the walls? Is there an attic space you can access? It may be easiest to run wires up from the panel into the attic, then over and down into the stud bays for adding outlets.

You should mention where you're located (state or country) as code requirements vary by location.

 

[natev]

The ceiling is indeed drywalled also.

There is an attic space I can access and it is an option. However, this will be a 1 person job and the thought of running up and down a ladder from the attic down to each designated spot hurts my brain. Not to mention the attic is insulated as well as the walls. This idea has crossed my mind, but I was hoping for an easier way.

I'm from Ohio.

 

[natev]

I've thought about cutting a 4" (or however big I need to put my drill in for the studs) strip all the way around the 30'x40' garage with a circular saw. But I'm not sure how I'd patch it... If I would re-drywall it or if I'd put something else up to make it more decorative.

 

[justsam]

How many receptacles are you planning?

Will you also run 240VAC?

What is the capacity of the existing panel?

If you are not the typical Garage Journal person and just want one or two receptacles, I would fish the walls. Clearly it is more of a hassle with insulation in attic and walls.

If you are installing many receptacles, I would be tempted to do something like you suggest. Perhaps a mid band of wood around the perimeter of the garage that allows access to wiring.

The other alternative is just to put receptacles where you want, remove any dry wall you need to, and repair after, or call out a drywall person.

 

[dw1]

Cut the drywall, either at the floor (Baseboard) or at the ceiling, (Run all your electric) and then put a 1"x? trim board back to cover the drywall.

 

[tfi racing]

Cut the drywall, either at the floor (Baseboard) or at the ceiling, (Run all your electric) and then put a 1"x? trim board back to cover the drywall.

This is the way,cut out a strip of drywall,run your electrical,tape and paint or trim it out with MDF and molding.

 

[natev]

How many receptacles are you planning?

Will you also run 240VAC?

What is the capacity of the existing panel?

If you are not the typical Garage Journal person and just want one or two receptacles, I would fish the walls. Clearly it is more of a hassle with insulation in attic and walls.

If you are installing many receptacles, I would be tempted to do something like you suggest. Perhaps a mid band of wood around the perimeter of the garage that allows access to wiring.

The other alternative is just to put receptacles where you want, remove any dry wall you need to, and repair after, or call out a drywall person.

No 240, but I plan on putting 3-4 receptacles on each wall (possibly more where my work bench will be) and then maybe 1 or 2 on the wall with the garage doors.

Cut the drywall, either at the floor (Baseboard) or at the ceiling, (Run all your electric) and then put a 1"x? trim board back to cover the drywall.

That's actually a really good idea. I don't know why I haven't thought about this... I've been making it a lot harder than I needed. Thanks dw1.

Still not 100% on what I'm going to do yet. I can do drywall, I just prefer not to as I'm about all "drywalled out" from doing the house.

 

[Milton Shaw]

You could even cut a strip about waste high and then cover with a 1x6 trim board and paint it for a stripe in your garage. That way you could fish wires down for floor level access or up for benchtop use. Use screws to secure it and then you can even remove it later to add/change circuits. Paint before installing and it would be no trouble to remove at a later time.

 

[Elginz]

I would vote for the chair rail type stripe. Incorporated in to the over all scheme of things it could look pretty nice, and future needs would be a breeze.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Is the OP in "cold country"? (OP needs to revise his profile to show what state or province he is located in.

Is there insulation in the building? If not, and in a cold climate, I would bite the bullet and strip out ALL of the sheetrock on the walls right now, in the beginning, and do the wiring and insulation right, to begin with, rather than half A$$ it.

Charles

Edit:

Not to mention the attic is insulated as well as the walls.
I'm from Ohio.

Sorry, I missed this in your earlier post.

 

[natev]

You could even cut a strip about waste high and then cover with a 1x6 trim board and paint it for a stripe in your garage. That way you could fish wires down for floor level access or up for benchtop use. Use screws to secure it and then you can even remove it later to add/change circuits. Paint before installing and it would be no trouble to remove at a later time.

I would vote for the chair rail type stripe. Incorporated in to the over all scheme of things it could look pretty nice, and future needs would be a breeze.

This was my original thought. The border/chair rail would have to be pretty wide. At least wide enough to get my drill in there. I'm also wondering what I should use as the border/chair rail. I'm going for a clean look. So I'm still undecided, just exploring options now. Went to Menards this weekend and browsed a little bit, but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. Might end up biting the bullet and use drywall to get the look that I'm going for.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[alfredeneuman]

Just run the electrical on the surface of the drywall with conduit.
It won't look as clean, but will be much more flexible should you decide later to add something,
That way you won't have to tear up the drywall