Electrical Plan for new garage

[Short Round]

Hi gang. I'm no electrical expert and wanted to run some stuff by you to get a better idea of options to educate myself.

I am in the process of contracting a garage. My contractor is doing the concrete work, framing, siding, roofing, doors and windows. Basically the shell.

My layout. I'm set way back off the road, up a hill. My meter is at the street with a shut off box with a lock on it. I have poles that run the 10th of a mile up to the house and then the service comes down the pole and runs underground 35-40 yards to the house. The corner of my garage will be right near that last pole where the service goes underground. Either my brother or the neighbor mentioned splitting/piggybacking the service at the top of the pole and run to the garage separately as long as the wire is sized the same as the house they say that's ok. My house has 200 amp service.

What I want is 200 amp service in the garage and I also want to design in the ability to install a standby generator that comes on automatically. This makes me think I'd be better off making the garage my main service, with the generator switch capability there and making the house a subpanel off the garage and not doing the split service from the top of the pole.

Obviously I'm no electrician, my brother was a journeyman electrician for some years before jumping over to the power company and I used to help him run wire and install stuff on his side jobs but I wasn't the brains, just a pair of hands.

FWIW, inside my house my panel has a 200 amp main breaker and a 2" conduit coming through the wall so I'm pretty sure I have 200amp at the house.

Any thoughts and advice you have I would gladly accept.

Thanks,

Tom

ETA- I own all the wire and poles beyond the meter at the street.

 

[Short Round]

Ducks those are all good suggestions.

I envision a work bench with outlets above somewhere below cabinets.

At least three or four light zones inside. Under cabinet work bench lighting.

Dedicated outlets for a compressor, welder.

I haven't decided if all will be flush mount or some combo of conduit. Conduit on the back work bench wall is one thought.

I was thinking of hard wiring the shop lights but your thought on plug ins has some merit. I've been replacing my basement lights, el cheapo fixtures with those damned awful rosey curley cue bulbs with hard wired LED lights. I did one right over my basement work bench when I could barely read my tape measure. I bought 2 more to replace 2 other basement lights. I might get those installed tonight.

Sometime this week his guy with the excavator should be over. Going to do the dirt work, layered and compacted stone and then going to let it sit for a few rains to let it settle. Contractor has other contracted dates before me so getting the site work done early appealed to me as I know there will be some fill for leveling.

Fill is going in in layers and getting bucket pounded and jumping jacked. Then rained on/watered for maybe up to 2 months.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If u want backup power for both your house AND shop then yes u would need to either put in a main service panel with a transfer switch at the pole, then do a 4-wire feeder to the house and garage, or as u said put the main service on the garage or house and subfeed the other structure.

Is it just a meter at the road or is there a disconnect there as well?

What kind of loads will u have in the garage?

What kind of loads do u have in the house?

If all electric house and u want to run big loads in the garage then u may have to redo the overhead lines feeding your property and the PoCo may need to put in a larger transformer.

Your PoCo may also want a load calc to add the garage...

 

[Short Round]

There is the meter and a padlocked disconnect down by the road. I have the key to the padlock. About 4 maybe 5 poles on my side of the meter.

Garage loads I'm planning for a compressor, probably not the largest, just a good size harry homeowner size, planning down the road for a welder, same thing, I'm no pro and don't own one but want to pick one up. Also planning for a lift. Hobby stuff isn't that heavy table saws, drill press, grinder, electric lead melting pot. Heat in the garage will be propane overhead Modine type.

House loads, deep well pump, dryer, 3 AC window units, lights, etc. No electric heat, boiler which feeds one of those efficiency holding tank type water heaters (water heater does not have it's own heating source).

The house really doesn't have too many hogs, the well might be the big momentary draw.

To me it seems to make sense to make the garage the main panel. It's going to be near the pole and the house service currently runs from the pole and about where the bottom of the door concrete apron would be. Propane supply is already by the opposite side of the garage (not the pole side)