Garage outlets help

[Chadwilliam1]

I just had a house built. I have a 32 x 24 3 car garage. The garage only came with one GFI outlet. The builder wanted 70 dollars per outlet in the garge but my issue was i didnt know where i wanted them not only that I didnt want to pay $70 per outlet. I have a flushmounted 100 amp sub panel in the garage. I am trying to decide how to run the electric to the outlets. I need to run 240 to my compressor and 240 for my stick welder and i will have air lines running on the outside of the drywall.

I have attick access and i am pretty good at pulling wire. My walls are insulated but my attick is not i figured after i am done i will insulate the attick. Would you guys fish the outlets through the drywall or would you run it all in metal conduit?

Thanks
Chad

I will try to get some pictures of in a little bit.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd rather have the outlets in the wall if you have drywall.


$70/outlet, is the regular price or was that due to a change order ?

 

[cdestuck]

I would sink the outlets in the drywall. You never know about running conduit. It could get in the way of something you want to hang later.

 

[tadder52]

I would put them in the wall as well.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If u surface mount them then u may have issues if u sell the house. Putting them in the drywall would look more like original!

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I'd rather have the outlets in the wall if you have drywall.


$70/outlet, is the regular price or was that due to a change order ?

That is what they charge for for every gfi outlet. There is also only one outlet in the basement for that very reason. I couldnt justify spending that kind of money per outlet.

 

[ShadowRuleZ]

That is what they charge for for every gfi outlet. There is also only one outlet in the basement for that very reason. I couldnt justify spending that kind of money per outlet.

Mine quoted $100/outlet for GFI!

 

[wyliesdiesels]

That is what they charge for for every gfi outlet. There is also only one outlet in the basement for that very reason. I couldnt justify spending that kind of money per outlet.

Mine quoted $100/outlet for GFI!

Does that include wire box etc?

A GFCI is approx $15 in bulk buy, the wire labor and co overhead might add upto $30-40 and the rest is profit!

 

[AlwaysFixingSomething]

That's how much things cost to have a professional electrician. You can look on Craigslist and joe handyman will do it for a beer and $5 for gas

 

[CoopVA]

That's how much things cost to have a professional electrician. You can look on Craigslist and joe handyman will do it for a beer and $5 for gas

And you'll have to go buy all the material too...


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[RickP]

I just had a house built. I have a 32 x 24 3 car garage. The garage only came with one GFI outlet.

I have attick access and i am pretty good at pulling wire. My walls are insulated but my attick is not i figured after i am done i will insulate the attick. Would you guys fish the outlets through the drywall or would you run it all in metal conduit.

My garage is similar to yours, and I've been fishing the wires behind the drywall when I need to add outlets. Depending on the height of your ceiling, you may have blocking between studs - mine has it at a height of about 6 feet. It makes it impossible to fish wires without cutting access holes in the drywall.

 

[teamextreme]

I really depends on the configuration of your roof, etc. Everyone can suggest you fish the wire in the walls, but if you don't have a gable end of the roof on your perimeter walls it's not going to be possible to fish anything from the attic. The shared wall with the house will likely be accessible. Depending on where you need outlets and what the attic/roof configuration is will be the answer to how you run things. I wouldn't hesitate to run surface mounted EMT if necessary. I'm a little surprised with all the responses so far that are advising against it. Usually everyone favors that approach.

Wylies, why would you think selling with surface mount conduit would be an issue? If it's done right, an inspector can't say much. 240v outlets, regardless of install method, will be a red flag that they very likely weren't original.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I really depends on the configuration of your roof, etc. Everyone can suggest you fish the wire in the walls, but if you don't have a gable end of the roof on your perimeter walls it's not going to be possible to fish anything from the attic. The shared wall with the house will likely be accessible. Depending on where you need outlets and what the attic/roof configuration is will be the answer to how you run things. I wouldn't hesitate to run surface mounted EMT if necessary. I'm a little surprised with all the responses so far that are advising against it. Usually everyone favors that approach.

Wylies, why would you think selling with surface mount conduit would be an issue? If it's done right, an inspector can't say much. 240v outlets, regardless of install method, will be a red flag that they very likely weren't original.

because of a lack of permits pulled. Since the additional outlets arent on the original plans submitted to the city, then it can be a red flag. Sure a home inspector wont care, but an agressive AHJ might notice.

I have seen this happen before!

 

[teamextreme]

But when would an AHJ get involved in a house sale?

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Here Are some pics because they always help.

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[Chadwilliam1]

Sent From My HTC ONE M8 using Tapatalk.

 

[Ballistic Jello]

Everyone can suggest you fish the wire in the walls, but if you don't have a gable end of the roof on your perimeter walls it's not going to be possible to fish anything from the attic.

^ THIS.

I think I would start with some kind of fish rod and drill a hole down through the top plate, stick the rod in as far as possible, pull it out and measure, then go down and see if you made it to 48" or whatever height you're shooting for. If there's nothing horizontally in the stud bay it would be pretty straightforward to cut in boxes and fish the wire down...

 

[jkwilson]

$70 per outlet would be a bargain now. Trying to fish something through insulation on a wall with low eaves will be a challenge to say the least.

 

[Plump]

With your original comment that you didn't know where you want the outlets, it seems like EMT would be the way to go. You can always, and easily, change where you're going with conduit. Sure, sometimes it ***** to have to deal with where to hang things but I've changed location and number of boxes a few times with little problem.

 

[ford33]

I installed my conduit and airlines outside the drywall. I like the look and planned the installation so it would look nice with straight conduit runs and coordinated bends in adjoining conduit. I am not an electrician and I did the project to learn a new skill. It took 10 times longer for me to do it than an electrician but I was having fun.

If you decided to run pipe and conduit outside the drywall, plan the routes in advance and allow for future hanging cabinets and other wall mounted items. You will need conduit for ceiling lighting, wall outlets and compressed air pipe and connections. Take a picture of the walls and using Microsoft paint or another photo editor you can draw lines on the picture showing the conduit and pipe runs. You will immediately see where lines will cross and where extra space is needed for adjoining conduit runs. Or use SketchUp for the layout. Google conduit runs and see pictures of professional installations. Some of them are works of art.

You may not want to install the conduit and pipe directly to the drywall. Consider using steel strut attached to the wall and ceiling and use a conduit or pipe hanger to attach to the strut. It looks nice and allows for slight movement of the conduit to make nice straight runs.

Also consider cleaning, degreasing and painting the conduit and pipe prior to installation. You can color code it so it has an commercial look to the installation.

Conduit runs a work of art picture:
https://www.google.com/search?q=conduit+runs&biw=1171&bih=662&tbm=isch&imgil=MfVCtWEnSphZ_M%253A%253BHH-R2MXeyY6A9M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.keslou.com%25252Fnews.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=MfVCtWEnSphZ_M%253A%252CHH-R2MXeyY6A9M%252C_&usg=__juIgvQzrQr9Dn-tdV-TIwEfQjnM%3D&ved=0CCkQyjc&ei=BZqQVPq2CM2qyATHsIHIDA#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=QkODFAuTqqJhZM%253A%3BMYQf0WrSNm5z6M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi1139.photobucket.com%252Falbums%252Fn548%252Fsparky970%252FIMAG0332.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.electriciantalk.com%252Ff2%252Fyour-best-photos-conduit-28193%252F%3B1024%3B608

 

[C96]

I prefer exposed black iron pipe for compressed air lines and EMT for the electrical.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Thanks for all the input. I probably won't start on this until spring. I have a reusable cord to hang from the ceiling I will use through the winter.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I've dropped a couple of outlets one for that end of the garage (that leads out to an exterior outlet keeping a light on my flag when I fly it) and one for my welder. I'm fortunate (at least until I finish up the garage walls) that its unfinished..and I dropped both of these directly outside of my electrical box.

To accommodate garage outlet needs otherwise, I have two cord reels, one with a trouble light, the other (left side of picture) just a corded reel with 3 taps.

In my basement shop, I go with the industrial look (got to get the correct color or safety orange....).... of external EMT on top of the wall board / peg board.

Denins

 

[woodzy]

I had the same issue in the house I just built. The builder only included three outlets in the garage (1 per car bay) and two outside. Since my two boys are electricians, I asked if I could do the electrical. They agreed that it would be OK and gave me a $7250 credit so I added outlets switches anywhere I wanted and it only cost me the materials.

I ended up with about 20 outlets in the garage (garage has 13' ceilings) and the top row in the garage is for my neon light collection. Plus I had 10 outlets outside (5 for Christmas lights wired to a switch inside). I ended adding 28 LED can lights in the basement and probably 40 more can lights in the house / garage/ soffits. I could not imagine how much additional my electrical bill would have been but my guess it would have been at least doubled from what they estimated.

For you situation, I would always fish in the walls and not surface anything unless it was impossible to fish in the wall. Cleaner, and doesn't look like it was an afterthought.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I had the same issue in the house I just built. The builder only included three outlets in the garage (1 per car bay) and two outside. Since my two boys are electricians, I asked if I could do the electrical. They agreed that it would be OK and gave me a $7250 credit so I added outlets switches anywhere I wanted and it only cost me the materials.

I ended up with about 20 outlets in the garage (garage has 13' ceilings) and the top row in the garage is for my neon light collection. Plus I had 10 outlets outside (5 for Christmas lights wired to a switch inside). I ended adding 28 LED can lights in the basement and probably 40 more can lights in the house / garage/ soffits. I could not imagine how much additional my electrical bill would have been but my guess it would have been at least doubled from what they estimated.

For you situation, I would always fish in the walls and not surface anything unless it was impossible to fish in the wall. Cleaner, and doesn't look like it was an afterthought.

****

Whow!! Very nice..

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Dennis u cut the quote code from the end of the quote

 

[kbs2244]

Just cut slots in the dry wall where you want the runs.
Use 3/4 inch EMT for the extra room later, if needed.
Then patch the drywall.
Dry wall is cheap and patching isn't that hard.
Any pro will do it as a side job, or you can teach yourself.

 

[383 240z]

[/b]

because of a lack of permits pulled. Since the additional outlets arent on the original plans submitted to the city, then it can be a red flag. Sure a home inspector wont care, but an agressive AHJ might notice.

I have seen this happen before!

But when would an AHJ get involved in a house sale?

What the hell is an AHJ??

Man you guys who live in communities kill me. Out here in the sticks all they check before a sale is are the taxes paid. I went to the muni building to get a permit to replace all the windows in my house, all the guy behind the counter wanted was to know what I was doing with the old ones and if he could have them for his barn. Keith

 

[CoopVA]

Authority Having Jurisdiction...


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[teamextreme]

AKA building inspector

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Dennis u cut the quote code from the end of the quote

Yeah.. didn't want to repost the pictures..

 

[Syberia]

AKA building inspector

AKA Gestapo

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I've dropped a couple of outlets one for that end of the garage (that leads out to an exterior outlet keeping a light on my flag when I fly it) and one for my welder. I'm fortunate (at least until I finish up the garage walls) that its unfinished..and I dropped both of these directly outside of my electrical box.

To accommodate garage outlet needs otherwise, I have two cord reels, one with a trouble light, the other (left side of picture) just a corded reel with 3 taps.

In my basement shop, I go with the industrial look (got to get the correct color or safety orange....).... of external EMT on top of the wall board / peg board.

Dennis

*****

Finished the garage outlets including hanging my last cord reel from the K-Mart that is closing by us. First picture / macro shows the new panels and the outlet reel. I wanted to insure that the electrical wires I just ran for my basement lights were safe behind a barrier. I had to run the wires to the bottom of the box (adjacent to the outlets in the previous post's electrical outlets), because the top access was fully used ..

 

[CoopVA]

Looks good!


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[HoosierMark]

Why not cut a channel say 5 1/2 inch wide in the drywall, run the wire and outlets and then put a decorative board in to cover the channel. Wall would still be flat and you can screwe the board to the studs. Seems like it would be a lot easier to run the wire this way. Then you have an access channel anytime you want to change things.

 

[bczygan]

You should have installed wire to all possible locations when the wall was open. With some extra pulled and looped and left in the wall at each location.

MUCH easier.

Then later you just cut holes, pull out the loop and install boxes and receptacles.

 

[david63]

Not sure if your aware but you DON"T need a GFCI outlet for each outlet to provide protection. You can run regular outlets down stream from the first GFCI. Only the first outlet needs to be GFCI. This provides protection on all outlets on the same circuit. Alternatively you can install a GFCI circuit breaker to protect all the receptacles on that circuit. GFCI outlets are about $14 a piece. Regular outlets are about 60 cents. Big saving. GFCI circuit breakers are about $40. Determine how many you need and decide what is easiest for you that also meets local codes.

 

[whitedogone]

I know how I'd do it. Pull NM up from the load center into the attic. Then surface mount boxes with the NM inside that for physical protection stubbed up thru the ceiling.