Running electrical wiring in temporary wall

[MisterSomebody]

First post to the forum. I have a 2 car garage that i want to partition one side to be a workshop. I'd like to put up a temporary wood stud and plywood wall and I'd like to run a few electrical outlets to power up tools. I have access to the breaker panel in the bay that I'm converting. My thought is to run a new 20 amp circuit and mount the boxes with metal conduit on the surface of the wall. This way when I take down the wall (whenever that happens ) I can easily strip off the wiring and recycle it for other uses. Has anyone done this or have any ideas that might help me in planning?

 

[u2slow]

I've run a lot of temp power in my days on construction sites. Usually #12/3 AC cable. Run it along the top of the wall or ceiling and drop it down to where you want the receptacles. In my own place, I'd be comfortable to do it with Romex - it's only temporary.

Bending up conduit... what I'd do for more permanent work.

 

[ycgoat]

It would just need to meet code like any other electrical installation. Some localities require conduit, and then there is protection from damage for the NM or AC cables. Running a main branch at the ceiling (as stated above) is a good idea.

 

[nadogail]

Welcome to the Forum; Electrical Codes vary by location. Pipe and Box is genuinely acceptable in most locations. but the idea of running NM-B across the top of the walls and dropping down between the studs sounds both cheap and easy. The NM-B cable must be protected from physical damage. If it is on top of a wall, who is going to bang into it?

 

[rburke65]

That doesn’t sound temporary wiring to me. Install it to pass code.

 

[Bucko]

My previous house had a 3 car garage. One single door and one double. I divided it and made my shop in the one car portion. For power I ran a new 20a breaker and put a junction box in the attic above the dividing wall. Then all the outlets on that wall and the perimeter block wall opposite the dividing wall were powered from that spot. Figured if it needed to be torn out there was already a box set up.

 

[James-W]

Welcome to the forum.

How long is this going to be "temporary"? Just a few months, or will it be a few years?

 

[Easterly]

I wanted to do something similar to my garage. I wanted to transform it into a studio as I didn't have a car. I didn't want to run the cable so that it was visible, and I was afraid not to do anything wrong. I decided to use the domestic electrical services by Ford Electrical. They helped me with a clear and detailed plan for all the necessary things to be done to achieve the wanted result. They helped me with choosing the right electrical codes. In most cases, Box was enough, but we also used Pipe as I wanted a special type of lighting that required more detailed work. So if you have doubts, just ask an expert in the field. He will give you the right advice.

 

[mike93lx]

Why not just run the wire in the wall, like normal construction?

 

[75gmck25]

When the OP says metal conduit I think he is talking about wiremold, which is easier to run than EMT conduit.

If your ceiling is unfinished, or you are willing to run wire in on the ceiling surface, I would first run wiring along the ceiling or through joists above, and install 4x4 junction boxes in several areas along the run. If run on the ceiling I would prefer conduit, just for looks if you plan to leave it in place.
Then tap into those junctions and run wiring down to wherever you want a receptacle. If you used metal clad (MC) cable it would provide some protection, or you would need to run down the temporary wall studs and set the wire back half way to protect it. Whenever you remove that wall you would just disconnect at the ceiling junctions and remove all the vertical wiring. The ceiling junction boxes could be left in place and used for ceiling receptacles, lights, etc.

This wiring scheme should be code-compliant (although the definition of adequate wiring protection of vertical runs may be an issue for some inspectors), and if you install GFCIs on all the circuits it will meet the garage GFCI requirement.

 

[SlappyWhite]

I would just run NMSC in the wall through the studs.