This should be simple but... adding a receptacle

[turbo6justin]

I don't know why I can't figure this out. I have 2 3-way switches one at the top of the stairs one at the bottom. They control 3 lights in the basement. I am looking to come off the switch at the top of the stairs run about 3 feet up the wall and add a receptacle so I can add a short flourescent strip at the top of the stairs. I have tried every combination there is of red/blackcommon)/white from the top switch and can't figure out how to wire this so the upper receptacle switches with both switches. I know I could run from one of the light circuits with a 14-2 but that would be 20 feet of wire I don't have handy and I would have to poke a hole in the wall somehow to run from the basement and since this wall is on a double joist I am not sure how I would go about running the wire up.

I have done a lot more difficult wiring than this and yet for some reason I am stumped.

Many thanks.

 

[pattenp]

You are on the wrong end of the switch loop. The new light needs to be wired off the last switch in the run to the existing lights.
If you just have three wires it won't work from that switch location.

This may be your setup:

or this:

 

[turbo6justin]

I can add a few more details that should help here. The switch downstairs that I am not trying to use has a single 14-3 going to it. The switch upstairs has the other end of the 14-3 from the other switch. It has 2 additional 14-2's one from the breaker (I assume) and one for the light run. All the whites are together. All the grounds are of course together. The red from the 14-3 is used on the switch as are the blacks.

 

[Milton Shaw]

The 14-2 from the breaker should have 120 on it all the time, and you should be able to splice and run from it. If you want the new light to be controlled from the switch then you would need to splice into the output of the switch circuit. It should not take long with a volt meter to check out. Mark and unhook the 14-2's and see which pair is hot all the time. Turn breaker off to unhook, isolate wires so they can't touch anything, turn breaker back on and test.

 

[nmk_61802]

From you updated description, it sounds like you have this:

http://www.homeimprovementweb.com/information/how-to/three-way-switch-option1.htm

However the source and the load should be on opposite ends, not on the same end.

But yet you say no whites are tied to the switches to indicate a dead end three way;

You should investigate this more, but you should be able to do what you want if you pig tail off the neutral and the common (hot) wire providing power to the light fixture.