wiring 101

[47fordCOE]

I know this has been discussed more than once but I was unable to find the exact info I was looking for.....so here goes...
I just bought a 1950's spanish/craftsman here in San Diego..my wife and I love it...but the garage is a one car with no recipitacles...I can handle the size but the wiring needs some attention. I have a main panal in the garage with quiet a few extra braker slots(not sure what there called) so in a nut shell can I add the brakers and lines to put recipitacles in the garage...I have basic power tools so 220 is not needed....as you can probably tell I'm pretty much lost when it comes to electrical....thanks in advanced Aaron

 

[Charles (in GA)]

If you are lost at electrical, get someone knowledgable to work with you, even if you have to pay a willing electrician to do it, but get an education in the process. You can do serious damage or cause fires, etc. with seemingly minor mistakes, but don't be scared off, get an education in the process. It sounds like you could easily add breakers and circuits if you have available openings in the panelboard. You will have to use GFCI (Ground Fault) receptacles (cheapest option) or GFCI circuit breakers (more expensive option) on the garage circuits, to comply with code.

Charles

 

[hitek]

I am not advocating doin' it yourself if you are not a proficient electrician...but you can buy some pretty good do it yourself electrical books at Home Depot or Lowes. You should be able to feel your way around the project with the book at your side.

 

[47fordCOE]

Thanks Guys....I'll start buy reading up and if i'm dumber than when I started I hire an electrician.

 

[Vermaraj]

Definitely you can do this if you have the desire to learn some wiring basics. If you do choose to wire an outlet do yourself a favor and turn off the main breaker, shutting down all power to the house. When working with a dead panel you can relax, take your time and not worry about your hand or a screwdriver slipping.

The cost for an electrician to come to your house and wire a GFCI outlet directly below the panel is about $150. The materials to do it yourself are about $30-50 and maybe 2 hours in the library plus 30 mins actual working time. So you can weigh the costs vs time vs your interest in learning to wire.

 

[T1704]

I've been through this in my last garage. I ran 1/2" EMC (Conduit) to feed four receptacles and added two new circuits from the box. I did have a licensed electrician terminate to the box (And would recommend the same to you)

A couple words of advise. Definitely install 20A minimum circuits and 12 guage min wire. I made the mistake of running 14 ga wire, which is rated for a 15A recept without realizing that my compressor, chop saw, etc. all required 15A. So, every now and then when the compressor kicked on, it would trip the circuit. Also, if you're going to do it, figure out how many receptacles you want, then add a few more....I've realized that you can never have enough. I think I paid $25 ea for the sqare D brand circuits, I probably could have ran all 4 recepts from one, but decided to buy two and split them up that way I could have multiple tools in use at the same time. Sorry to ramble here, but I also wished I would have put a recept in the ceiling to plug in a 30ft. retractrable extension coord I wanted to mount there.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[rickshank]

Yes, for your first time wiring, watch someone else do it.

Here's a book that I (and many of my friends) have found helpful. I read it cover to cover. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-3502389-4233421?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cauldwell+wiring&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

It will cover most of your basic questions.

 

[RAMBIN]

theres some good info here "hometime.com" might help ya little

 

[thefairlaneman]

Im was like you. After some serious reading and asking those that knew. I was BY MYSELF able to wire my shop using a buried cable ,install a sub panel , and with it have 2 220 circuits . I even removed the meter and worked with the 440 volt connections,,,,,,,,,,,,,,shezammmmm