Thinking about putting in your own DIY floor electrical outlet? Check out this fun DIY how-to project where I did it myself! Not easy, but not that hard!

With so many outlets in my house, why is it that I never seem to have power where I want it? I recently bought a turn table and I’d like to have power for it in the center of my living room. So now I’m trying to figure out, “How do you get power in the center of a room?”. Check out the video above to see.

Things I Used in This DIY Floor Electrical Outlet Project:

• Leviton Pop Up Outlet
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Today we’re discussing the DIY electrical wiring basics! I walk through how to choose the correct wire and what is inside, as well as the connectors available. You’ll definitely want to check out the new, easy push in connectors and the outlets that make side wiring so much easier…. and more! Watch this video, quickly learn the basics and you can wire your next switch or outlet without the cost of an electrician!

Check out my other electrical videos here!

Things I Used In This DIY Electrical Wiring Basics Tutorial:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Crescent 2-In-One Pliers
• Wire Nuts
• Direct Bury Wire Nuts
• Push In Wire Connectors
• Aluminum/Copper Wire Connector

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about putting in your own DIY Outdoor GFCI Outlet? Look no further and check out this project where I show you exactly what to do!

This week, I’m showing you how to very easily install an outdoor GFCI outlet from an existing interior outlet. It’s a fast DIY project for anyone that needs an exterior outlet in a new location!

Things I Used in This Outdoor GFCI Outlet Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Lufkin Tape Measure
• Electrical Box
• Outdoor Weatherproof Electrical Box
• Crescent 2-In-One Electrical Pliers
• Wiring Push Connectors

For more outlet related content, check out my other video where I added indoor outlets in my garage!

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Trying to figure out how to add an electrical outlet? Check out this easy DIY project where I added one to an existing wall as easily as possible!

My garage is short on outlets. In this video I’m showing you how to add new outlets to an existing wall, without damaging or repairing drywall! This is a very easy project and a great solution to adding outlets to a room.

Also, check out my video where I install 220 in my garage.

Things I Used in This How To Add An Electrical Outlet Project:

• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Stealth Mask Respirator (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• Triton Multitool
• Double Gang Electrical Boxes
• Nail Plates

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

In part 5 of my Outdoor Kitchen build, I’m going to show you DIY tips and tricks for running electrical wiring on a deck or outdoor structure, to get power for lights, sound and more. Check out the video above!

Stay tuned as next week I’ll be showing you how we poured the pour-in-place concrete countertops!

Check out the previous videos in this Outdoor Kitchen build series:

• Find Part 1 (building the deck) here.
• Find Part 2 (framing the roof) here.
• Find Part 3 (adding roofing) here.
• Find Part 4 (building an outdoor fireplace) here.

Things I Used in This Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Kichler Lighting
• Portacool Jetstream 230
• Crescent eSHOK bits
• Crescent 2-1 Pliers
• DAP Dynagrip

Big thank you to Portacool for sponsoring this video! Find the Jetstream 230 that I have (and more!) at their website here.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about putting in your own DIY outdoor lighting? Check out this project where I added a light AND an outdoor outlet to the yard!

In this video tutorial I am showing you how to get power to anywhere in your yard! This is super helpful when you need lighting or an outlet. A homeowner can DIY this job and safely bury the wire along the way. I also show how to make a small lamp post with lighting, a useful exterior outlet and finish it off with a nice Fence Armor post cap and finial. Check out the video for details!

Things I Used in This DIY Outdoor Lighting Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Crescent 2in1 Pliers
• ToughBuilt Tool Belt
• Fence Armor PostSaver Sleeve
• Fence Armor Post Cap
• Fence Armor Finials
• Fence Post Mix

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about trying to install under cabinet lighting? Check out this project where I walk you through how I installed my own in my kitchen!

I really want to add backsplash to my kitchen. However, it is the perfect opportunity, before adding backsplash, while you still have open walls, to add under the cabinet lighting. That way you can run the wires and hide them. So, i’m going to be showing you how to do that in this video.

For wiring, i’m going to be coming up from this switch here.

I’m going to use this switch to turn on and off all of my under cabinet lighting at once.

Also just a tip if you want to protect your countertops an easy solution there is to cut up cardboard around the faucets and lay it over the entire thing. This way you don’t even have to worry about it.

So what i’m going to do is increase this to a two switch double gang so that one will operate the light above the sink. And then the second switch will operate the under cabinet lighting independently.

I used a level to make some rough lines. I kind of changed my mind a few times on where to do it because you don’t want to leave too thin of a strip at the bottom because that’ll make it more difficult whenever you go to patch things back up.

After having my line situated i next used a multi-tool to make my cut if you don’t have a multi-tool no sweat you can also use a hand saw it’s just going to take you a little bit more time. Also just a tip from me if you want to keep your space a little bit tidier as you’re doing this then i recommend using a shop vac to run along as you’re making your cut so that it can be sucking up the dust as you’re creating.

it also another really good tip is as you’re pulling out the pieces you can label them so that you know exactly where they go when you’re trying to patch it back up.

Next i started running romex. Since the lights are mounted to the underside of the cabinets i drilled a hole in the back then ran the wire from the hole to the switch.

At this point i’m leaving all my wires long and just getting them in place.

To get to the next bay of cabinets I needed to go through a few studs, so I used an auger bed and a drill to punch some holes. When you’re cutting into your wall, you only need an opening big enough to get a drill in there. For this step i stubbed out a new line at each bay of cabinets i wanted a light fixture.

Bare studs are simple to go through. But studs with an outlet on them you need to consider the following:

I need to get wiring from the left side of the studs to the right.

Whenever i’m choosing whether i go over the outlet and angle my bed up, or angle it down, I look inside of this blue box to see where the wires are coming in at. On this one they’re coming in from the top side.

So I don’t want to drill up like this because i could possibly hit the wiring inside and that would be a whole problem. So instead i’m going to angle my drill down and get through this stud this way.

Now that we have a gateway over to this stud bay, I’m just going to cut an access hole so that I’ll have room in order to fish the wire up and then over here on the bottom side of the cabinet.

This is the trickiest part of the project: making a pathway and then fishing the wire through. But you can see that it is very achievable. Going from the light switch, through the bare studs, down under the outlet, then up to the cabinet where I’ll next mount the fixture.

Before closing it back up I added in another switch. The first switch will remain for the light above my sink. While the second switch will be for all of the cabinet lights.

When all the wiring is done, next was to close it all back up. For me this job doesn’t have to be perfect as next I’m going to be adding backsplash and covering up all of this drywall.

I would place the pieces that i cut earlier back in the position and reattach them with screws.

So the next step is to patch up the cracks. You can do this with some drywall repair tape. And this stuff here is self-adhesive on the back where you literally just kind of peel and stick it.

Next you can apply mud to the tape. I don’t have a lot of experience in mudding, but the great thing again about this job is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re just trying to get a good foundation for the backsplash.

Oh one tip though: I would recommend is getting a fast setting drywall mud so that you don’t have a big down time once you apply the mud. I ended up getting a 90 minute. So during that 90 minutes, I then switched over to installing the lights.

They have a keyhole slot where you can trace with a pencil on the underside of the cabinet. And they do recommend that the light be placed towards the front of the cabinet.

This way you know where to pre-drill and attach with screws.

Then, all three of your wires your black neutral and green all come with quick connectors. Once you strip back the wires coming out of the wall, you just slip them right into their connectors shove them back into the housing. And now you have a light fixture.

now it should become quite clear on why this is the perfect project to do before tackling backsplash. None of this has to be perfect or prettied or all of this drywall perfectly patched back up. It just needs to be strong enough to hold up tile.

Now something else i did on my exact setup is I added this wood wood trim. And that’s just because the thickness of my cabinet bottom didn’t completely hide the light. So know that if your situation is the same this is a very quick and easy solution to where it just adds some nice wooden trim and then stain it to match.

In this way whenever I flip them on i still get the functionality of the light shining down but I don’t actually have to look right into the bulbs.

Having a switch dedicated to operating all of the lights as one complete unit is definitely worth the time. Especially if you already have a switch and you just have to upgrade it to a two game instead.

I really hope that this video has helped you out. It was 100 worth the effort to me. And then of course backsplash will be my next video. So if this is on your to-do list then hopefully I’ve shortened your learning curve and gave you a little bit better of an idea on what you can anticipate from the project.

I will see you on my next project!

Things I Used in This Install Under Cabinet Lighting Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Triton Multitool
• Lights
• Drywall Joint Tape

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Thinking about putting in new LEDs? Check out this project where I show you how to install recessed lighting in 1 day! Easiest way to put in new lighting!

In this video I’m fixing the problem of not having enough lights in a room. This is a break room me and my employees use when we’re at The Wood Shed. We often use this space as a computer work area and break room which is great, but it’s just too dark.

It’s actually really simple to add lights to any space so in this video I’m going to do just that and show you the steps incase you have a room in your house that needs the same. 

Things I Used in This How To Install Recessed Lighting Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Adjustable Hole Saw
• Stealth Dust Mask
• Ultra Slim LED Lights
• Toughbuilt Cliptech Tool Belt System

The first thing to do is locate the joist and figure out which way they are running. You basically want to know where the joists are so that you can avoid them.

What I did to figure out my light layout is first decide how many lights I wanted in the space. Then I measured the length of the ceiling space and divided it into equal parts for the number of lights. For my space, I wanted two rows of four lights and my ceiling is 274” long. That means I’ll have a light every 55”. 

You can do the same math for dictating the placement of the rows however, I placed these by eye instead. I have a ceiling fan in the center of the room so I picked a placement by eye then matched that measurement on the other side. 

Now you can very well just go through the ceiling and make a bunch of pencil marks. However, I instead used rows of painters tape to make a quick visual guide. It goes up and down quickly and also is very easy to see.

At this point, I went to each light location and ran a screw in, just to double check that I wasn’t on any joist. If you are, then move the location one way or the other before getting going. I was all good, so next I start prepping for drilling holes. 

There is a variety of tools you can use for cutting holes in drywall but a cheap specialty tool definitely worth picking up for this one job is called a adjustable hole saw cutter. It has two teeth that rotate in a circle on a drill. It’s adjustable so you just need to match it to the size of your fixture.

Before getting after it, I next made a dust shield. Drilling into drywall above your head is going to create a huuuuge mess.  They make plastic shields but I didn’t pick one up. So instead I grabbed an old basketball and cut it in half.

After drilling a hole in the bottom, I could poke my drill through and grab onto the hole cutting tool. Now when I cut into the ceiling most of the dust will be captured in the ball instead of going all over the house.

However, drywall is still nasty stuff, so as you can see I’m wearing a respirator.

Next is to determine power. You just need to find power in the area that you can join these lights to. In my case, I have an old pendant light that I want to go away so after taking it down I’ll put in a blank but use it’s wiring as my power source to then daisy chain off to each one of my new lights. 

My room is actually a room built within a bigger shell so the insulation is on the ceiling of this attic space instead of on the floor. Which makes my job here even more simple since all the bays are nice and open. 

In the attic, I located the romex from the pendent light that I just disconnected and then routed it to the furthest hole. Then I ran a separate strand of Romex from the first hole to the second, to start daisy chaining the lights. Make sure you have at least 6 – 8″ to leave yourself enough wire to work with with each light.

For lighting I’m going with recessed disc lights. These are quickly taking the place of Can lights which use to be the old go to for jobs like this, but these are not only easier to install but also cheaper. They are LED so good efficiency, and a lot of them have adjustable color temperatures as well. 

Each light comes with two parts: the transformer and the light itself.

Each light has two springs on the side to hold the lights in place.

You can attach the transformer to the joist with the attachments here

After running the Romex, it’s back down to the space to start stripping wire and terminating connections.

The last thing to do is take the tape down before the fixtures go all the way in, and you’re done.

I don’t know if it can get more simple, so if you have a dark room or area then I hope this video has given you the confidence to tackle the job of adding lighting to it.

Don’t forget to watch the video above to see an even more detailed tutorial. I’ll see you on my next project. 

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

(Most of the links listed above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me in this way.)

Wondering how to get electrical service set up for your new shop or even for the home you want to build? Check out this project where I show you how!

When building my new shop, bringing in power was one of those things I drastically underestimated the difficultly of. I figured it would be the case where the electrical company would set a new box with 200 amps, set a new meter, then run wires from it to my shop.

Nuh uh. It was a multiple step process that was time consuming and expensive. I documented the entire process so those of you looking to build a new shop or house or anything else that will require running power, can have a general idea of the process and learn from a few things from my go round. Keep in mind, I live in the country and not within City limits, so the process will differ if you live within a City.

Okay, lets start at the beginning.

Where I built my shop, there is an existing power pole about 500 feet to the North so we knew we would be getting power from that direction. With that, when the slab was poured, Cody placed a sweep 90 in the slab on the side of the shop that was pointed towards that existing power pole. So that later all the wiring would have a spot to enter into the building.

Lesson to learn here: Cody placed the conduit but when the concrete guys started pouring, it was shifted and dried in a position so that it was no longer inside the wall plate. Meaning some of it is exposed inside my shop. So be sure to check its position once concrete is poured as the concrete guys will not.

Another lesson to learn from my experience: this is a very long process, so I recommend as soon as you have your slab poured, call the power company to get it started. I waited until I was putting siding on, which meant I was finished with my shop weeks before I had power to it, which was frustrating.

First step in the process was to call the electrical company to send an inspector out to the property. He and I walked around the location and chatted about the different options for placing a new pole closer to the shop. His advice was to keep the pole within 100 feet or so to the building so I wouldn’t experience a voltage drop due to a longer run. I picked out a spot I could live with, then he staked it as well as the anchor’s location. This is the cable off-shoot that will be placed to counter torque the pole from the previous pole.

Once a location was picked, I had to clear an easement for them that ran from the existing power pole location to this new one. Thankfully, I only had cedars in the pathway so I wasn’t opposed to the clearing but this might be a factor to consider when picking out your new pole location.

Once the easement was clear, the inspector had to be schedule to come out again to take a look before he would write up an invoice for the job. I would be charged by the electrical company for the pole, the anchor, and the install labor which amounted to $4500. Once I paid the invoice, my job would be scheduled in their books.

The inspector told me at this point that it would be 6-8 weeks before they would get to my job, but they actually arrived just three weeks later.

A drilling crew showed up with an 18” diameter auger bit and starting punching the hole for the new power pole. This took roughly an hour. They were in and out real quick. This crew was only responsible for the hole punching. They said a different crew would show up later to set the actual pole but were very closed lip about the time frame to expect.

Fortunately I only had to wait another week for the pole crew. None of these crews call before showing up, so one day I looked out my shop window and was pleasantly surprised to see the guys with two brand new power poles, one being mine. It was awesome to see them stand it up off the trailer, but then I went back to work as they did all the concrete work and the aerial connections. Overall it was about a three hour operation.

Alright at this point, the ball was in my court to keep the process moving. There was a new rule that took affect this year that says meters can no longer be placed on the main pole but requires a sub pole. However, the electrical company doesn’t handle this bit. The homeowner does.

If I lived in a location where it wasn’t solid rock, then I would have punched a hole with my tractor and auger bit, but I do live in a place with solid rock. So, I hired a guy who had a rock bit to come punch this hole and actually got his name from the electrical inspector. He does this work all the time, so he knows all the requirements and best practices to make the electrical company happy. The contractor came out, not only to punch the hole, but also brought a fully equipped sub pole with him, so that after an afternoon’s worth of work, I was ready to start trenching from this sub pole to the shop.

And besides the part of finally getting power, this was the best part.

Again, living in an area of solid rock I had to pay a contractor with the right equipment to trench a line from my shop to the sub pole. This guy shows up with a 6’ diameter blade that’s 10” wide. It was a beast. It was incredible. He would get the blade started, it picked up momentum, then he dropped it down and it just started eating away like it was starving and the rock was the tastiest thing it ever touch. To do 100’ only took the guy 45 mins, so this was a pretty quick step.

Okay, so part of this contractor’s fee was to not only trench the line but to place the conduit from the shop to the sub pole, then fill the trench back in. Just a tip, it’s a good idea to place an extra sleeve of conduit for future use while you’re at it, in case you ever want to run other things like cable or internet.

Nearing the end of the process now!

The next step was to pull the feeder wire to connect the sub pole to the shop’s panel. I helped out a little bit here and there but I mostly just filmed this process while Brian and Cody did the work needed.

To start the guys first ran a flexible piece of conduit from the sub pole to the panel and tied a pull rope to one end, then fed it back through. This is now what they will tie to the end of the feeder wire and pull it through.

Lesson learned here: whoever sets the conduit in the trenched line, be sure to ask them to run a pull rope in it so this step can be skipped.

The feeder wire itself is a giant spool with all four wires need, in one. It’s called a Parallel reel. This is a huge benefit because instead of having four different spools of wire to try and consistently feed from, all are placed onto one and pulled off easily. The guys propped the spool up on some Southwire spool jacks to get it off the ground and allow it to rotate freely.

Another thing that really impressed me and the guys about this wire was the head Southwire made for it. They bundled all four wires together for you, making sure the loop on each end was was in line. They placed special crimped fittings on the end of each wire to make sure there were no snag points to get hung up once it was fed into the conduit, and they also staggered these fittings so the thickness of the pulling head was consistent.

It’s evident by looking at just this one thing, how much thought and effort Southwire puts into their products to make sure they are producing the best thing they can to make jobs in the field easier. This kind of attention to detail makes me proud to be working with a company who obviously has the field techs in mind.

Alright, now the pull tape was tied off to the head of the feeder wire and the wire pulling began. Brian stayed outside to push, and Cody took inside to pull. While Southwire makes this task easier by coating their wiring in a jacket that is crazy slick, it’s still a task.

The guys worked in unison to make their efforts the most effective, yelling out when one was ready to go. Cody, being on the inside stood on top of my tool box to get leverage and use a lot of his leg strength to help pull. He also used a handy trick I had never seen before, where he would wrap the pull tape in a pair of square nose pliers, squeezing it between the handles, then wrapping it around the head a few times. This allowed him to grip the pliers sideways and have something a little sturdier to grab onto than just the thin pull tape.

Since he was doing this every time, he would yell out to signal to Brian when he was ready then they would both react.

Once the wire was all the way through the panel, the guys switched since Brian has more height and pulled out about four more feet. This will leave plenty of wire to make all the terminations inside the panel.

The final terminations inside the panel were up next. Cody did the ones outside while Brian did these inside. However, he did save the last one for me to terminate to the lug.

At this point the power company was back out to connect the sub pole to the main pole and Lord have mercy that was the final step to the process.

Since I didn’t have power for weeks but still wanted to use my shop space, I had been using an extension cord ran down from the pump house on the property to power all my tools needed. I had three, one to keep the lights on, then two to switch around from tool to tool. It was such an exciting thing to roll up all the cords and finally plug all my tools in, at once, to the wall. Having power also means I can now run my 240 equipment like my table saw, welder, and plasma cutter. Woohoo!

I hope this video gives you a general idea on what to expect if you’re going to be building something where you’ll need to bring in new power. Of course, rules and processes will vary slightly.

Below is a cost breakdown of my job:

• Electrical company’s bill for pole, anchor, labor to install and wire to previous pole and sub pole- $4,500
  • *Note: the bill was actually $6,500 but they have a one time credit a homeowner can use that’s good up to $2,000. I have no idea why they have this rule but I of course applied it to this bill which brought it down to $4,500.
• Contractor to punch hole through rock and set sub pole – $1,100
• Contractor to trench, lay conduit, then fill back in – $1,500

So total I was out $7,100 to bring in new power.

Keep in mind that you might be able to save some money if you don’t have to hire two contractors to punch the hole for the sub pole or trench the line. However, if you aren’t comfortable with electrical work then an additional cost might be to hire an electrician to pull the feeder wire and terminate it to the panels.

Cheers – April

Thinking about adding lights, outlets, and a stereo to your shop? Check out this project where I’m building my shop electrical!

We’re in the home stretch boys and girls! This shop has been more fun than I can shake a stick at and I’m finally on the home stretch. This week I installed all the lights I received from Big Ass Lights. They’re the same company that make Big Ass Fans and their lights are equally stellar in quality. The lights put out 13,000 lumens of crystal clear light from one fixture…I installed 15 : ) . I was also able to get the outlets and the audio system installed since my last upload. There wasn’t much to the outlets  other than keeping my head down and sticking with it over the course of a couple of days of repetitive wiring. My fingers were worn smooth out! The audio system went in without a hitch other than determining which wire went to which speaker. In the video below I share a sneaky trick I learned from one of my pro-audio friends. If you haven’t already, check out the video below to see how all this came together. Additionally, feel free to check out the previous build videos here.

Thanks for dropping in guys! Cheers – April

Things I Used For This Building My Shop Project:

Big Ass Lights
ISOtunes Bluetooth Hearing Protection
Southwire Wire Strippers
Southwire Square Nose Pliers
Southwire 9 in 1 Screwdriver
Titebond Wood Glue

Triton Drill
Titebond Titegrab
Speakers
Receiver
Superjaws

(Some of the links above are affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!)

Build your own ice chest stereo! These things are awesome, you need one, check out this DIY project to see how you can make you own.

Ice Chest Stereo!!! I know, I know, anybody can go out and buy their own Bluetooth speaker these days and there are even companies that offer full blown ice chest stereo’s custom built to your specs. Where’s the fun in that though?! : )  This little ice chest stereo was a lot of fun to put together and makes for a fun little project you could share with your kids, spouse, or friends.

All and all it took me only about 3 hours in the shop to build this little project and I sure had a good time with it. Check out the video down below if you haven’t already.  If you’re interested in building your own, I’ve left you with some affiliate links to all the tools and parts needed to recreate one just like I’ve built here. If you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, a bit of revenue comes back to me to help support this page. It helps a lot and I thank you!

Y’all take care – April : )

Things I Used For This Ice Chest Stereo Build:

Blue Tooth Hearing Protection
Super Jaws
Rotary Cutting Tool
Coleman Ice Chest
JBL Marine Receive AND Speaker
Marine Amplifier

Marine switch
Small Battery
Charging Wire
Small Trickle Charger
Female Wire Connectors
Butt Splice Connectors

Wire Strippers/Crimpers
Silicone Sealant
3.5mm to RCA AUX Wire
RCA Wire
Right Angle Bracket

Thinking about adding in some 220 volt outlets? Check out this DIY project where I show you how I added some outlets in my garage!

I know plenty of you can relate to the struggle of not having any 220 volt A/C outlets in your garage space. Same here. The new place we just moved to has only one 220v outlet and it is dedicated to the water heater. This week I am adding in 2 outlets (or “plugs”) to the garage.

Some quick lawyer language: I am not a professional, I do not claim to be a professional, and I am not encouraging anyone to do any work that is not legal, permitted, inspected, or unsafe. If you do not feel confident or qualified to do electrical work, I strongly encourage you to hire a professional. If you recreate any of the work shown here, you are operating solely at your own risk.

Things I Used For This 220 Volt Outlets Project:

Bluetooth Hearing Protection
Drills
LB Connection
Bandsaw
Spindle Sander

SO Cord
PVC Conduit
Conduit Straps
Junction Box
3/4″ Male Adapters

Lock Nuts
Gang Box
Fish Tape
THHN
30 Amp Breaker
Fluke Meter

Here’s the plan: Add 2 outlets to the garage; start by running all of the conduit for the wires, mount the plug boxes, pull wire through all the conduit, terminate all of the wires inside the plug boxes, route the wire inside the panel, then finally wire in my breaker.

Here’s what I’m starting with: I have a large 200 amp service panel inside my garage. This is where the main line comes into the house from the pole.

This panel only contains 220v breakers which supply things like the air conditioner circuit, the water heater, the furnace, and another 110v sub-panel inside the house. Fortunately there are multiple vacancies inside the garage panel for more 220V breakers which I intend to use for this job.

Getting started: I plan to use these two outlets for my table saw and the plasma cutter or welder. Between the two of those tools, the MAXIMUM current draw would be about 21 amps. This number determines the size of wire, conduit, and breaker I will be using. According to the NEC, a 30 amp 2 pole breaker and 10 awg THHN wire will do the trick while giving me some room in the circuit (and the conduit) to run a bigger load if I need to. Lastly, all of the wire will be inside ¾” conduit mounted directly to the dry wall.

The work: First things first – KILL THE POWER! Our place has a large main disconnect at the pole so it got turned off first. Once the power was off, I started cutting in an access hole in the drywall at the top of the breaker. This is where the wires will feed in. I cut the access hole so I can easily make a removable board to put in its place in case I ever need back in the top of the panel.

I then started running the conduit. This part is pretty self explanatory – as long as you know where you are ultimately going, it’s just a matter of piecing together sweep 90’s and straights until you get to the outlet location. The first piece on the wall is called a ¾” LB. As you can see, unlike the sweep 90, this fitting allows me to come out of the wall then keep the conduit tucked nice and tight to the wall.

From there I pieced together some straights and 90’s until I got to the other side of the garage where I mounted the junction box and first outlet. At the junction box, I broke out of one side of the box and ran my conduit over to where the next outlet is mounted. All of the conduit is held to the drywall using one whole conduit straps and drywall anchors. Note: I like to use a level while running the conduit to make the job look nice and clean.

It’s important to note that I did not use PVC glue when putting these pieces of conduit together. Since this is an indoor job, I do not need a watertight seal that the PVC glue would provide. Additionally, in case I ever want to remove this conduit, it will be much easier without being glued together.

Time to pull some wire! I used a fish tape to pull the wire from the electrical panel to the first outlet box. I was sure to pull a little bit extra out of the outlet box so that I could make wire terminations on the back of the outlet as well as inside of the junction box.

The fish tape is connected to the bundle of wire using a small lasso as you see up above. Typically you would tape the wire up with electrical tape, but since I did not have any, duct tape will do. Once I was happy with it, I cut the wire to length. Lastly, I pulled a short leg of wire from the junction box to the second outlet box. Same story here, I left myself plenty of slack to make the wire connections.

Now that all of the wire is pulled, I can start making all of the connections at each of the ends. I started with the farthest plug outlet keeping track of which wire terminates to which side of the plug so that everything is uniform throughout the circuit.

Same story for the junction box – all the colors were matched to one another then wire nutted together using the appropriate size wire nut making sure the wire nuts were nice and tight…….not just snug, but TIGHT.

Finally, I made the connections at the electrical panel.  I am using a 2 pole 30 amp breaker made by “Square D”. I had to remove a knock out at the top of the box to access the inside of the panel with my wiring. Once it was removed, I neatly routed the wire through the conduit, around the box with plenty of slack in the routing, then terminated two wires into the back of the breaker and the ground wire to the ground block of the panel. To get from the LB to the top of the panel, I used a short section of “seal tight” conduit and a seal tight 90. Code specifies that conductors of this type get placed in conduit all the way to the box.

Before installing the breaker into the breaker box, I used an electrical meter to measure the continuity between each one of the legs of my circuit (1 leg of ground, and 2 legs of 120v). This is simply a safety check to ensure that there are not any shorts in the circuit. After everything checked out just as it should, I mounted the breaker in the breaker box.

And for the grand finale, I got to energize the circuit! I left the breaker in the “off” position when energizing the panel from the pole. I did this so that I could flip the breaker “on” and energize my new circuit while standing in the garage, and not far away from the house where the main disconnect is located. After turning on the breaker to my new circuit, I measured the voltage at the outlets and sure enough……240 VAC between the two hot legs and 120 VAC between each hot leg and ground. Success!

And that pretty well does it folks. To wrap up all these sparky bits, I installed my new access cover then reinstalled the panel cover and called it good. Finally, I can plug in my table saw and start making some saw dust : )

Thanks for stopping by and learning more about the process. If you take on a similar type of job at your own place, please be careful, work smart, and do not take any chances with your work and/or the safety of others. Always have your work inspected by a qualified electrician to ensure everything is installed according to your local building/NEC guideline. And just for clarity sake……if you use any of this information for the purpose of your own work you are strictly operating at your OWN RISK. Thanks again.

Take care – April