My house has an unfinished basement, and I want to set up a workbench in one area. Unfortunately, there is only one usable outlet in the whole basement, and it's not conveniently located, so I want to put in others. I have no electrical DIY experience. Can I safely do this as a DIY project, or do I need to bring in an electrician?
Electrical – safely install outlets in the basement
electricalsafetywiring
Related Solutions
The Setup
To achieve what you want, you'll simply have to wire all the light circuits in parallel off the common of the 3-way. Basically instead of a light on the common, you'll have light circuits. Something like this.
Following this scheme, each single pole switch will control the lights in a single area. While the whole circuit, is controlled by the 3-way switches. This way, if the 3-ways are OFF all the lights will be off. If the 3-ways are ON, the individual single pole switches will determine which lights are on.
The down side
While this configuration is possible, it may be confusing to any future owners of the home. This may also cause problems if the area is ever finished and actually divided into separate spaces, since a somebody could potentially be lost in the dark.
Code compliance
I'm not sure at this point whether or not this setup is code compliant, but a quick call to your local government should yield the answer. I will continue to review the National Electrical Code (NEC), to determine if there are any sections that would not allow a setup like this. If I find any restrictions, I will update this section of the answer.
If any others happen to know any codes that might apply here, please post the code section as a comment.
The general guidelines:
- Don't notch a joist. (it's legal under the correct circumstances, but don't consider it until you have no other choice.)
- Don't drill a joist near the ends. (how near is near? Stick to the middle third and be safe. )
- Only drill on the center-line of the joist. (This is the area under least stress).
- keep your holes less than 1/3 the height of the joist. A 3/4 inch hole for romex is fine under almost any circumstances.
These aren't the rules, these are a set of guidelines more restrictive than the rules, that you can quickly and easily work with in the field. If you want to work outside these guidelines, then consult the local building code.
Related Topic
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- Electrical – Is it ok for electrical wires to run underneath a beam in a basement
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- Electrical – 3-Way switch on single pole–convert to combination
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Best Answer
There are a number of different factors involved. All of this can be a DIY project, depending on the particular situation. Some of the considerations:
Adding additional receptacles to an existing circuit is generally pretty easy. However, if you actually need more power - e.g., if your workbench will include power tools such as a table saw, drill press, shop vac, etc. then you will want to have additional circuits. New circuits mean new circuit breakers. That involves more work (which can be DIY if you study up first and know when to ask questions) but may involve serious panel issues, particularly if you are running out of space in your circuit breaker panel.
Depending on where you are, any new circuits or additional receptacles (as opposed to straight replacements) on existing circuits will require GFCI and/or AFCI protection, depending on the code in your area and depending on the location in your house. You need to determine what is required so that it can be properly included.
Electrical cables need to be protected from damage. In some areas (e.g., Chicago), all wiring must be in conduit, which provides protection from damage. But in most areas that is not required. There are specific requirements for how/where to run cables to keep them out of harm's way (e.g., above a certain height) or to protect them.
Grounding leads to a LOT of confusion. Basically, in the US, typical wiring will have either 3 or 4 wires - hot/neutral/ground for 120V, hot/hot/neutral/ground for 240V. Neutral and ground are connected in the main panel but not elsewhere, and you need to properly handle the ground wire to avoid creating problems.
In most place, a homeowner can work on his own home in a limited capacity without a license. That typically means replacing switches and receptacles. Once you start adding receptacles or circuits or making other significant changes, permit and license issues can be a big deal. Depending on the rules in your area and how you want to handle things, that might mean working together with an electrician where you do some work under his supervision but with the electrician handling the big stuff and supervising.
And there are plenty of other details. To figure out more about the practicality of doing this as a DIY project, we need to know: