Wiring a Home Addition – Ridgewood NJ

The following is a rough overview of the process involved in wiring a new addition.

Planning, planning, planning. Save time and money by planning.

This type of wiring work involves deciding the location of outlets, fixtures, appliances, and calculating the power required.

Outlet spacing is 6 feet or less apart along walls without crossing a doorway. Walls that are 2 feet or wider receives an outlet.

Common practice is to add at least one 15-amp circuit for every 600 square feet of building area. Twenty-amp circuits are required for kitchens, pantries, breakfast areas, dining rooms, laundry rooms and bathrooms. When including the big boys of power use like air conditioners and electric space heaters, separate circuits are added. Whenever possible, it is best practice to install new circuits with new cable all the way to the service panel.

Installing Boxes

Once the planning phase is complete, it’s time to nail up boxes that will contain wires, outlets, switches. These get nailed to the studs. They are positioned 12 inches from the floor for outlets and 48 inches from the floor for light switches.

Drilling Holes and Pulling Cable

Once boxes are installed it’s time to run cable. Drilling dead center on 2×4 studs is best practice for clean electrical wiring work. This is the hole that the wires will run through.

Once all the holes are drilled, cable is run through all the boxes.

The National Electrical Code requires that at least 3 inches of wire protrudes beyond the face of the box, but it is good practice to run over 3 inches.

Stapling the Cable

Next comes the step of securing the cable with special staples.

Connecting the Wires

This step involves wire connectors and connecting the appropriate wires and folding all wires neatly into the boxes.

After the above steps, it’s time for an inspection. After the inspection, it’s time for other tradesmen to add sheetrock and other finishing touches to your addition.

It is always best to use a licensed and insured electrician for your wiring needs.

Learn more about old knob and tube wiring here.