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liptonjl

meeting w/electrician - tips/advice?

liptonjl
16 years ago

We are meeting w/the electrician Saturday morning, he said it could take up to 4 hours to do everything!

Just from experience, can you tell me what you have done/plan to do?

Anything I should not forget? Suggestions!?

All tips appreciated, I just don't want to leave anything important out!

Comments (8)

  • sierraeast
    16 years ago

    recent thread

    Here is a link that might be useful: receptacle placement

  • grinder12000
    16 years ago

    I remember that one. Pretty boring for the most part but make sure you have sockets outside for Christmas lights.

  • shawneeks
    16 years ago

    The 'standard' number of outside outlets and garage outlets is very small, consider a few extra.
    We put 2 outlets in our front soffits on a special switch in our entry closet for Christmas lights.
    We put extra outlets in our home office for all the computers, etc.
    We put an outlet inside the cabinet that we keep our cell phones so we can charge them without them cluttering the counter.
    We have a master bath cabinet with an outlet inside so that the shaver recharger, etc. isn't on the counter.
    We put center fixtures in every room we were considering having a ceiling fan.
    We also pre-wired for a whole house attic fan even though we haven't put one in yet.
    Think ahead on what rooms you want dimmer switches. They make sense in some places, but not everywhere.
    Other than that, just consider your layout (especially the kitchen) to ensure you have adequate light. A good electrician can advise you on those things.

  • davidandkasie
    16 years ago

    i prefer, if you have room, to put at least 3 circuits per room. 1 for lights, and 2 for outlets. you can get by with 1 circuit for the outlets in small rooms, but if you can afford to add a few now it will be cheaper than trying to add them later.

    DEMAND a whole house surge arrestor onthe main panel.

    if you ever think you will want a generator for the house, have them put in a sub panel NOW and feed the circuits you wish to back up on genny. even though it may be a few years before you get one, if you have all that already done the cost of install later will be less.

  • sierraeast
    16 years ago

    Each room having it's own independent circuits w/ lighting being independent from receptacles. Nothing smaller than 20 amps w/ nothing less than 12/2 wire.

    More recepts than the every 12' required by code. Putting more in means they are there if you need them.

  • txgal06
    16 years ago

    In addition to what's been mentioned for Christmas lights, cell phone charging, etc., we did outlets:

    in bathroom drawer for hairdryer, razor, etc;
    in mantle for lamps or decorations;
    stair lighting on a photo cell.

  • charles_von_hamm
    16 years ago

    Bathroom drawer outlets, in my opinion, are not safe and are one of several apogees of sacrificing safety for style.

    If you are separating lighting and receptacle circuits, save yourself some space in your panel and put more than one room's lighting on a single circuit. One circuit dedicated to one room's lighting is unnecessary unless you're dealing with a huge amount of lighting (like one room I'm dealing with soon, not in my house, which needs 4 to 5 circuits for lighting, two just for one chandelier!).

    Think about running 12/3 (for 20 amp circuits) or 14/3 (for 15 amp circuits) from a switch box to receptacles in living areas. That way, you have the choice of a switched receptacle at any location in your room in the future, even if you don't need it at the time. Three conductor cable has black, white and red conductors plus a grounding conductor.

    Consider also running 12/3 or 14/3 (again, depending on the circuit size) between your switches and light fixtures in the event that you may install a ceiling fan later on and want to control and fan and light independently.

    Think about your home entertainment system and also computer and TV locations throughout the house. Consider also running conduit or the appropriate pipe between floors to pull through cables if needed in the future.

  • mightyanvil
    16 years ago

    An electrical receptacle in a drawer is dangerous enough by itself but it would be foolish to leave a hair dryer plugged into it. If you are wise enough to unplug the hair dryer after using it, there would be little advantage of having the receptacle in the drawer.