Recessed Lights

Okay, I am fairly new to wiring but its not the wiring I am wondering about.  It is running the wires.  I have 2 rooms in my house, 2 story and an attic, on the main floor that doesn't have any overhead lighting, only can use floor or table lamps right now.  The ceilings are about 10 feet tall.  There are outlets in the room so I do have power I can tap into for the lighting, but how do I go about running the wires up into the ceiling?  I do know I have to cut the hole for the lighting but will i have to put cut flaps in the drywall where ever there is a brace to drill holes to run the wires.  I am going to go from the middle of the ceiling straight back to the wall and then down to the switch that I will put in and then down to the outlet to tap into for the power.  I am just trying to do this the easiest way to minimize any drywall repair that will be needed.  Any help or suggestions from anyone is greatly appreciated and if you have questions please ask and I willl try to answer them.
      

I have a 2 story house, I just had the drop ceiling in the kitchen removed and it will be raised up 12".

Right above the kitchen is the master bedroom. When the new drywall goes up that space becomes inaccessible.



I assume I cannot install "new construction" type recessed lights in the kitchen?
      

I want to run a new 12/3 to wire a room added on the back of the house. One circuit will be 6 wall outlets. The other will be a ceiling fan and 4 recessed cans. Can I add 2 outdoor lights-using standard outdoor bulbs-to the same circuit as the ceiling lights? Do I use the wall switch(box properly sized) as the junction for the outlet wiring and feed to wall switch for outdoor lights?
      

Hi everyone. I'm new here, so I hope I am not posting this in the wrong place.



Is there a good book or site with instructions and tips for running computer networking cable in the walls in existing construction? I did it in my former house, which was a one story Ranch house with a big crawlspace. It was very easy. But my current house is two stories on a slab. Not only can I not go under the house, but I need to get things to the second floor. I want network ports in at least six rooms, covering both floors and spanning the width of the house. I can put the patch panel in the coat closet in the middle of the house.



I want the end result to look as clean as possible. I'm not ok with cables running outside of the walls. I am expecting to have to cut and patch a lot of drywall, but I'm sure there are right and wrong ways to go about this project. And ways that will result in as little drywall cutting as possible. And what about running perpendicular to joists? Is it ok to drill holes that way? Even if I do, that would require cutting a hole in the ceiling every few feet I think. I hope there's a better way.



What resources should I read?
      

I am planning on installing recessed lights in my basement.  The ceiling is currently unfinished, so I have complete access to it.  Would you suggest I use 5" or 6" lights?  Also, I have attached a picture of dimensions and the small circles are where I have the lights going.  Using a total of 15 lights in 3 rows.  Is this too many lights?  Is the spacing correct?
      

i have just installed 4 cans controlled by a dimmer switch using 14/2 wire and plan to hook into a 15A circuit. The easiest wire for me to hook into this circuit is on the load side of a receptacle that goes to another receptacle. can I cut the wire that goes between receptacles and split the hot wire so it goes to the new recessed cans ( same for the white wire) and then on to the receptacle as previous?

Thanks

Tom
      

I've been the owner of a 1930s era Colonial Revival that our first major project is to rewire the house. We have a 100A main box that is maxed out, a combination of cloth 2-wire, flex, and some cracking Romex along with some downright dangerous open wiring in the basement, tapped wiring in the kitchen and study, some gangboxes that were wallpapered over in the bedrooms that we assume were wall lights (we have similar wall lights in the bathrooms), inadequate outlets in most rooms, no GFI. Etc. Etc. In addition the bathrooms are small and lack wall switches or outlets (they have two pull-cord wall lamps, with one lamp with a outlet.



Here is a floor plan with electrical represented on the ground and second floor. Still working on mapping the basement and the attic (which has a 3/4 converted finished "bonus" room.



My Father-In-Law who is a licensed electrician has promised to gracefully donate a couple months of his time to rewire everything. Also a bonus in this is the majority of outlets are mounted on the baseboard trim and not in the plaster.



My plans are to go with a single 200A main, likely double the amount of outlets in each room, GFI where needed.



While I know some basics, I want to familiarize myself a bit more on what is the best approach to rewire. For instance should I look at running conduit in just one spot of the house, or should I run two on each end of the house? I plan to do some major remodeling of some rooms in the future, especially the kitchen and bath so what are the best ways to ensure I have an easier time with these remodels?
      

Finishing basement and have a few questions...



1. Have already bought recessed cans. Commercial Electric brand. I have now read a few places that these are junk. Why exactly and should I return them? Need to know know before I paint them black.



2. I plan on installing 12 lights on new 15A circuit using 2 switches one for left side of basement one for right (6 x 6). This is OK yes? Both switches will be in same box. And will be only thing on this new circuit.



3. Assuming I am running hot lead from main panel to switch box...there is no fancy wiring that needs to be done correct? 14/2 black to black, white to white except at switch correct?
      

QUESTION:  can I run (2) 14-2 romex wires in (1) 3/4 BX Armored cable?



SETUP: I am finishing my basement and a few main floor circuits are intermingled with the basement lights and outlets.  In finishing the basement, all basement electrical will be on its own circuit. Therefore, I need to rewire some main floor items.



For instance, the main floor living room outlets go through the den area below in the basement. The 3/4 BX cable goes through the ceiling to the outlets.



PLAN:  I plan to cut the armored cable shortly after it comes out of the ceiling (main floor floor) and just connect the first floor outlets in a series using the proper bushing and BX cable ends. I will strap the BX cable ends down and the romex as soon as it comes out.



The electrical inspector already gave me thumbs up on doing this for the electric oven and cooktop (bigger wires of course).



I searched and couldn't find anything to this specific question.



Any input?



B
      

Hi guys. I'm Dan, and I'm in Knoxville, TN. I know running power to a shed is a very common topic here. I've been doing tons of reading and feel pretty comfortable with the requirements, but I have two questions I haven't been able to find a clear answer to.



First, my situation: I'm having a 10x16 shed built in my backyard, to be used primarily as a woodshop. I need more than a single circuit, so I know I need a subpanel and two grounding rods at least 6' apart, bonded to the subpanel with #6 bare copper wire.



My house has 200 amp service, and the main panel is in the garage at the opposite corner of the house from where the shed will go, so it would be pretty inconvenient to run a feeder from, there. But there's an existing 100 amp subpanel in the basement, presumably installed when the previous owner finished the basement. I'll be running a 60 amp feeder from that subpanel to the shed.



My total run will be something like 75', so I'm running #6 THWN for the two hots and neutral, and #10 THWN for the ground. I plan to bury it in 1.25" schedule 40 PVC, buried 18" deep.



My first question relates to how I need to run the wire when it's not underground. The basement is finished with a drop ceiling, so I plan to run the feeder across the drop ceiling, out of the house, down to the ground (it's a walk-out basement), then underground the 26' to the shed. I assume it still needs to be in conduit for at least the part that runs up the wall of the house. But what about inside, when it runs through the drop ceiling to the panel? Does it need to be in conduit for the whole run? Or would I just staple the four wires to the joists or something?



The other question relates to the trench. I've got a rain gutter downspout that discharges right at where the shed will soon be, so I'm running a 40' length of 4" PVC to pipe that water past the shed. It will be buried just about 6-12", just enough to run under the shed. Can I run the power conduit in the same trench (obviously, deeper)? Presumably I'd dig the 18" trench to the shed, lay the schedule 40, then add a few inches of dirt to bring it up to about 12" deep, and extend the trench past the shed at that depth, then lay the 4" drain pipe and backfill. Or do I need to dig two separate trenches? Is there a rule about how far apart they need to be if so?



If anyone sees any other flaws or concerns with my plan, please do speak up, I want to do this right. Thanks!



Dan