I need to layout my new shop for power, lights, switches etc. I am trying to do it on notebook paper and it is getting to look pretty scary. Just wondering if anyone knows of a free program where I could draw all of this up?
That's what separates us amateur electricians from a pro. My guy Al would stand there and draw a detailed plan in his head. Then begin the install. He was an artist.
Someday I'll call a local electrician to run the wire for a TIG Welder I hope to have. I'll sleep well knowing it was done correctly. Bob
Have you walked around the workshop with a chalk or marker pen or kiddie crayon ? Decided where you want all the powerpoints, lights, equipment and at what height ? Draw a little square on the wall with name as you walk around. Overhead lights you draw on the floor. Then have the electrician drop by for a quote.
If you have building & codes inspectors, I would suggest talking with them, I did all my wiring and found out in this area the electric outlets have to be ever 6', fortunatly that was the only thing I had to correct. I did have a electrition to wire the breaker box. You might also check over on the garage journal for ideas. HRP
Yeah, no inspections here. I am out in the sticks. I do tell all of my contractors I will be having an inspector though....just to keep em honest.
if i was closer i could give you some ideas, but that is all i could do because i am to old to do the work.
My electrician just does as @34 GAZ suggested. Walks around the room (rooms) with a sharpie marking out what I want where. Then all the boxes get mounted and he "just" runs the wires where they go.
I think you've been given the answer. Mark the walls where you want outlet boxes and switch boxes. Also where you want your service panel. Walk your electrician through the building pointing out each termination point. Discuss how to get service from the power company to your panel. Get his quote and get him to work.
I already have power. I had 2, 200 amp services installed. One for the house and one for the shop side. I just need a way to plan it out. I am going to be bending up all of my conduit first, then pulling the wire.
My son wired his own shop and used the spiral wound conduit wiring as it was cheaper and easier to work with.
@Roothawg There is a reason those pros ARE pros! I'd seek their help, even if you end up doing a lot of the work. I'm no sparky, but what little I've looked at tells me they do things different! Just an example from what you have posted. The conduit has to be internally sized depending on how many circuits are pulled and what each is rated for. Here (which doesn't matter to you) everything in a garage must be in conduit at up to 6 feet or behind drywall. Considering how many different local codes there must be, I can't imagine a program that would be universally accepted. Even if it was just UL and met federal guidelines, I'd guess the 'We don't it like that here' would be strong.
I had a friend wire the house side of the barndo. I would have him do the rest, but the funds aren’t there. I’ll run all of the conduit and pull the wire for him, and he can terminate it. I may end up doing all of it. He is coming back to wire up the whole house generator. I’ll see if he has softened up on the price any. As far as the program goes, I am just looking for something that would help me to organize my thoughts. Not something that provides the code. I’m out in the sticks, we don’t have inspectors….
When I built my own home, I only farmed out the stucco and septic system. Electrical was the most intimidating trade. I bought a couple of 'advanced home wiring' books at Home Depot and read up. I spoke with an electrician and he told me to tackle the job one circuit at a time; pull a romex feed from the breaker box to the back two bedrooms, wire them up 100%, then move to the next circuit. He said that electrical work was 90% labor and 10% brain work. I figured I could do at least the 90% then bring in a pro. I ended up doing 100% and p***ed inspection no problem. I'd ask your buddy to do a walk through with you and take notes, with the intention that you'll make all the runs and he'll polish off the breaker panels. With the sheer size of your shop, I'd say locate your main breaker panel in a central or high demand area. This should reduce the length of your "home runs" and lower your conduit and wiring material demands. He'll be able to recommend wire gauges and let you know where you can 'double or triple stuff" conduits. He may recommend a sub panel or two, where you would run a large trunk to a sub in a high demand footprint such as a machine shop/welding area. This would allow you to "work out of" that sub panel by activating specific breakers only when you were going to fire up the welder, mill, etc. Also, for your lighting, you could have one separate circuit of lights wired as shop "entry lights". This would involve 2 or 3 way switches, but the idea being that you could fire up some shop entry lights from your main roll up (when driving in at night) or your downstairs or upstairs shop entry doors from the house.
Good advice. I already have my 200A box mounted and a 125A sub hooked up. I wanted the sub for my outside AC units, so I didn’t have to pull expensive wire all the way across the shop. I am going to try and do exactly what you say and do all the hard stuff myself. I just need to make sure I pull the right gauge wire etc.
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