Building a Home Office Series: Electrical Wiring – The Introduction

by Dave Donovan

If you are about to begin construction on your home office, one of the most important considerations needs to be how much electrical access you will require. A home office can get filled up with electrical equipment pretty quickly when you consider all of the appliances and tools you use on a daily basis in your job. Some of the electrical items found in most home offices include a computer, a printer/scanner/fax machine, various computer peripherals and telephones. There can also be a huge assortment of other items that may not be necessary for day-to-day operations like a music source, a television or a coffee pot or hot plate. With so many amp-hungry items in your office, you need the power to handle it all.

Remember, just because your job is based at home, you're still required to deliver the same amount of professionalism as you would in an outside office job. With that being said, you don't want to suffer from unexpected power outages resulting from overloaded circuits when you're right in the middle of drafting that huge proposal that has to be emailed to your boss by three-o'clock! So, to help avoid that embarrassing situation, every home office should have at least one circuit dedicated exclusively for the computer. Here is how to install a dedicated circuit in your home office.

The tools you will need are:

12/2g NM cable (enough to run from the electrical panel to the home office)
Single-pole 20-amp breaker (the same brand as your electrical panel)
1 "old-work" outlet box
New receptacle and cover
Drywall saw
Fish tape
2 Romex connectors
Romex stripper
Wire strippers
Screwdrivers
Needlenose pliers
Measuring tape
Electrical tape
Drill and keyhole bits

The first part of the job will be to determine where the dedicated circuit will be installed in the room. If you have already planned the layout of the room, then you should have a general idea. Use the measuring tape to see how high up the wall the existing outlets in the room were installed. In most cases, the outlets should be 24-inches from the floor to the center of the receptacle, but that is not always the case, so measure yours to ensure everything looks right when you're finished. Mark the wall with a pencil at the point where you want the new receptacle installed. Be sure to avoid any wall studs!

Next, take your "old-work" box and hold it up to the wall (with the open part facing the wall). Center it over your pencil mark and keep it level. Take your pencil and trace the perimeter of the box. Remove the box and use your drywall saw to cut out the outline.

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