How to Add Electrical Outlets to a Room

It seems we always need more electrical outlets in our home. Most of us are uncomfortable with projects that involve electricity because of serious injury or death. We end up asking a professionals to do it for us and that can really make a dent in our budget. Ultimately what happens is we drop the home improvement project for good. But just as long as we respect the electricity as electricians do, adding electrical outlets to any room should not be that taxing.

Step 1 – Turn Off the Electricity

Pick the spot in the room that you want to place the electrical outlet and look for the nearest electrical outlet. Turn off the circuit breaker for that outlet. If you do not know which one that is in the panel box, you can plug a lamp into that outlet, turn the circuit breakers off one by one until the lamp turns off and mark that circuit breaker.

Step 2 – Pick the Spot for the Outlet

Pick which wall you would like to have the outlet. You can only install the outlet in a wall opening. You will have to locate the studs in that wall. Normally, studs are located 16” or 24” apart from each other. To check, tap your walls and mark the parts that do not sound hollow. Use a stud finder to help you. Measure the heights of the other outlets you have in the room so that you know just how high you should place your outlet.

Step 3 – Cut the Wall

Use the old-work box as a template. Trace the outline of the rim of the box onto the wall and cut that piece of the wall with a drywall saw. Make sure you are wearing your goggles and protecting the floor with drop cloth. Place the old-work box into the hole.

Go back to the studs you found between the old outlet and the new one. Cut through the wall of those studs and drill a hole through all of them.

Step 4 – Open the Electric Breaker Panel

Making sure that the main breakers is turned off, open the panel and attach a 10 gauge wire and a new breaker. Strap the white wire. The white wire should be connected to the ground strip in the panel, the bare ground to the ground strip and the black one to the breaker.

Connect the wire from the panel to the new outlet by routing it through the holes in the studs. You can use a fish wire to make your life easier. Attach the wire to the outlet and wrap everything up in electrical tape and install the outlet to the old- work box in the hole.

Step 5 – Turn the Breaker On

Turn on the breaker and enjoy your new outlet and test it out with a lamp.