How to Add Outlets to a Room | Ask This Old House
Ask This Old House’s Electrician Scott Caron adds outlets to baseboards as well as floors. He runs electric wiring from the fuse box and gets the homeowner the coverage she needs.
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Cost: $20-100
Skill Level: Medium
Tools List for Adding Outlets to a Room:
Drill
Jigsaw or router
Wire stripper
Screwdrivers
Shopping List:
Insulation rod
Outlet boxes.
Electrical wires.
Faceplates.
Steps:
1. Turn off all power to working area at main electrical panel.
2. Trace out cut area for each elecrical box.
3. Drill corner holes to pilot saw blade.
4. If necessary, drill into framing for wiring
5. Run electrical wires from outlet box holes to electrical panel, pulling 4 feet through the wall.
6. Strip insulation from electrical wires and attach to electrical box
7. Attach white wires to silver screws and black wires to brass screws and then the ground wire.
8. Use electrical tape to tape around the box.
9. Attach box to the wall and cover with outlet plate.
10. Repeat for each outlet needed.
11. De-energize the whole electrical panel by shutting off the house’s main breaker.
12. Install and arc volt breaker by attaching white and black wire to the breaker.
13. Attach white wire from the new breaker directly onto the electrical panel’s neutral bar.
14. Turn the main breaker back on.
15. Electricity is not a hobby, if you don’t feel comfortable with any of these steps, call an electrician.
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How to Add Outlets to a Room | Ask This Old House
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How do I get you to come to my house haha ours is older then dirt!!
I would NOT want my outlets in the baseboard. . . . That's tacky asf
2:49 would never stick my hand in a black hole. . . . . spiders……….NOPE
lmao. . a 110 outlet CANNOT electrocute anyone. It's not strong enough. .. You'll get shocked and feel a tingle for a bit, but you won't die. . . A 220? Different story
What person wants an outlet in the floor????????
Never ever install a cord under a carpet. I am a sparky
And i hate metal boxes. I would use a pvc switch box. A little wider .
Tamper proof? That paper clip could have gone through the right prong insert. Someone grounded would get a shock.
No pigtails?
Anyone can put in outlets from a basement. Show us something actually useful.
4:15 They didn't even edit out when he hit the customer's wall with his pliers. Smooth.
You call and support a local electrician! It's not always this easy, sometimes opening one box in your wall can lead to a big ol' can of worms and a lot more time and money than portrayed here.
Easy as that
Wow respect: The outlets have no push-in wire connections. All the wires need to be screwed up and then taped. That would be a nightmare for me!
It’s great with a real old house with a basement,how about a 15 year old house with no basement?
Bad wiring practice.
Soul patch?
That’ll just be $600….
She took a couple creampies from baldie that day for sure.
I swear his multi tool makes it’s own music
No conduit requirements? Where I live we are not allowed to run wires without steel sleeve through walls.
I know it’s frowned on to discuss – but what was the billing estimate to have an Electrician out for this job ?
You have to spend a couple extra bucks and get a power strip with a breaker thing on it to prevent over heating lol
4 feet? Is that all you've got?
Guy: Pull about 4 feet.
Her: proceeds to pull entire spool
Happy New Year This Old House! May I wish you a prosperous, happy & healthy year! ❤️
I am a 40 year electrician you are running exposed Romax subject to physical damage by the national electrical code you needed to use MC cable or conduit in the basement to that panel this video is misleading and against code
3:11 He should've left some more rubber sticking out, Because the rubber (insulation) will eventually wear down and the copper touching the metal box can make an electrical short.
LOL
This is worse then the usual American cardboard houses…
What ever happened to him?
Nice to have an assistant with small hands.
Another great instructional video.
Series wired. Smh…..
Ok I need 3 outlets anybody live near Valparaiso indiana
Isn't there a minimum distance from the floor on an outlet?
That's great if you have a basement. How would you do it when you have a slab?
You didn't show anything to do with "how to" you just showed us a job you did
i thought wiring was supposed to drop down from the attic?
@4:15 he’s using an “electrician’s hammer”
floor outlets are wonderful.
Should have used 12 gauge wire when running new circuits. Better to have more amps that you don't need rather than not enough.
How come the neutral bar was practically empty?
You know what can’t be safe your ugly room
Does this method work for adding outlets on a second floor of a home
How many people do you know that have been electrocuted by sticking something into an outlet?? More NEC bullshit!!
I like the baseboard idea except if you ever need to remove the baseboard…..
This job could cost you two legs perhaps more!
2:47
Are you ready for my drill?
Tamper Resistant receptacles are the devils creation.
Normally we put them in the wall, but I would like to ruin your baseboard so ill put them there.
My boy Johnny sins became an electrician
He istalled them without conduit! Does N.E.C. allow that?
They make it look easy
Awesome video, not to be that guy but I'm not so sure those receptacles being that low to the floor meets code in most areas! Check code in your area before installing that low!
You need a pigtail to ground the metal box. I didn't notice that.
Not good to add an outlet into a baseboard. People never really think about having some sort of water damage that would involve damage to the baseboard and the wall behind it. Thus making the demo part to remove that baseboard to get to the wall but makes it hard with an outlet on that baseboard. And slightly dangerous
Okay, stupidest thing I've seen in an old house putting it in the baseboard.
Never ever use the Device as a splice……Can you say wirenuts
An insulation rod that isn't a drill bit but is used as a drill bit but is an insulation rod but isn't a drill bit
What country? Honestly your electrical is so time consuming compared to australia
Why not 12/2 and a 20 amp break normally 14/2 and 15 amp break is used for lighting
How to cut holes and drive screws with 10 seconds of the stuff you were here for.
What if you have a finished basement?
When he beat on that box with his lineman’s I felt that lol
So nice of him to hide those tv cables
Must be nice to have a basement to walk easily around the bottom of the house
I love this show, but they skip so many steps that it’s impossible to actually learn to do the projects on your own.
Why ruin the baseboards!?!
1:30 That whole series of words was ridiculous.. XD
Pretty easy if you have and access area—like a basement.
I'll just put an outlet on the wall without the wiring, and pretend it works
Sure it’s easy if you have a basement or a crawlspace.
T
Why would we cut Into the wooooood thooooooo.
lol, so easy , take a new home today and show the install 18 inches on the wall !!
Good job.
Tamper resistant outlets are just something marketing companies came up with to make something that almost never fails need to be replaced much more often.
Also sideways outlets are useless for any "Wall wart" plugs (plugs with built in AC-DC or other power adapters). Anyone who installs outlets that way should be kicked in the balls repeatedly.
RIP Chicago Electrical DIY
Idk maybe I missed it but I didn’t see him ground the metallic box. Maybe the outlet has the self grounding clip but I prefer to ground the box the right way anyways.
I want to say, I’ve been watching This Old House for about two decades and I find this show to be such a treasure!!! I feel like I can do anything with my house! Of course, I won’t because some stuff requires more than one person but this show is just so awesome and informative!
Video idea… How about, “How to not miss a spot every frickin time while shaving”.
That soul patch is gnarly.
Did he bond those metal boxes ????
How to?
"What is that a drill bit?" "No, we put it on the end of a drill and use it as a drill bit."
4 ft for the outlet? Jesus. What a waste
Bru out of every house i’ve done, I have yet to find one where it’s THAT accessible in the basement to get outlets installed. This guy ran into no cats (Sideways wood in the wall), no vents, no pipes nothing. This crazy