New Outdoor Circuits

While this post is related to the shed, it's not of the shed directly so I'm not giving it a shed heading.

Since the table saw and future hot tub will need electricity, I installed a new dedicated 20 amp 110 volt duplex on the south side of the house. This also means that I can plug my miter saw in and cut the wood that I'll be building the shed with. While I could use an extension cord and plug into one of the other 20 amp circuits, this would mean that I would have to disconnect my mother-in-law while I was using the saw. Now I don't have to do that.

To install the new circuit and duplex I had to go under the house and run some 12-2 wire (mandatory for 20 amp circuits). Drilling the hole to the outside was a pain! The spot where I wanted to located the hole was in an area that I couldn't really reach. I could either stick my head in and see the location or I could stick my left arm in to drill the hole. But not both! I ended up drilling most of the hole from the outside and then drilling a pilot hole the rest of the way. Then I was able to locate the pilot hole from under the house by feel and only have to drill for a half inch.

The duplex is a 20 amp GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter). GFCI's are required for areas that have moisture. I'll eventually run some electrical to the actual shed area from this GFCI so they'll be protected, too. I also installed an outdoor cover on the duplex to protect it from the rain.

Installing the new breaker in the service panel was pretty easy. I actually installed a tandem 20 amp breaker. I did this because I also installed another 2o amp duplex on the north side of the house. The additional duplex/circuit is for my mother-in-law's trailer. There's been an extention cord running through the kitchen for the last three months and it's gotten annoying. Now it's gone. Yay!