The Nehls End Workshop #3: The Electrical Journey

The new shop stood idle for a year after arrival till finances allowed to do the electrical work. Now every good woodworker knows that no matter the size of the shop the electrical work is one of the major components for any shop. Being the woodworker that I am, I was not going to have an under powered wood shop. Some might say I’m overpowered for the size of building that my dream shop is. I do know that extension cords will become an endangered item in the shop with the exception for the retractable cord that will be mounted on the ceiling over the work bench. One of the first places I began with the electrical journey was the ceiling. Now the first thing I thought about was lighting. Which type of lighting to choose? Having a low ceiling means that the fixtures will have to be recessed to avoid accidental damage. Which also meant that these fixtures would have to be safe to be in contact with insulation and fit into the budget. What I chose for fixtures was eighteen 6” 150 watt recessed light fixtures. I got 23 watt CFL’s which equals out to a 100 watt incandescent bulb. I wired the fixtures in three sets of six to switches. I also installed two rows of 120 volt outlets seven outlets in a row 4’ apart, for a grand total of fourteen outlets in the ceiling. Now you may wonder why I would put so many outlets in the ceiling. It allows me to have power for ceiling hung electrical accessories such as air filter and any needed task lighting. That should cover any if not all electrical needs that I may have above me. Now that the ceiling needs have been covered its time to move to the walls, and the needs there. No dream shop should be without 240 volt power, and mine is no exception. I put in six 240 volt circuits five for tool needs and one for the air compressor that will be in a shed about 25’ from the south end of the shop. These were placed on the east and south walls. Four on the east wall and two on the south wall. They are placed 4’ off the floor 8’ apart. With one 240 outlet box on the south wall and the lead going down towards the floor to connect to the outside connection box for the underground line to the smaller shed for the air compressor. Next is the 120 volt outlets, here I installed double outlet boxes 4’ apart and 4’ off the floor. On the north and south walls are two boxes for a total of eight outlets on each wall. On the east wall I installed eight boxes for a total of sixteen outlets. On the south wall I also placed a 120 volt outlet for the A/C unit to be on its own circuit. On the west wall are six boxes for a total of twelve outlets. I also installed two outside security lights and two outdoor 120 volt outlets for my outdoor use. There are four switches by the door three for the inside lights and one for the outside lights. My 100 amp sub panel box is also on the east wall which has twenty four circuits and twenty four spaces. The power coming from the house to the shop was buried underground in conduit it took about 50’ of wire for this. I ran 750’ of 12 gauge wire for the 120 and 150’ of 10 gauge for the 240. I got to power up last night. The CFLs light up the shop perfectly.

-- I don't make mistakes, I have great learning lessons, Greg