Wiring my Basement | Finished Basement DIY | Episode 8

[@Sean-bp6xb]

I needed this. Thx. Watching from Ontario Canada

[@dwill4450]

Great video! I'm finishing my basement now and this really helped me. Thanks!

[@PlatoonGarage]

Glad it's helpful 👍 best of luck

[@markpeabody9606]

How are you running 16 loads on a 15 amp breaker. I was alway under the impression that you count each outlet as 1.5 amps and 1.5 per light fixture. If I’m correct you are running 24 amps off of a 15 amp breaker. Yes if nothing is plugged in you can run as many as you want, but try plugging s treadmill in and see how fast you a fire starts. I think NEC also says you should o love you load a breaker to 80% so a 15 amp breaker should have a max working load of 12 amps.

[@Tyrone-vq6qy]

Great video bud. Very informative

[@PlatoonGarage]

Thanks! 👍

[@Dragenisms]

The home run you call out in the 7 min mark - you have show more than 12 connections - assuming you are not using a 15 AMP breaker?

[@valmon3082]

Merci infiniment pour cette merveilleuse vidéo! Je dois faire l'électricité moi-même et ça m'aide énormément! Bravo et merci :)

[@PlatoonGarage]

you are welcome. bonne chance

[@danroman1807]

Great directions, thank you!

[@shinglefamily5]

Thanks for sharing this video. Looks like you put a lot of thought around your basement. Great to see. I am deciding whether or not to finish my basement myself or farm it out. This is encouraging to see. I am interested to know more about the wire stripping tool you used. Can you post the brand and name of it? Thanks.

[@PlatoonGarage]

appreciate the kind words. I'd say if you have the time to do most or some of it yourself, give it a go. Save a bunch of money and learn a lot along the way. I just finished painting my ceilings yesterday (video to come soon), ordered cabinets last week. over all, i think the project will cost me roughly $35K. estimates given to me were $60-$75K (depending on quality of finishings like cabinets and granite/quartz). That's a significant savings

[@PlatoonGarage]

Sorry, missed your question about the tool. it's made by Southwire. here's a link: www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-Romex-BOXJaw-Wire-Stripper-for-12-2-and-14-2-Romex-NM-B-Cable-65172140/313736101

[@shinglefamily5]

@@PlatoonGarage thanks for the encouragement. Curious about the basement wrap your builder put up. Can I ask what region in the US do you live? I am in Michigan, and I have been told multiple methods for basement walls. (From basement wraps to just R-13 between studs (with and without vapor barrier), foam board, and blown in insulation). Not sure which route to go.

[@PlatoonGarage]

@@shinglefamily5 I live in Virginia. If the builder hadn't already put up the wall wrap, I would have just followed the local county/township code. Blown insulation is really cool, but not easy to DIY, I would pick whatever type of insulation I could do myself and do it that way. Look up your local county/township inspector's office and drop them an email or call them on the phone - that's what I did, and the chief inspector called me back and spent over 20 minutes on the phone with me answering my noob questions. Can't hurt :)

[@1cooltreeguy]

Hi. We’re you using 15 amp breaker for your outlets? How many outlets did you put in one 15 amp breaker. I think I counted 8... and then you tied switches from same breaker to the canned lights? Any help would be appreciate.

[@PlatoonGarage]

15 amp breaker for the outlets and recessed lights, correct I put in 6 new circuits including 2 GFCI circuits

[@victorcolon5454]

What are you using before you framed, that plastic behind the wood, is that plastic to keep condensation out?

[@PlatoonGarage]

@@victorcolon5454 that is insulation wall wrap. It was installed by the builder

[@MikeC-bu7ds]

I had a personal debate on whether to use new construction cans or just led light mount plates. I went with the LED mount plates so hopefully I'm not disappointed with the decision. They were a lot cheaper and less of a hassle to install too. What was your reasoning?

[@juicestain09]

There really is no downside to using the plates style. I installed them in my kitchen when we redid it last year and have loved them ever since. So much so that we installed them in the entryway walk in closet and desk area when we redid that this year. Plus, as I learned from my electrician and inspector, since they don't have a bulb that can be changed, their wattage can be the factor when determining a circuit load instead of how many devices there are. Normally, a rule of thumb is something like 12 devices (lights, outlets, etc), but with these you can just factor in the next-to-nothing LED wattage and put much more on the circuit. The inspector even said that theoretically the entire house lighting can be one circuit if it is all LED since they use so little power.

[@PlatoonGarage]

not sure how I missed your question Mike, sorry. I went back and forth on what to install for lighting, but talking with a buddy in the construction industry said that his thoughts were these recessed cans are so prevalent that they will most likely be the standard for a while and any retrofit or update will almost assuredly have something compatible with this style can. pretty much the only reason I went this route. it was probably more expensive this way, but all good

[@chrisschreffler8346]

Great video getting ready to finish my basement

[@PlatoonGarage]

Awesome, good luck

[@castielgregory4915]

A trick: watch series at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching all kinds of movies recently.

[@ivantsymbalov9043]

Hello! Thanks for this video! Why you use NM connectors for recessed light, if your cans junction boxes already has slots for 14/2 nm cable. What you did is ok and all by code, but it’s little waste of material, because use factory slots for 14/2 also by the code. .

[@PlatoonGarage]

Just doing what the inspector said I should. Would have been nice to save the extra money, but wanted to make sure I passed inspection

[@koronakorona7637]

Great video thank you. I do have a question did you put additional insulation between the and frame that you’ve done or you just put the drywall straight on top?

[@PlatoonGarage]

No additional insulation, just the wall wrap that was installed by the builder

[@Bo_SH]

This was really helpful. How do you wire power to continue to pass through after the light switch to the outlets? Without the outlets relying on the switch to be on the on position to work?

[@cullery07]

Depends on how you want to do it. 1 14/2 or 12/2 from the panel into the switch box. 1 14/2 out of that box to the outlets and 1 out to the light fixture. So 3 sets of wires in the box (panel, outlets, light) all the neutrals get nutted together. All the grounds get nutted together. The panel and outlet hots get tied together along with a small hot to the switch. The only remaining wire is the hot to the light and that also goes to the switch.

[@PlatoonGarage]

hard to explain through words only. I'll do my best. I'm about to install the lights/outlets and switch in my gym so I'll make a video about this scenario. to make sure the down stream outlets work (like chuck mentioned below) you will have your wire coming in to the box and a wire coming out of the box to the down stream outlets. these two wires will be "tied together" so that the circuit is intact for all outlets. You will then put in a "pig tail" on the ground and the hot wires to the switch, and finally the other hot wire that leads to the lights also goes on the switch. hope that helps. :)

[@vladb4727]

does your township require licensed electrician to do the work? mine does not for the single family home. Also, no permit is required. I will need sub panel as I do not have any more circuits left unfortunately

[@PlatoonGarage]

Just needs to be inspected by the county

[@roadkodetrinity5340]

I'm new to this my question is the recess cans are they also used as distributors to other light

[@PlatoonGarage]

Not sure I completely understand your question, but my lights are LEDs which are closed

[@dalegarbett2461]

I noticed your “energizer” headlamp. I have a “Duracell” headlamp. They are great and very much needed, but they tend to burn through batteries. Just an observation. Maybe they want you to buy more of their batteries . 😳 Cool video

[@PlatoonGarage]

I have a few head lamps actually, both Energizer and Duracell, mainly because I keep misplacing them. Buying a new one, and then finding it again 😂 Thanks for watching

[@mauricejackson4801]

Lights are the best

[@RichHasGoneBananas]

What kind and brand of can lights did you use ? Great clean video by the way. I'm doing the same right now.

[@PlatoonGarage]

I used halo cans 👍

[@Grejegando]

What do you do with the builder's ceiling wiring and pull chain light bulbs and boxes?

[@PlatoonGarage]

Some of the wiring I was able to terminate in another J box capped off. And other pull chains had to be left in an accessible ceiling box with a blanking plate

[@minayoussef7029]

Thank you for the great video! When you run the wire through the 2x4 studs, how far from the floor the wire should be? What is the hole size through each stud if using 14x2, 12x2 or 14x3 wires?

[@PlatoonGarage]

I used a 1" hole drill bit. Check your local code for cable routing

[@spudmonk13]

On that first circuit you show 13 boxes with 14/2...I thought the 13 limit applied to 12/2 20a breakers? Also mixing lights and receptacles have you had any issues with that?

[@PlatoonGarage]

NEC actually doesn't limit the number of boxes on a circuit, I laid them out that way mainly out of convenience to minimize runs and I also know what that area of my basement will be used for and won't have nearly enough things plugged in to pull more than 12 amps (typical max 80% load). Also, no issues having outlets and lights together 👍

[@spudmonk13]

@@PlatoonGarage agreed on the no outlet limit but they technically count each box as a 1.5a draw right? That’s where the 13 max per 20a circuit comes into play for general purpose outlets. I was just curious because I’m about to start my electrical as well.

[@PlatoonGarage]

@@spudmonk13 ahh I gotcha, yes rule of thumb is 1.5a per box. So good rule of thumb is 8 boxes per 15 amp circuit to never cross the 80% threshold just too many in my thoughts, but go with what you are comfortable with

[@jakkom9197]

I imagine if someone were using an appliance and decided to vacuum youd be running to the box. Not to be overkill but how about one breaker per gfci daised to a max of three duplex? Would 12/2g on the gfci and 14/2g on each duplex make sense? Or would both wires see the same draw if all power was used at gfci

[@stevencovington9508]

Did you need to pull any permits or have the work inspected?

[@PlatoonGarage]

I did both. All work is permitted and I had the close-in inspection prior to drywall being put up

[@ahs90smemories63]

Hey brother. I heard you say you added seven new breakers to your existing panel. Did you need a sub panel? I only have two empty slots so I assume I will need a sub-panel to finish about 1,300 sq ft with 26-28 can lights, bathroom, wet bar. Also, how many outlets and/or lights can you install per breaker in Virginia?

[@PlatoonGarage]

I ended up with 6 breakers instead of 7. My panel had loads of expansion so no new sub panel for me. a lot depends on what you are going to be plugging in and what kind of lighting you are running. LED lights pull almost nothing so the old rule of thumb doesn't really apply to new lighting but generally they say you should put 10 outlets on a 15 amp circuit

[@НиколайГаланов-и6ф]

Quick question, why do you use 12/2 wire (yellow) for gfci plugs? Is it electrical code? Never heard anything like that, I can be wrong. Just wondering. Thanks

[@PlatoonGarage]

Code

[@НиколайГаланов-и6ф]

Where ? In states? Done a lot wiring, I know 12/2 you have to use in kitchen plugs (recepticals), but never heard anything about GFCI plugs in bathrooms and so on

[@PlatoonGarage]

The US goes by the National Electrical Code (NEC) that's what my county inspects for

[@НиколайГаланов-и6ф]

Thanks

[@johnknox7148]

@@PlatoonGarage I think maybe this should be clarified. 12/2 is a code requirement for 20A, not GFCI. You can put a GFCI outlet on 14/2, and that is what the builder provided GFCI outlet in my (currently) unfinished basement has. Bathrooms require 20A AND GFCI, and the 20A service is what drives the need for 12/2.

[@satsanification]

Thank you very much for the info. Your basement finishing series is helping a lot for my planning. One question I have is what did you do the existing circuit which has the pull chain lights connected?

[@PlatoonGarage]

Glad they are helping you out. I had to leave the pull chain circuit in place since it was tied in to some of the upstairs wiring. I removed what I could, and hid the other left over wiring behind blanking plates in junction boxes.

[@satsanification]

@@PlatoonGarage thank you. Good job and subscribed too

[@elgalloblanco1980]

What is that silver foil on the inside of your exterior wall?

[@PlatoonGarage]

The silver foil is wrapped insulation that my builder put in during construction.

[@elgalloblanco1980]

@@PlatoonGarage that’s what I was thinking or it was a thermo barrier. This might be a dumb question but why are you framing new walls inside your exterior walls.

[@PlatoonGarage]

@@elgalloblanco1980 framing the walls so that I can hang drywall and have a finished space. The exterior walls are just plain concrete

[@elgalloblanco1980]

@@PlatoonGarage oh I didn’t realize your walls were concrete

[@tonybalz2726]

Seems like you are wasting a lot of wire at each box. You only need 6" from the box, not a foot.