Before beginning the electrical work, consult with your local utility to understand the requirements for connecting to their grid. Typically, the utility will charge you a connection fee that will include the cost of installing everything up to and including the electrical meter, and you will be responsible for everything from the meter to your outlets, which includes a cutoff switch and breaker panel.
Unless you have an awesome neighbor who will let you pay her to plug in a couple of extension cords during construction, you will want to either get a generator or install a temporary power setup. Since I bought a used travel trailer to keep at my build site, I used an RV box for this, and just attached it to the power pole at the side of my lot. Some people attach it to a temporary stand of 2x4s so that it can be closer to the footprint of the house. The nice thing about the RV box is that you can sell it later on Craigslist, or repurpose it as a subpanel in your yard later (especially if you have an RV).
After framing, install plastic, 1-Gang, 20-cubic-inch outlet boxes as follows:
- Boxes for regular outlets with the bottom of the box 12” above the floor
- Boxes for switches and outlets above kitchen and bathroom countertops with the bottom of the box 48” above the floor
Install 2 Gang, 36-cubic-inch outlet boxes for the electric range and dryer. Use the boxes that nail into the studs and align them using the lines on the front of the box so that they stick out ½” from the studs. This will allow them to be flush with the face of the drywall. Use a screwdriver and hammer to remove the knockouts on the back of the box, according to how many wires you need to bring into the box.
Start by attaching the breaker box between the studs in the area indicated in Figure 9, with the bottom 5 feet above floor level. Remove the front of the breaker panel. Wire one circuit at a time. Start by removing a knockout from the top of the breaker panel, and pulling Romex wire through the knockout, leaving 4’ of Romex coming out of the front of the breaker panel. Use clamp-style or Snap-tite connectors to protect the Romex from being cut by the sharp edges of the knockout. Use a Sharpie to number the end of the Romex coming out of the breaker box by circuit, according to the breaker panel schedule in Table 2.
Figure 9. Electrical Layout
Table 2. Breaker Panel Schedule
| # | Circuit Description | Wire Gauge | Amps | # | Circuit Description | Wire Gauge | Amps |
| 1 | Master Bedroom | 12 | 20 | 11 | Dishwasher | 12 | 20 |
| 2 | Bedroom 2 | 12 | 20 | 12 | Range | 6 | 50 |
| 3 | Bedroom 3 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 50 | ||
| 4 | Bathrooms (GFCI) | 12 | 20 | 14 | Air conditioner | 6 | 50 |
| 5 | Kitchen and dining outlets | 12 | 20 | 15 | 50 | ||
| 6 | Kitchen outlets | 12 | 20 | 16 | Washer | 12 | 20 |
| 7 | Refrigerator | 12 | 20 | 17 | Drier | 8 | 30 |
| 8 | Microwave | 12 | 20 | 18 | 30 | ||
| 9 | Outside outlets | 12 | 20 | 19 | Extra | — | — |
| 10 | Living room | 12 | 20 | 20 | Extra | — | — |
Run the Romex to the top of the stud and drill a 1/2” hole through the middle of the stud using the impact driver with a spade bit. Continue drilling holes through the middle of each subsequent stud, pulling the Romex through each hole until you get to the stud bay where the first outlet on the circuit is located. Pull the Romex down toward the outlet and use a screwdriver and hammer to remove one knockout from the top of the outlet box. Cut and pull the Romex through the knockout so that 12” of Romex is hanging out of the outlet box. Remove another knockout from the top of the outlet box and pull 12” of Romex from the coil through the outlet box. Run the Romex to the top of the stud bay and continue running the Romex to the next outlet box, drilling holes in the studs as before. Continue in this way until you have completed the last outlet in the circuit. Make sure to wire any switch boxes in this way as well, and to run another section of Romex from the switch to a fixture box that you attach between the rafters (or a bathroom fan box for the main bathroom). Note also that you can usually have as many as 10 outlets per 20-amp breaker, but none of the circuits in this design have that many outlets. I think it’s good practice to overbuild a little here, because they additional costs are not significant, and you may have a teenager who wants their own mini-fridge 🙂 Note that the Romex should be stapled roughly 12 and 60 inches above the box, and the two pieces of Romex running in the stud bay can be stacked on top of each other and held in the same staple.
Continue in this way with each new circuit. You can run multiple wires through one hole, depending on the size of holes you drill. Use heavier gauge cable for the air conditioning, drier, and water heater circuits as indicated. These circuits will require larger holes in the studs. Make sure that you have sufficient cable for these circuits, as you do not want to splice them to lengthen them.
Take photographs of all wiring before installing drywall, so that everything will be clear when wiring outlets and switches. Use a sharpie to mark the end of the wire sticking out of each switch box that is running from the light fixture. Roll all of the Romex wire into the boxes before hanging the sheetrock so that the wires are not in the way.
After painting, wire each outlet by cutting the yellow jacket off the Romex, and stripping about one inch from the end of the black (hot) and white (neutral) wires. You can use the utility knife or the cutter on the bent-nose pliers for this step. Then, use the bent nose pliers to bend a “U” into the bare copper wire on each of the three wires in the Romex (the black, white, and bare ground wire). Screw each bent wire to the appropriate location on the outlet, ensuring that the screw is tight (loose contacts can cause major electrical problems). Do the same with the other Romex sticking out of the outlet (unless it is the last outlet on the circuit) and keep the black and white wires from each Romex on a separate side of the outlet. Twist the second ground wire around the first ground wire, making sure that both wires twist together for good contact. Wrap electrical tape around the outlet, covering all copper and screws on the sides of the outlet. Screw the outlet into the box, using the torpedo level to ensure that it is plumb from left to right. Then screw the outlet cover onto the outlet.
Wire the outlets for the range and drier according to the instructions that come with the outlet. It’s like the wiring for the regular outlets, but with one extra wire in the cable. Wire a sub-panel for the outside air conditioning unit, according to the manufacturer’s