Back To The Family Handyman
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Step by Step Photos and Instructions 1 - 5
At Existing Outlet
1. Turn off the power at the main
panel, unscrew the outlet and use a voltage tester to double-check that the
power is off. With either lead touching a ground wire (bare copper), touch the
other lead first to the neutral terminals (silver colored), then to the hot
terminals (gold colored). If the light glows with either contact, the circuit
is still live. Find the right breaker and turn it off.
At Existing Outlet
2. Feed a
length of new cable through one of the knock-out holes at the back of the
existing box (punch out the hole with a screwdriver). Feed through enough cable
to reach the new box (Photo 4), plus an extra foot. Use 14-gauge wire for a
15-amp circuit.
At Existing Outlet
3. Strip
about 10 in. of plastic sheathing from the new cable to expose the black, white
and copper wires. Run the new cable, with sheathing, at least 2 in. up inside
the box, and double over the excess wires to help hold the cable in place.
Strip 5/8 in. of insulation off the ends and connect the wires from the new
cable to the existing bundles—white to white, black to black, ground to
ground. Use new wire connectors of adequate size for the four wires in each
bundle.
At New Outlet
Click image to enlarge.
4. Mark the opening for the new box and cut it out with a drywall saw. Fish for the new
cable with a hook made from a wire coat hanger. Pull the cable through the
opening cut in the wall. Then strip about 9 in. of sheathing off the end of the
cable, insert the cable so the sheath extends about 1 in. into the box and
mount the box in the wall as shown in Photo 5.
At New Outlet
5. Connect the new wires to the new outlet: white (neutral) wire to a
silver-colored terminal screw; black (hot) wire to a gold-colored terminal
screw; bare wire to the green grounding screw. Make sure the cable sheath
remains secured inside the box.
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