Wire your log home on your own today!
Log homes are a testament to a bygone era. Beautiful, modern homes fashioned after the same building style as the first homes to be established in the "New World," log homes are sturdy, comfortable, and increasingly affordable structures. Today, log homes are fitted with all of the modern conveniences found standard in other building structure types, which includes being fully wired for electricity. Wiring a log home is a bit more complicated than a traditional "stick" house, however with a little advance planning and electrical know-how any novice home owner can wire their log house. This article takes you through the steps of "roughing in" electical wiring for a log home. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Wiring Electrical Outlets
1. Pick the areas in which you will need electrical outlets or look at your blueprints for suggestions on where to place outlets. Make sure they are centrally located in the room, but remember that you will be running wires to these outlets, so keep their locations near doors, windows, or within 24 inches of the floor.
2. Use the jig saw to cut a hole in the wall in the location you want to place the outlet.
3. Using the 24-inch drill bit and drill, drill a hole through the wall to reach your new outlet hole. You can drill up through the floor (from the basement or crawl space), from an unfinished door jam, or window jam.
4. Run wire from the meter box location outside to the door jam/window jam/hole from the basement. Fish the wire through the freshly drilled "wire run" to the outlet hole. Wire the outlet and mount the housing in the hole according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Wiring Light Switches
5. Begin installing light switches essentially the same as wiring outlets, with the exception that rather than running wire from the meter box, you will be running it from an appliance to the switch. Pick the least obstructed run from the appliance to the switch.
6. Cut a hole for the light switch using the jig saw. Drill holes where necessary for the wire.
7. Run wire from the appliance to the switch and wire the switch following the manufacturer's instructions.
Wiring Appliances
8. Choose the location for your appliance and visualize where the wire needs to be run in order to connect.
9. Drill holes either through the floor, wall, or door jams to run wire from the breaker box to the appliance. Run wire from the junction box to the appliance.
10. Wire the appliance into the system according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Wire the Breaker Box
11. Pick a location in the house to mount the breaker box. Since you have already roughed in the rest of the wiring, try to pick a location that is central to the system and will be convenient to access later.
12. Mount the breaker box using the packaged hardware and begin wiring in each outlet/appliance in the house by connecting the incoming wires to the mainline from the meter box.
13. Install all of the breakers, turn the power on and inspect each electrical fixture to make sure they work and are safely installed.
Tags: wire from, appliance switch, from appliance, from appliance switch, from meter, manufacturer instructions, according manufacturer
