# How to wire a detached Garage? (w/ Conduit?)



## FLintonRice (Mar 11, 2008)

I have renovated my house and installed new wiring. As part of the electrical renovations, I had a wire run to a detached garage that runs from the back of the house, under the deck and then underground where it comes back up at the side of the garage. Apparently, according to my licensed electrician, this is all kosher.

I have a "pony panel" (which I assume is a sub-panel) that will be mounted in the garage with the wire from the house.

OK, so now I'd like to wire my garage with outlets and lighting. My issue is that this is an older garage and has exposed 2x4's and the walls are not that high - maybe only 7 feet or so. When I put a new door in the side of the garage, it went from bottom to top (I had reinforced the top of the door and had a few 2x4's on top of each other. As such, I can't really run the wire through the studs as is the general practice because the door is in the way. I could potentially run it the other way around the garage, but then I have to pass the long way around the garage and have to go above the Garage Door.

So, is it possible to use conduit instead to have the wires run through and have them on top of the joists in the garage? (of course, they would be secured) This would obviously make my life that much easier.

Conversely, I could run it to the door and then poke it above the header plate and then back down on the other side of the door.

It's a pretty "raw" garage, so aesthetics is less of a concern.

Thanks in advance!


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## rbj (Jun 24, 2011)

FLintonRice said:


> I have renovated my house and installed new wiring. As part of the electrical renovations, I had a wire run to a detached garage that runs from the back of the house, under the deck and then underground where it comes back up at the side of the garage. Apparently, according to my licensed electrician, this is all kosher.
> 
> I have a "pony panel" (which I assume is a sub-panel) that will be mounted in the garage with the wire from the house.
> 
> ...


If you are running NM-B (romex) in the garage, it will need to be protected from possible damage or wet conditions if they are present. If the garage is open to animals that may crib, then running a bx or ac flex would be needed. NM cable can be run in conduit providing it is in a dry location.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Lets start from the beginning. What gauge is the wire that you ran from the house to the detached garage? What size of breaker did you use, or are going to use to power that sub. Keep in mind that if only needing 120v, you can run #12, or even #10 for that distance, then connect in a junction box for powering lights & a couple of outlets. There is plenty of info out there, such as the Black & Decker Complete Home wiring guide. Also follow the NEC guidelines on wiring this circuit if wanting to go with a sub to power more than a couple of circuits & wanting 220vac/60a service out there.


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## FLintonRice (Mar 11, 2008)

OK, so I'm not at all concerned about the wiring TO the garage. My electrician is pretty anal, so I know that from the house, to the sub-panel in the garage - I am good. Let's not worry about that part of the run.

Once at the sub panel - I need to distribute from there.

I know how this works from inside a house, run through the studs halfway through - fine. However, I can't really do this in the garage for the reasons that I've given. It will need to wire the garage - let's say it's a few lights and few outlets and that 120v will do. I have power tools that I have run off the outlet in the back of my house and have never had a problem, so I know that this will be sufficient.

Flat out - can I use conduit and secure it to the joists to run the wire?


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

Detached building subpanels are a very commonly discussed item here. Search and you will find lots of info. After doing some research ask any specific questions you have remaining and folks will be glad to help with the details.

As for running wiring in a garage - you can run exposed NM cable, but it cannot be where something could 'hang' from it. Common is to place a 1x4 the length of the garage across the top of the rafter - then run the wiring on top of that 1x4.


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## FLintonRice (Mar 11, 2008)

Again, not so worried about how the subpanel is wired. We used NMWU that was directly buried and it will be connected to a small subpanel. I think it can handle 60A but we're talking about powering a few lights, a garage door opener and a few outlets that can charge batteries or power an electric trimmer for outdoor use. Maybe some lights outside - but not an A/C unit or an oven or a dryer.

vSheetz - thank you for the tip. A 1 x 4 on the joist with wiring on top would probably be perfect. I can run down and go through studs when needed, so I think that this would work.


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## rbj (Jun 24, 2011)

FLintonRice said:


> Again, not so worried about how the subpanel is wired. We used NMWU that was directly buried and it will be connected to a small subpanel. I think it can handle 60A but we're talking about powering a few lights, a garage door opener and a few outlets that can charge batteries or power an electric trimmer for outdoor use. Maybe some lights outside - but not an A/C unit or an oven or a dryer.
> 
> Maybe your new Tesla will need a higher charge capacity....


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## electures (Dec 22, 2009)

FLintonRice said:


> I have renovated my house and installed new wiring. As part of the electrical renovations, I had a wire run to a detached garage that runs from the back of the house, under the deck and then underground where it comes back up at the side of the garage. Apparently, according to my licensed electrician, this is all kosher.
> 
> I have a "pony panel" (which I assume is a sub-panel) that will be mounted in the garage with the wire from the house.
> 
> ...


Drill up through the top plate over the rafters and back down through the top plate. Also be aware that if you use romex in the garage, it shall be concealed within walls, floors, or ceilings that provide a thermal barrier of material that has at least a 15-minute finish rating as identified in listings of firerated assemblies. It cannot be left exposed. It has to be covered with sheetrock or anything else with a 15 minute finish rating. If you are not planning on covering the walls, use MC cable or as you stated conduit.

And the code reference;


*334.10 Uses Permitted. *
​​Type NM, Type NMC, and Type NMS cables shall be permitted to be used in the following:​
(1) One- and two-family dwellings.
(2) Multifamily dwellings permitted to be of Types III, IV, and V construction except as prohibited in 334.12.
(3) Other structures permitted to be of Types III, IV, and V construction except as prohibited in 334.12. Cables shall be concealed within walls, floors, or ceilings that provide a thermal barrier of material that has at least a 15-minute finish rating as identified in listings of firerated assemblies.​​​


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