How do I Cable a New Kitchen?
- 1). Plan a wiring scheme. Draw the placement of the main breaker panel and any subpanels that may be in place. Draw in the location of all appliances and label them.
- 2). Purchase the required electrical cabling in the necessary ratings for your new kitchen, along with the other materials you will need.
- 3). Calculate the loads. Add up each circuit's total wattage (look on the data plates of the appliances and on light bulbs) and divide it by 120, which is the voltage. This gives you the amps. The load should not be any higher than 80% of the amperage listed on the circuit. For a 20-amp circuit, the total load should not be any higher than 16 amps.
- 4). Remove knockouts for the cables before attaching outlet boxes to the studs. Pry out a knockout with a screwdriver. Place outlet boxes where needed.
- 5). Strip the insulation from the ends of the electrical cabling. Peel back the outer sheathing just a few inches, remove it, and gently separate the wires. Use a multipurpose tool and place the last inch of the wire in the proper slot (the gauge is stamped into the tool at the correct hole). Clamp it closed. Give it a quarter turn in each direction, and while holding it tightly, slide the tool along the wire, pulling the insulation off the end of the wire. Repeat for all.
- 6). Run a stretch of each properly rated cabling between the outlet or appliance where it is needed and the breaker panel.
- 7
Staple over electrical cable carefullyheavy duty stapler image by Christopher Dodge from Fotolia.com
Staple the cable carefully to the studs. Be sure to staple over the top of the cable, not through the cable. If you have any doubts about your ability to do this safely, try U shaped nails and a tack hammer instead. - 8). Check that the ends of the cable stop at the outlets and appliances on one end, and at the breaker panel on the other. Now is the time to call an electrician to wire your new kitchen appliances and cables into the breaker panel.
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