Originally, our kitchen had one electrical circuit feeding all of the outlets. Not only does that not meet code, it resulted in breakers tripping every so often if the microwave was running and the refrigerator kicked on or if we had the Instant Pot running and started the microwave. Very annoying.
As part of the kitchen remodel I ran dedicated circuits to all of the major appliances and also separated the receptacles onto 2 separate circuits – 1 GFCI circuit by the sink and 1 for the peninsula area.
To make an outlet readily accessible at the peninsula, I decided to turn the single gang light switch by the dining room into a double gang to accommodate a light switch and an outlet.
Running the circuits was going to be easy enough, but the hard part was going to be getting the box back into the wall once all the wires were in it. We had a layer of drywall, wood paneling, and faux shiplap on the wall, so there wasn’t much give to squeeze it in.
Knowing I had to figure out a plan so that I didn’t mess up the shiplap, I decided to use some nylon pull string.
I had wires to pull into separate holes in the box, so I ran a piece of nylon string I had lying around through the holes in the box, tied them off to the wires, put the box in the wall, and then used the string to pull the wires into the box. I wish I would have thought of doing this 20 years ago. It would have helped my stress level on previous projects. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
When researching whether or not the exhaust fan above the stove needed to be on a separate circuit, I kept seeing that it needed to be which seemed odd. But there was a catch to that. The reason it needed to be separate was because it needed to be able to accommodate an above the stove microwave / fan combination. By itself it doesn’t need to be dedicated, but it is for future use in case a microwave was to be retrofit above the stove.
At first we weren’t going to put in a exhaust fan. We’ve never had one before. We also never had freshly painted cabinets either. We started worrying about steam from cooking damaging all of Christy’s hard work so we decided to install a fan. I’m glad we did too. We never paid attention to all the steam before, but once we noticed it, the cabinets would have been done for if we didn’t have a fan.
Part of the plan for the new kitchen was to put the microwave in the old pantry, since we didn’t really have anywhere to put it. After doing my research on the fan circuit I decided to pull the box apart I installed for the microwave and tie it in there.
Of course, nothing is easy and where the exhaust fan was going to end to center it over the stove was right on the wrong side of a stud. I decided to use the right angle drill attachment I used to get new lighting feeds to the attic so I could get in the tight space under the cabinet and also keep my drill chuck from hitting against the wood.
It worked, but I barely made it. I was right up against the wall and probably about 1/8″ of my bit broke through the stud. I wish I would have done this earlier in the project. It was extremely nerve racking drilling the hole with the cabinets finished, the backsplash up, and a brand new glass top stove in my way. If I had it to do over again, I would have drilled straight into the wall and ripped out a piece of drywall where the backsplash is, ran the wire, and patched the drywall.
I’ve done electric, security, and fire alarm in my life so I’ve fished a lot of wire. I have to say I was pretty pleased with myself that I was still able to put just the right bend on the wire to where it came right out of the hole in the pantry. I didn’t have to stick my hand in the wall at all. I still got it!
So that concludes my posts on tips and tricks during the kitchen remodel. I know the pictures aren’t the most instructive, but I hope the tricks I’ve shared end up helping someone, somewhere on one of their home improvement projects.
Please remember, I have an electrical background with a licensed electrical company and I am comfortable and competent working on electrical system. If working with high voltage electric is not something you are fully comfortable with, please hire a licensed electrician. It only takes 10mA to cause death. Even if you are experienced, never work on a live electrical circuit if you don’t have to and always verify with an electrical meter or similar tool that voltage is not present before working on a circuit. Safety first.