how to run a wire to the attic?

Question

hi , i want to be able to run a t.v. refrigirator and some other stuff in my attic but there is no wiring at all but there are wires in there passing throught the attic and going to different directions perhaps the below rooms , anyway i want to know how can i do this myself.

Answer 1

If there is already wires in the attic, there should be an easy access to the breaker box from above. You may need to drill some holes through the top plates of the framing but you can do that with a spade bit. Find the place the wires are coming up from the breaker box and drill a 3/4" hole, and be very careful, I said be very careful, not to hit any of the wires that are already going through the plate. Some times they are floped around and not pulled tight so stay away from the existing wires as far as you can and still be on the same side of the stud. Just be careful that as soon as the bit breaks through the plate you pull it back. I like an auger bit, because you can tell when it is breaking through and wallo it out a bit and not let it drive down any further than it needs to go. Never let the bit go any further than need be, because you never know what is on the other side.
Pulling new wire into an energized breaker box can be, no, it is very dangerious if you are not very careful.
You will have to fish the wire down to the box and then into it.
Even if you turn the main breaker off, so that you have no juice in the entire house, the two lugs at the top will still be hot and when I say hot, I mean 200 amps hot. 10 amps can kill a man, and 200 amps, ????????????
I am not trying to scare you into not doing this job yourself. I am however, trying to scare you into being very, very, very carefull. It really isn't that hard, but many a man has died trying because they were careless.
With that said, Pull two 12/2 w Grn wires. One for the frige and one for everything else.
One will more than likely be good enough unless you use an electric heater or the frige is large but while you are doing it, do it right. It is easier to pull two at a time than one now and one later.
2 - 12/2's on 20 amp breakers.
I know you have any more questions, so why don't you e-mail me at [e-mail] and I will give you my phone number. It's nearly 1 o'clock and past my bed time.
By the way. Should you jump into it, Tape the end of both wires together before you start trying to hit the hole in the breaker box, and make sure the ends are taped good so if they hit the lugs they won't get energized.
There is more to it, but I don't feel like writing a book tonight, lol. E-mail me and we'll talk.
God Bless
Dennis

P.S. This is going to be as if it were a room addition. It needs two brand new 20 amp circuits if there is only a small frige in there.

Answer 2

Since you have some wiring running through the attic there are a number of things you could do.

First of all I'll assume it is modern wiring and you can see the poly coatings.

Second, there is going to be no good way to determine what the wire is for, unless you can follow it to something.

Worst case is that all that is in your attic is wiring from switches to lights. To use that wire you would need to keep the downstairs switch on. Not a good deal, so do everything you can to determine if it is a wire going to a light.

Assuming it is not a wire going to a light you should first of all, turn off the power to the whole house because you will have no idea at this point which breaker of fuse controls the specific wire you are looking at.

After turning off the power, you can go to a convienant point along the wire run for installation of a junction box and cut the wire at that point.

Here, I would wire nut the ends of the wire and then turn on the power to the house to determine what circuit has been cut just to verify that it's not a bad circuit for wiring an outlet or two in the attic.

You probably don't want to use a kitchen circuit, or one to your current entertainment system. If it were one you didn't want to use you'd have to turn off the power and install a junction box and wire nut the ends of the wires together. (Worst case is installation of 2 junction boxes if the wires are not long enough to wire nut them together. With 2 JB's you could install a new wire between the two boxes and wire nut the old wire back together.)

If it were a good circuit, you could, again turn off the power, and then install an outlet or two off of that circuit.

You may need to do this with 2 or 3 circuits if you are going to run a bunch of stuff up there.

Note, the site below states that Refrigerators do not need separate circuits. I suspect you are probably talking one of those small ones anyway, which obviously does not need a separate circuit.

In my 1986 house the refrigerator is on the same circuit as the rest of the kitchen. I would prefer it on it's separate circuit because we have had several instances where another appliance trips the gfic and the refrigerator loses cooling. Luckily it has been noticed quickly, even the time we were in France and it happened, my youngest ran an extension cord to supply the refrig from another outlet.

Good Luck

Answer 3

A refrigerator, by code, needs its own dedicated 20 amp circuit. This means it has to have its own 20 amp breaker and an uninterrupted 12 gauge wire (with ground). When the motor kicks on, there is a momentary power surge.
Other stuff, the TV and other low-end amp devices can be run from a branch circuit, such as one that goes to bedroom wall receptacles.
Don't use a lighting circuit to run anything, since they're typically only 15 amps and won't support too many items, and they use 14 gauge (smaller) wires usually (and you don't want the light to go out in the bathroom or whatever).
So, go check out the home-wiring books at H Depot or Lowe's, like the first answerer said.
And have someone qualified check your work and give you advice so you don't get zapped or inadvertently burn your house down.
Good luck.

Answer 4

If you have an open space in your breaker box, go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a 20 AMP breaker and enough 10/2 w/grd wire to run at least 1 1/2 the distance you are looking to cover. If it is a small "beer" refridgerator , you can plug it into a 20AMP outlet. If it is any bigger than about 2sq foot , you need to have a dedicated line to the refridgerator. Code states that you need to run a dedicated line to any refridgerator or freezer. You will need to difine what you want to run very precisely and know how many amps each will draw. Be very careful not to under power your line. Running just 15 amp line will frustrate you when you go to put something that needs 20 amps. Then best idea is to get a professional to do this for you. If not , you need to be very careful you know what you are doing, do it safely and do it in a manner which meets or excedes local, state and national electrical code. I talk these things over with several electricians and contractors before I even attempt it. I normally pick the brains of Home Depot employees in the electrical departments --- the are normally contractors or retired electricians who really know their work well. Good luck.

Answer 5

Before you try splicing into any of these wires you need to know 10 Where they're going to 20 What all that circuit is running. You do not want to overload a circuit by adding to much of a demand on it. You might want to run a new circuit from your panel box. Thaat way you wouyld know the demand on the circuit. Check your panel for unused or spare breakers. Then auger through the wall and fish your cable. Good luck.

Answer 6

The best way to snake wire to attic would be to try and snake it up next to chimney or stink pipe. In older homes there is normally pleanty or room around them. I would also use approx. 2' of chain taped to a string, the chain if it lands on a stud or something will pile up and sometime slide into a gap. It is important to be patient it may take a while.

Answer 7

first off dont even think of touching the wires already there....
besides posible harm or code violations the circuits are already run and set up for the proper amperage and circuits installed.
Second: unless your qualified dont even think of doing this
3rd: you MUST run new circuits(minumin 2-20 amp per what your asking) UP to the attic...to even begin doing this job..

Answer 8

you may want to look at a wiring book from Lowe's or Home Depot. I have done quite a bit of my own wiring, then to be safe and within code I would have an electrician look at your work.

Answer 9

be sure to buy a circuit tester, you can just point it at a wire to see if it's live or not...a must before splicing.

Answer 10

Pat Daddyspan on back, He closest so far