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Message
Can I relocate my circuit breaker panel from inside to outside wall? UPDATE page 2
Posted on 1/21/24 at 12:20 pm
Posted on 1/21/24 at 12:20 pm
UPDATE on page 2. That sucked. But I’m done.
I’ve been dealing with a squirrel in my attic. I think I’ve finally eradicated him from accessing my attic, but he’s done a number on my wiring. So much so that I really need to rewire all home runs to circuits in my house, as where he entered and did damage was RIGHT by where my circuit breaker panel is and all the wires enter attic. That part of my house is a super, super, super tight part of my attic. And it’s on a wall in my laundry room that has cabinets on it. So pulling new wires through the header and to this location would likely mean removing cabinets and crown moulding or cutting the back out of one of them to gain somewhat better access.
So, yea, it would be a major undertaking to get new wiring down from attic into the same panel location inside my laundry room. It would be much, much easier to simply pull the wires through a couple of holes in my soffit and run conduit to a new panel immediately outside the same wall on the exterior of my house. I’d then remove the old interior panel, and drywall over the old hole.
Not sure if this is allowable by code? I feel like other states, having the circuit breaker panel on the exterior is common, but not sure down here in Louisiana.
To be clear, the panel I’m interested in moving is for circuits in my house only. The main breaker is already in a panel adjacent to where I’d place the new breaker panel outside.
Any electricians around that can advise?
I’ve been dealing with a squirrel in my attic. I think I’ve finally eradicated him from accessing my attic, but he’s done a number on my wiring. So much so that I really need to rewire all home runs to circuits in my house, as where he entered and did damage was RIGHT by where my circuit breaker panel is and all the wires enter attic. That part of my house is a super, super, super tight part of my attic. And it’s on a wall in my laundry room that has cabinets on it. So pulling new wires through the header and to this location would likely mean removing cabinets and crown moulding or cutting the back out of one of them to gain somewhat better access.
So, yea, it would be a major undertaking to get new wiring down from attic into the same panel location inside my laundry room. It would be much, much easier to simply pull the wires through a couple of holes in my soffit and run conduit to a new panel immediately outside the same wall on the exterior of my house. I’d then remove the old interior panel, and drywall over the old hole.
Not sure if this is allowable by code? I feel like other states, having the circuit breaker panel on the exterior is common, but not sure down here in Louisiana.
To be clear, the panel I’m interested in moving is for circuits in my house only. The main breaker is already in a panel adjacent to where I’d place the new breaker panel outside.
Any electricians around that can advise?
This post was edited on 3/23/24 at 9:40 am
5
Posted on 1/21/24 at 1:21 pm to lnomm34
I’ll let someone else chime in who’s more familiar with La codes but u did ant to add that if I was relocating or upgrading a panel I would go with a Span.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 1:43 pm to lnomm34
of course you can
just use an outdoor rated box
It will feed from the bottom though which is kind of a pain in the arse…you’ll have lots of 90’s
just use an outdoor rated box
It will feed from the bottom though which is kind of a pain in the arse…you’ll have lots of 90’s
Posted on 1/21/24 at 1:48 pm to cgrand
Yea - the conduit is already there, I'll just have to add the 90 to go up instead of through the brick. And I'll have to patch the hole in the brick wall.
I think I've convinced msyelf this is the way to go. Minimize the amount of time I'm in the very painful part of my attic, run the new home runs to junction locations to tie in with existing wire in my attic.
frick this is going to suck so much.
shite, as I'm thinking about this more, I don't think this is going to work either. No way I could run that amount of wire to the exterior panel.
I think I've convinced msyelf this is the way to go. Minimize the amount of time I'm in the very painful part of my attic, run the new home runs to junction locations to tie in with existing wire in my attic.
frick this is going to suck so much.
shite, as I'm thinking about this more, I don't think this is going to work either. No way I could run that amount of wire to the exterior panel.
This post was edited on 1/21/24 at 2:16 pm
Posted on 1/21/24 at 2:09 pm to lnomm34
If I'm understanding this correctly, your panel is currently on an exterior wall but inside? Just get an outdoor panel and run your home runs back in the wall and punch through the back of the new panel. Then sheetrock over it.
You got a picture or diagram? Just some simple sketch
You got a picture or diagram? Just some simple sketch
Posted on 1/21/24 at 2:25 pm to kengel2
quote:
If I'm understanding this correctly, your panel is currently on an exterior wall but inside?
That is correct. The main power comes through a conduit into the bottom of the interior box, loops up to the main power lugs on the breaker box.
quote:
Just get an outdoor panel and run your home runs back in the wall and punch through the back of the new panel.
The issue is access to the very tight area where all of the homerun wires are routed, and going through the top plate of the wall. That area of my house has two sloping part of my hip roof meeting at the corner of the house. It's a BITCH to even climb to that part of the attic, much less do any work. See photos below for better illustration.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 2:28 pm to lnomm34
Can you put the new panel directly behind the old one? What I'm saying is take the old one out and use a wire fish or something to pull from the attic while standing inside, then just punch through your wall and in the back of the new panel.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 2:36 pm to kengel2
quote:
What I'm saying is take the old one out and use a wire fish or something to pull from the attic while standing inside
This is the part I'm trying to avoid. If I could feed new wires through the top plate, I'd just replace the panel in its existing location.
I was hoping I could just run the wires through a large hole in my soffit, just beyond the wall top plate instead of trying to fish each wire through its individual hole in the top plate in that godforsaken corner of the attic. Feeding from the bottom is going to mean someone is in the attic for a very long time trying to grab the wire to make the immediate 90 degree bend before it hits the roof sheathing.
Hope I'm making sense.
ETA: I might just remove the existing box, take down the crown moulding, remove the upper cabinet that's above the panel, and cut access holes in the drywall on the wall behind the cabinet to the top plate and in the ceiling above where the cabinet goes so that I can reach and pull new wire through the top plate from below. Then go into the attic to make splices in proper junction box(es).
This post was edited on 1/21/24 at 2:47 pm
Posted on 1/21/24 at 6:21 pm to lnomm34
quote:I get what you're saying about it being a PITA to run new cable through a tight top plate but I think I would lean toward the above. A carptener/handyman is going to cost a lot less than an electrician putting new box on the outside. And if DIY then a laundry room is a great place to do less than professional trim and drywall work.
ETA: I might just remove the existing box, take down the crown moulding, remove the upper cabinet that's above the panel, and cut access holes in the drywall on the wall behind the cabinet to the top plate and in the ceiling above where the cabinet goes so that I can reach and pull new wire through the top plate from below. Then go into the attic to make splices in proper junction box(es).
A main breaker panel on the outside of a house seems like some old-house cobbled together stuff anyway that I would rather not have.
eta: frick rodents
This post was edited on 1/21/24 at 6:23 pm
Posted on 1/21/24 at 6:27 pm to lnomm34
You in BTR? My friend taught Electrical at the trade school. He and I have solved a number of problems over the years. Let me know if you need him.
This post was edited on 1/21/24 at 6:31 pm
Posted on 1/21/24 at 6:34 pm to LSUDad
You dont want to out the breaker box outside. Hire a teenager to get in the attic and get a few buckets of quality pull string to help pull the wire in
Posted on 1/21/24 at 6:38 pm to lnomm34
The first thing that you need to do is remove the cabinet the is in front of the panel. You need to have 3 feet of clearance/working area in front of that panel.
Good luck on those cold/rainy mornings having to go outside to flip that breaker by on if you put that panel outside.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 6:48 pm to 2 Jugs
quote:
The first thing that you need to do is remove the cabinet the is in front of the panel. You need to have 3 feet of clearance/working area in front of that panel.
Good luck on those cold/rainy mornings having to go outside to flip that breaker by on if you put that panel outside.
I get the code, but that's where this panel has been and I'm not moving it. The washer/dryer are in the way, regardless. It ain't perfect to code, but the panel is plenty accessible. I've removed the upper cabinet today, going to go down the path of running new wires through top plate into attic and make repairs that way. Now that the upper cabinet is down, I might just leave it out. Not 100% sure yet.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 7:29 pm to lnomm34
quote:
It ain't perfect to code, but the panel is plenty accessible.
rational thought beats code every time. People who recite code like its God's word are lemmings.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 7:38 pm to lnomm34
Update:
Found new subpanel and all breakers I’ll need to replace panel. Opened up the drywall to see what I’m working with. Going to tackle the electrical repair on Tuesday. Then deal with drywall and trim repair later on. Going to leave the upper cabinet out since the new panel is a few inches taller and wouldn’t fit anyway.
Found new subpanel and all breakers I’ll need to replace panel. Opened up the drywall to see what I’m working with. Going to tackle the electrical repair on Tuesday. Then deal with drywall and trim repair later on. Going to leave the upper cabinet out since the new panel is a few inches taller and wouldn’t fit anyway.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 7:49 pm to lnomm34
Those termite runs on the back of that foam board?
Since you're replacing panel and aren't concerned about the size of it, get a full size 40/40 panel or the biggest you can. Full sized breakers>>>half sized.
That's what I'd try and do anyway.
Since you're replacing panel and aren't concerned about the size of it, get a full size 40/40 panel or the biggest you can. Full sized breakers>>>half sized.
That's what I'd try and do anyway.
This post was edited on 1/21/24 at 7:53 pm
Posted on 1/21/24 at 8:13 pm to diat150
quote:
You dont want to out the breaker box outside.
I tend to agree with this. Anytime an electrical piece of gear goes into a non-conditioned space, you are reducing its lifespan considerably and introducing more risk of corrosion and rust issues. People do it if needed but I like being able to access all my breakers from inside the house and the box is still in a conditioned space.
I work in the industrial sphere and choosing outdoor electrical gear, even NEMA 4X gear that is specifically rated for outdoor use, still has a much lower lifespan than equipment in a conditioned space.
But if you're out of options and want that access, just get a good outdoor-rated box to prevent any moisture, bug, or rodent intrusion.
Posted on 1/21/24 at 8:26 pm to Turnblad85
quote:
Those termite runs on the back of that foam board?
Yea. I renovated this side of the house several years ago and this part of the house had bad termite damage - none active, and the sellers disclosures had mentioned damage, but there was none in any other part of the house I gutted (all of it
) until I started pulling down the paneling in the kitchen. The rest of the house was no issue at all, but wow this part of the house was rough. I had to reframe a lot of it. I'm kicking myself for not moving this panel during that renovation, to be honest. I had debated it then, but decided against it. It's biting me in the arse big time.
quote:
Since you're replacing panel and aren't concerned about the size of it, get a full size 40/40 panel or the biggest you can. Full sized breakers>>>half sized.
That's not a bad point. I had picked out a 30/60, which would put me placing quite a few tandems. But that looks like the biggest panel I can get that would work for my application.
It's aggravating looking for panels - I need one that has a center/back entrance for the service wires, and a lot of them don't have that. If I went in through the bottom, I'd have to raise the panel even higher, which I'd like to avoid.
The 30-space Square D Homeline sub panel (which keeps me consistent with other panels at my house) meets those requirements.
This post was edited on 1/21/24 at 8:34 pm
Posted on 1/22/24 at 12:02 am to lnomm34
A couple years ago I had a real hard time finding a box for a specific setup on a whole home generator. There are tons of options and, at the time, most were on backorder. Eventually I made something work but would've rather had the correct thing. I guess thats where an experienced electrician can earn his money by knowing the best product for the application and where to buy it.
Talking to an actual electric supply house salesman about what you need could be helpful. My local Elliott Electric Supply is great and are willing to assist anyone electrician or not. Thats in contrast to the locally owned supply house on the other side of town that wants to know "who is your electrician" when going to buy a couple outlet boxes. frickem
Talking to an actual electric supply house salesman about what you need could be helpful. My local Elliott Electric Supply is great and are willing to assist anyone electrician or not. Thats in contrast to the locally owned supply house on the other side of town that wants to know "who is your electrician" when going to buy a couple outlet boxes. frickem
Posted on 1/22/24 at 6:32 am to Turnblad85
quote:
Not sure if this is allowable by code?
This is from the OP. Read comprehension is hard for some people.
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