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Started By
Message
How to add additional outlets to a circuit
Posted on 8/23/25 at 8:20 pm
Posted on 8/23/25 at 8:20 pm
So not quite as simple (I think) as if the walls are open.
I am building out a theater and will be framing out 3 new walls and one furred out wall in the basement. So I will have open studs of new construction to work with. One wall will cover up an outlet. Obviously I’m not going to burry it. I plan to keep it accessible and basically pull the outlet out so it can be on the inside face if the new wall covering up the old wall.
It already is in the middle of a circuit so all four connectors are occupied so I cannot extend the circuit. To save on Romex, I don’t want to break the circuit, wire my new outlets, and then circle back with additional Romex to rejoin the circuit at the origin.
Can I connect the the two wires together and then pigtail to the outlet safely? Thus allowing me to extend the circuit from the outlet and also I could do this within the electrical box allowing access to the junction.
I am building out a theater and will be framing out 3 new walls and one furred out wall in the basement. So I will have open studs of new construction to work with. One wall will cover up an outlet. Obviously I’m not going to burry it. I plan to keep it accessible and basically pull the outlet out so it can be on the inside face if the new wall covering up the old wall.
It already is in the middle of a circuit so all four connectors are occupied so I cannot extend the circuit. To save on Romex, I don’t want to break the circuit, wire my new outlets, and then circle back with additional Romex to rejoin the circuit at the origin.
Can I connect the the two wires together and then pigtail to the outlet safely? Thus allowing me to extend the circuit from the outlet and also I could do this within the electrical box allowing access to the junction.
4
Posted on 8/24/25 at 5:53 am to jlovel7
If I read correctly what you wrote, yes, you can use an outlet box as a junction box. This junction box shall be accessible and not hidden in the wall cavity.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 6:45 am to jlovel7
Yes - and it is actually best practice to pigtail the wires as if an outlet fails for whatever reason it won’t kill the outlets down the line.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 8:58 am to jlovel7
quote:
Can I connect the the two wires together and then pigtail to the outlet safely? Thus allowing me to extend the circuit from the outlet and also I could do this within the electrical box allowing access to the junction.
That's pretty much the way it is supposed to be done. Just make sure you have enough volume in the box for the extra wire, Wago 221's are great for this kind of work.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 9:34 am to jlovel7
replace the outlet you are abandoning with a deep j-box, surface mounted. you can also use a box extender that will screw right on to the existing outlet box. if you have the room, use a 2-gand box it will be much easier. there should be plenty of room then in the box to send new outlets from there. i would advise to label your incoming home run wires (and the corresponding breaker) and then the outgoing outlet wires so that if you have an issue you know what to do when you open the box. you may as well replace the breaker while you are doing all that, just to be safe
Posted on 8/25/25 at 8:02 pm to cgrand
quote:
you may as well replace the breaker while you are doing all that, just to be safe
Why.
It is a new breaker.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 8:30 pm to jlovel7
Code is that all junctions should be accessible and as someone that’s DIYing you need to make sure of that for your own sake, I say that as someone that’s DIY this in the past.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 9:08 pm to baldona
quote:
Code is that all junctions should be accessible and as someone that’s DIYing you need to make sure of that for your own sake, I say that as someone that’s DIY this in the past.
It will remain accessible. I plan to use this location as an outlet in the new wall and pull the whole connection forward. May require an extra deep box.
Then run wire through the new walls that will be open to the new fixtures.
I will go with the pig tail concept. Seems like that’s a safe way to proceed.
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