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Designing Your Basement Electrical Plan

by Jason 31 Comments

Diagramming the electrical plan for your basement

In the following video I walk you through the electrical planning for my basement.  I used a program called Microsoft Visio.  You don't have to use Visio, I used it because I had previous experience with it through my job.  You can use just about any other software or even a piece of paper and some colored pencils.  The idea isn't to get the perfect plan but rather to have a good summation for how you're going to wire your finished basement.

Plan for wiring recessed lighting

wiring a basement-recessed lightTypical recessed lights are indicated with the letter "R" with a circle around it.  Connect all of the recessed lights with a line and then draw that line back to the light switch.  The type of light isn't important, just indicate that you plan to have a light.

Don't skimp on lighting, lean towards having to many.  This is a basement after all so it will naturally be dark and have very little natural light.  I actually thought I had planned to many lights but now I wish I had added a few more.

Plan for wiring light switches

It doesn't do any good to plan out the recessed lights but not have a switch to control them. Deciding where to put the switch is tricky at first.  Just walk through the rooms of your house and note where the switches are placed. Now walk through your basement and think about when someone will want to turn on a light.  Even if your basement is one big open space, like mine is, you still want to think about certain areas as "rooms" and group the lighting accordingly.

Plan for wiring outlets

Wiring a basement

As you saw in the video, you should have an outlet on every wall and every 6 feet. Check your local building codes for their exact rules but that is the typical code today.  So if a wall is 12 feet long you probably want 2 outlets spread evenly across.

Think ahead if you want to have a switched outlet and be sure to diagram that in your plan. In the video, I installed a "double gang" outlet (which just means 1 outlet with 2 plugs) in the ceiling of the family room.  One of the plugs only gets power if the switch is "on".  I intend to install some rope lighting in the ceiling and plugging it into the switched side of the outlet, this way I have an easy and seamless method for turning it on and off.

Consider a dedicated electronics circuit

I didn't touch on this in the video but I installed a single dedicated circuit for some plugs along the wall of the family room.  The TV and all of my stereo and gaming electronics will plug into these dedicated electrical outlets.  You don't have to do this but for 20 minutes of work I have peice of mind that no other electric devices will be on that circuit.  If someday one of my kids plugs an amplifier for a guitar into an outlet and it accidentally sends a power surge through the circuit, it won't fry all of the expensive electronics.

Other Special Electrical Items

wiring a basement-treadmillIf you plan on having a treadmill in your basement, you should put in a dedicated circuit.

Treadmills can take up to 1500 watts of power, that's almost an entire circuit.  Same thing for a sauna, washer / dryer, a dishwasher or an oven if you plan to put in a small kitchen.

You will likely need a sub-panel installed for your additional electrical circuits.  I plan to write a separate post on sub-panels but email me if you have a question and I'll be happy to answer it if I can.

These are the big things. We'll need some more space and time to cover 3 way switches, GFIs for your bathroom and the bathroom fan.

basement finishing jasonStart slow and add some each day, you may have to re-draw it 3 or 4 times, I know I did.  But once I had the plan set it was a huge help.

Cheers - Jason




More articles on wiring your basement.

  1. Need wired internet but don't have a jack? Check out my article on Powerline Adapters
  2. Here's a checklist of 21 tools you'll need to wire your basement.
  3. Not sure where to start? Read more on "How" to wire your basement.
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Questions and Comments

Click here to ask a question or leave a comment.

  1. Rosemary Gage says

    July 3, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    This is great! Finally information that is helpful!!!

    Reply
    • Jason says

      July 3, 2012 at 9:10 pm

      Rosemary - Glad the info is helpful for you. Please do let me know if you think of other questions. I really want this site to be a great resource for basement finishing. - Jason

      Reply
  2. John Bouchard says

    September 28, 2012 at 10:44 am

    Great info! my question which you touched on, refers to the circuit panel - what is the rule of thumb for having dedicated breakers in your circuit panel? I want to complete my electrical plan ensuring wiring is properly alocated to circuits. I will have two treadmills, home theater system, workshop in an open concept basement with painted ceilings.

    Reply
    • Jason says

      September 28, 2012 at 9:44 pm

      John - First, I am not an electrician, but I did watch one work once from afar. I would have a 20AMP circuit for each treadmill, those guys suck some power. Another one dedicated for the theater system. Now for the workshop, it depends on what you're putting in there. Probably one circuit will do it, but if you're running a planer or something at the same time as something else then there's an outside chance you might want 2. But probably just one.

      Good luck and have fun! - Jason

      Reply
    • Jason says

      September 28, 2012 at 9:45 pm

      Also... painted ceilings?? How does this relate to electrical planning? Just curious. - Jason

      Reply
  3. David Spake says

    January 22, 2013 at 5:04 pm

    Waiting for the Sub-Panel discussion. I collect pinball machines and am in the process of planning out the basement. I know already that I'll need one to service this space -- air handling, media center/TV, arcade, small wet bar. Lots going on, and looking forward to this as it is a concern right now for me in my planning stages.

    Reply
    • Jason says

      January 22, 2013 at 7:41 pm

      Hey David - Did you see the sub-panel article yet? https://ifinishedmybasement.com/wiring-a-basement/sub-panel/ Let me know what you think. I can add a second one, maybe do a personal recommendation for your plan - that could probably help everyone out. - Jason

      Reply
  4. Seemit says

    November 1, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    Jason. All in all good experience going through your experience. Coming from school age and I probably do what you do (Nerd work with lot visio planning at work), I should recommend one thing to you; emphasis on Serial vs Parallel wiring. I am not sure if you covered this in your video but going through different RELEVANT subsections (esp WIRING), I don't see how you wired from one plug in one wall to another plug in another wall; how was load distributed etc etc. And of course, I am not buying those affiliated books :) (School debt is enough).

    Reply
    • Jason says

      November 1, 2013 at 3:29 pm

      Hell Seemit - You're letting a little school debt get in the way of your finished basement dreams? I disapprove. Just kidding.... I know that can be rough. But, and I'm being totally unbiased here, my book and videos will save you money on your basement. I know that sounds salesy, but it's not. If you're going to finish your own basement, you should buy it. There, with that out of the way let's get to the question, which I'm not sure I fully understand. The plug to plug wiring is serial. Not sure what you mean by parallel wiring?

      As for the load distribution, I've got that article in draft and on my short list to post to the blog. It's an easy concept that's tricky to explain. If that makes sense. - Jason

      Reply
  5. Jason says

    March 20, 2014 at 4:08 pm

    Hi. Thanks for all the info. I am in the process of finishing my basement myself. The only thing I hired out was the egress window and well.
    There is a lot of great helpful info on this site.

    Reply
    • Jason says

      March 23, 2014 at 3:17 pm

      Awesome! - Jason

      Reply
  6. David Pfeffer says

    June 21, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    Just a quick correction --

    The outlet you described is a "duplex" outlet. It is single gang. Gangs describe the number of ~2x4 (I just made up those numbers from my memory / mental picture, it could be different) box spaces. So if you put two outlets next to one another in the same box, you'd have a double gang outlet. If you put two outlets next to one another in the same box and both were of the 2-outlet variety, you'd have what's commonly referred to as "double duplex."

    Reply
  7. Scott says

    July 17, 2014 at 3:29 pm

    At what height should the outlets be off the ground?

    Reply
    • Scott says

      July 17, 2014 at 5:13 pm

      In a basement btw.

      Reply
    • Gordon says

      April 14, 2015 at 6:21 pm

      I put mine about 14" from the floor to the bottom of the box. That's what was done in the rest of my finished space by the builder.

      Reply
  8. Danny Kilthau says

    December 1, 2015 at 6:10 am

    My question is how many duplex receptical's can you run in a line on one 15amp breaker

    Reply
    • Jason says

      December 2, 2015 at 8:22 pm

      Hey Danny - A good rule of thumb is not more than 10. Remember, it's not the receptacle count per say that is the issue. It's what you plan to plug into those. If you install just 1 receptacle but then plug a treadmill into it - boom - that's pretty much the entire 1500 watts that the 15 AMP breaker will handle. But you could install 10 receptacles and just plug in a few lamps and a couple TVs or stereos and you'll be good to go.

      Finally, for electrical circuits I highly recommend 20amp circuits if you have that option. Good luck! - Jason

      Reply
  9. Dan says

    November 20, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    I'm planning on getting a self contained steam room that has a sauna type with it, what amp breaker and size wire should I use?

    Thanks for your help.

    Reply
  10. Natalie says

    October 12, 2017 at 10:40 am

    Your website is exactly what me and my husband need! We are redoing our basement in our townhouse. We have to knock out walls and ceilings (heavy smoker lived in the house before us and there's popcorn ceiling)
    Anyway, the wiring concerns me the most. Our house was built in the late 70s/early 80s. A lot of the lighting fixtures in our house are the originals, taking 60walt bulbs. They burn out easily. We've been replacing a lot of them over time.
    But I'm wondering if we need to hire an electrician to come take a lot at the wiring and consult us about our basement plans. Do you think we should do this before we start the rewiring/lighting process or wait until we have a problem? I freak out easily thinking about the house catching on fire from a wiring accident.

    Reply
    • Jason says

      November 1, 2017 at 7:59 pm

      Hi Natalie - Yes! I would hire one for a consult if that was my house. You don't have to pay him or her to do all the work just yet... but it's definitely worth the time and money to get their opinion on what needs to be done. Good luck! - Jason

      Reply
  11. NiiO. A says

    June 20, 2019 at 5:06 pm

    Hi, I was asked to provide a one line electrical diagram for service equipment. not sure what that is

    Reply
    • Jason says

      July 7, 2019 at 4:55 pm

      Hey NiiO - I'd say your code official wants to see a dedicated circuit for your service equipment. Hope that helps.

      - Jason

      Reply
  12. Ryan says

    August 3, 2019 at 6:24 pm

    I'm wiring 2 new bedrooms in basement. I have been told different things about putting both bedrooms on 1 circuit, putting each on separate and then doing can lights for both on 1 circuit and then outlets on another. What would be your suggestion? Thanks in advance

    Reply
  13. Erin says

    April 26, 2020 at 7:05 pm

    We are using all led lights on the basement and would like to run it all on one circuit. Is it possible to run 3 and 2 way switches on one circuit?

    Reply
  14. Dargo says

    March 23, 2021 at 5:24 pm

    NEC 210-52 states "Generally, receptacle outlets in habitable rooms shall be installed so that no point along the floor line (measured horizontally) in any wall space is more than 6 feet from an outlet in that space. An outlet shall be installed in each wall space 2 feet or more in width."

    You said above that you need an outlet every 6'. I'm not an electrician but I believe that is an incorrect interpretation of that section of the NEC. I believe it is acceptable to have outlets spaced more like 10' apart as long as you can reach every part of the room along the wall within the length of a 6' lamp cord.

    Put another way, in a 10' x 12' bedroom, you only need 4 outlets, one on each wall, just like the room I am sitting in. If you needed them every 6', you have more like 8.

    Reply
    • Mishael Bingham says

      April 12, 2021 at 6:52 pm

      Your interpretation of the intent of the code is correct. Conversely, it is important to note that everyone always wants more outlets in more places and it is usually better to overdo than underdo, if you will. Installing an outlet every 6 feet is definitely more work, but it becomes very difficult to find yourself pressed for open receptacles.

      Reply

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