Are you looking to do a kitchen Reno, but don't know where to start? Consider upgrading the electrical system in your kitchen before you put on those nice new cabinets and back splash. This may involve replacing old wiring, installing new outlets, and making other improvements to support your appliances and lighting fixtures. An updated electrical system can increase the value of your home, stop the nuisance tripping and give you peace of mind.
First thing we do is strip off the drywall, and in this example our customer is going to improve the insulation and vapor barrier on the exterior walls.
The Drywall and cabinets have been stripped off. This kitchen has old aluminum wiring, one three wire does the entire kitchen circuit as well as a 6/3 awg aluminum wire for the stove.
Time to check the drawings and mark out the walls for undercabinet lighting and new plugs in the first 900mm and max 1.8m apart. The stove, dishwasher and microwave placement and specs have to be determined at this time as well.
Once its determined where the new cabinets and appliances are going we remove the old wiring, and run new wires up from the panel. For counter plugs we run 20amp circuits so they can be GFCI protected. Appliance spec sheets should also be studied carefully before any wiring to ensure correct amperage is available.
When running the new wiring we recommend staying in the backsplash area to avoid any long screws from the new cabinets. ( Generally between 36" and 54")
The wires have all been run and terminated and its now ready for inspection. The undercabinet lights and hood fan wires are spotted with cardboard cutouts to eliminate any confusion at the drywall stage. We added three pot lights as per the customer specs, and once the cabinets and backsplash are installed the finishing electrical can be done.
In Progress Finishing Pictures To Come...