DIYbanter - View Single Post - Considering detached metal clad workshop questions/comments

R. Pierce Butler

"Pete C." wrote in :

"R. Pierce Butler" wrote:

"Pete C." wrote in
:

RemodGuy wrote:

wrote:
RemodGuy wrote:
Wire is cheap,
boxes are cheap, breakers are cheap.
Best -- Terry

Where do you live that wire is cheap? It's gone up almost 400%
here in the last year.

I just checked Lowe's and 100' of 12 gauge with ground is $59.
The price I recall is $20, so clearly you're correct, wire appears
to have gone up quite a bit.

However, the original poster indicated that he was having a metal
building erected, he wants heat & air, storage, windows, garage
door opener, etc. What's the cost? (I honestly don't know)
$4000? If that's a decent ballpark estimate, an extra $120 of
materials for two more 20 A circuits seems a trivial addition.
And a wise investment.

I wasn't trying to jump in your S # * T, I agree with you. I was
actually asking a sincere question about the cost of wire. Lowes in
my area had 12-2 up to $102 a roll. It's down to about $92. I found
a coil in the shop attic circa january '06 from Lowes with a $56
price tag still on it. If memory serves me correctly, a year before
that it was about $27.

shop wiring - I would put in a 100amp 20 slot sub. I have that
now. plenty of room for lights. Plenty of openings for 220
circuits as need. I run all the bigger equipment (jointer, planer,
compressor, etc.) on dedicated circuits. If I need to add anything,
the source is nearby and effort and cost is very low.

Current copper prices certainly suck, but it's still a one time cost
and you will otherwise regret it every day for decades if you skimp
and don't put in enough power the first time.

I just did a full replacement upgrade to the 20' x 32' detached shop
at my house. The previous owner who built the shop only had a 30A
240V feed with a six space sub panel in the shop. Might have been
adequate if I was a woodworker, but since my preference is for metal
it was hopelessly inadequate.

I ripped out all of the old electrical, trenched in a new 80' run of
conduit and pulled new feeder to a new 32 space 125A sub panel. I
also ran the feeder two gauges heavier than the code minimum for 125A
since in this application it will get pushed close to 125A on a
regular basis (short duty cycle though) and I want to minimize
voltage drop over the long run.

The bottom line is just bite the bullet and do it right the first
time. The cost to do it right will only continue to rise so waiting
to do it later won't help. $500 in materials today might be $1,000
next year and unless you have some real good investments you aren't
going to make up the difference waiting.

Pete C.

I put in 200 amp service in my workshop. I bought the materials 2
years ago so it was considerably cheaper than if I had bought them this
year.

Right, but 200A service can't be done as a sub panel from the service in
your house, 125A is the maximum sub panel per NEC. 200A requires either
a separate service or a split 400A service typically.

Pete C.

That makes sense and indeed I have my own service entrance and meter for
the shop.

I was going to put in 100 amp service but the cost was only a little more
so I went with 200 amp.

I don't even want to think what the copper wire would cost for the service
entrance now.