BEFORE THE ARCHITECT – BUILDER DRAWINGS – SCHEMATIC
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Household Electrical Wiring Diagram
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The three major areas of the extensive basement remodeling are described below in terms of their electrical wiring diagrams, albethey provisional. The Autocad Granddad addresses each room individually, because each characterizes the kinds of considerations and consequences of functional and special-purpose household electrical wiring diagrams, especially in regard to household lighting design.
You'll find other versions of electrical plans in -
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You'll find other versions of basement room addition building plans in —
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And,
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To further your understanding of basement remodeling, read the AG's selective overview on the subject —
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In each of these drafted, basement design drawings, all line connections (i.e., electrical power sources) are ignored — cutting the number of curvy lines by roughly half, thereby significantly simplifying these drawings. Dropping all those extra lines into these basement design drawings would make the pictures look like that oh so famous work of Salvador Dali's, "The Bait Box," to the owners or most anyone else except for an electrician or electrical engineer. The point in all this is: the Autocad Granddad is not interested right now in how to harness control devices and loads; the central, immediate issue what electrical power best goes where and why it goes there from the owners' viewpoint of need and want. The owners may remain honorably clueless about household electrical wiring diagrams of wiring in series or parallel, ampacity, home runs, fill counts, and the like at no loss to themselves whatsoever. Once the owners' wishes are reasonably met, then the Autocad Granddad can make a translation in symbols that an electrician will understand clearly (though we're better than half-way there now).
First, the Bath and Kitchenette basement design area.
The kitchenette is on the left, the bath is on the right.
The Kitchenette area must have its own GFCI-protected duplex outlet, and this one would be a dedicated use, that is, it would have its own circuit all to itself. Further the other outlet shown here is for a microwave oven . . . yep, you guessed right — another dedicated use. Ceiling-mounted, recessed lighting is split between two single switches on opposite walls, each controlling the two closest lights. Functionally, the area by the kitchenette demands its own lighting. The other half of the kitchenette area may not need to be lighted simultaneously.
The bath area must have a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) -protected plug outlet located in this vicinity, herein sited midway down the right-hand wall — figuring that's about where the sink and, possibly, the vanity will be set. The recessed light in the lower end of the bathroom drawing is controlled by a single, nearby switch, and is designed to light the closet that the Autocad Granddad forgot to build in the lower right corner of the drawing. The exhaust fan and light (ceiling-mounted) are controlled by single switches by the entry, assuming the single-swing entry door is pinned on the right of the bath entry and swings in. If the swing changes, so will the location of these switches.
From an installer's viewpoint, the only line connections that the Autocad Granddad will insist upon in notes to appended to the household electrical wiring diagram that are above and beyond the code's minimum standards are:
That the electrical utility outlets in the kitchenette and bath (and, to follow, the entertainment center) be dedicated circuits. Individually, loads (i.e., demands for power) can be sufficiently large at any one of these points so as to fully load, and even overload, lesser powered (and protected) circuits; furthermore, allowing the potential to distribute available power to other, additional uses on that same circuit would make matters worse. (The dedicated circuits to the microwave and refrigerator are conventionally expected distributions .)
That these light circuits and all others be isolated for application only to lighting and not be shared by wall outlets and other uses. Therewith, the lighting loads can be precisely measured and appropriately supplied without concern for the unknowns of other uses. Truth is, the Autocad Granddad loathes lighting that dips from the intermittent hit of a shared, non-light use. Makes him cringe.
Some basement design concerns are straightforward —
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Ought the bath have lighting specific to the sink area? |
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Ought the tub have its own lighting? |
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Do we want more subtle lighting in the kitchenette area? That is, possibly, under-cabinet lighting? |
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Should the kitchenette area be lighted singularly, in its entirety? |
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Is the kitchenette area already overlighted? |
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Now, on to the entertainment basement design area.
The owners plan to put an entertainment center at the top-end wall of the entertainment room. That earns the wall a dedicated circuit. Harmonic dissonance, power surges, and the like can thereby be somewhat ameliorated.
As for the rest of the entertainment room, the Autocad Granddad is taking a winger on his own account, and will defer throughout to the owners' decisions once they've had a chance to think this over, so long as we remain at least code-bound. Here goes.
The perimeter is lighted with six recessed fixtures disbursed evenly down the room's length. These lights are controlled by 3-way switches set at opposing ends of the room.
Centrally, there is a fan, either with or without a light pack (probably with). It is controlled by a switch at the left of the entertainment center wall.
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Outlets are sparsely arranged with code requirements. |
Basement remodeling ideas about lighting here can be summarized in questions as follows:
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Are there enough perimeter lights of the right size for the owners? |
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Will there need to be task lighting anywhere in the room? |
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Will the ceiling be further coffer so as to require moving the fan? Is the fan desirable? |
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Is there some other form of central lighting preferred? |
Finally, we arrive at the fun space. The sewing room. More appropriately, this area could have been called the artist's studio or working studio. And talk about special purpose? Fasten your safety belt.
This space is virtually all special purpose.
The upper-end wall of the sewing room will be lined with cabinets and shelves for storage. Lighting offered would necessarily brighten users' access. The exact location, spacing, and sizing of these lights will depend on the nature of the storage furniture chosen by the owners.
In the center of this room will go a 40" x 70" work table. Allowing 2' all around for standing and sitting at tasks, we've allocated up to 650W of power, or about 6W/sq. ft. That's enough for most task sites. Whether or not the spread of the light is sufficient as laid out herein is a matter for the true expert who will labor under it. These lights are controlled by 4-way switching set at the room's three entryways.
Lighting at the lower left corner is task illumination for a to-be-permanently affixed ironing board. The single switching control is proximate. Unless the ironing load is extraordinary, this supply outlet in this corner will not be dedicated.
Finally, along the perimeter walls not otherwise spoken for, there will be display hangings of one stage of development or another. Suitably lighting these walls sections is open to further study. Low voltage? Wall washers? Pin holes? Tracks? So far, these areas are controlled by separate, single switches.
Basement design lighting decision points abound in the sewing room.
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Where exactly will the storage furniture go, in order to properly size and position lighting? |
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Will the central lighting be enough for the tasking at hand (no pun intended), particularly in terms of distribution? |
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What is the iron's rating? |
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What about display illumination at select areas on the perimeter? |
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Will there be a symmetrical coffer to which to adjust at least considerations at the perimeters? |
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One last word or two. While the sewing room is highlighted as a quintessential, special-purpose room for lighting, the other rooms are only a rung or two down the ladder in opportunities for the Autocad Granddad to screw it up and not define the best materials and make the best applications for the owners. He'll know the difference, whether or not anyone else will. Like lingerie (he guesses). So he has just sought the assistance of a trusted expert in lighting, and he'll keep you posted on major developments. It's not that the lighting costs are extraordinary or exorbitant — all the materials alone probably won't break a thousand dollars even allowing for the possibility of a few unusual fixtures and arrangements. The expert consultant is gratis. It's the intense, pervasive focus on special purpose after special purpose that the Autocad Granddad must get right the first time, and his building battle experience has taught him to call in the heavy artillery. The 3d home design drawings will help immensely.
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Thanks for your kind attention.
There are plenty of other drawings to visit. Enjoy!
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Update: This case is closed. The clients proved themselves to be common thieves of the Autocad Granddad's intellectual property. Took about three days' work to demonstrate their worthlessness. Just about what Ben Franklin had to say about fish, too.
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