How to Add an Outlet With a Switch From an Existing Outlet
- 1). Locate the outlet to which you will connect the switched outlet. Turn the power to this outlet off at the main service panel.
- 2). Measure 45 inches up from the floor and mark this measurement directly over the existing outlet. Hold the new junction box for the switched outlet over the mark, and trace the shape of the box onto the wall.
- 3). Use the sheetrock saw to cut out a hole, following the trace outline, that is just large enough for the junction box to slide into. Slide the box into the hole and use the screwdriver to tighten down the included screws into the stud to secure it in place.
- 4). Remove the screws holding the cover plate over the existing outlet, and the screws holding the outlet in its junction box. Pull the outlet out of the box as far as the attached wiring will allow.
- 5). Knock out a punch-out hole in the rear of both junction boxes. Feed one end of the new romex cable through the new junction box, down the wall, and out the front of the existing junction box. Leave about six inches of cable extending through each box and cut away any excess cable.
- 6). Use the wire strippers to strip four inches of outer sheathing and one inch of insulation off each insulated wire on both ends of the cable.
- 7). Attach the wiring to the existing electrical outlet. Attach the black wire to the brass screw, the white wire to the silver screw, and the bare wire to the green screw. Tighten each of the screws down to secure the wires in place.
- 8). Push the wiring back into the existing junction box, and reattach the outlet and its cover plate to the junction box, using the screws and screwdriver to tighten them down.
- 9). Attach the wiring to the new switched outlet. Attach the black wire to the brass screw next to the switch labeled feed line. Attached the white wire to the remaining black screw on the opposite side of the switch. Attach the bare (ground) wire to the green screw to complete the circuit. Tighten each of the screws down on the wires.
- 10
Push the wiring connected to the switched outlet into the junction box and tighten the screws on the switched outlet into the junction box to secure it in place. Place the switched outlet cover plate in place and tighten its screws down. - 11
Turn the power back on at the main service panel. Plug in a light to the outlet side of the new switch, and turn the switch on and off to test for power and operation.
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