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Basement Development in Edmonton | Electrical Concerns
Electrical Concerns for Basement Development in Edmonton
What’s up Edmonton. It’s Ryan here with Hauer Power Electrical, your Edmonton electrician, and we are here to bring customer service back to the trades. So our whole mission is powering customer service, and that’s what we aim to do. So that’s why we make these videos. And today’s video. We want to talk about finishing your basement. So, with attention to electrical, finishing your basement’s electrical and why you should do it. What are the pros and cons and what are the really the top kind of 10 things we’re going to look at of what’s going to hold you up? And what’s a, what’s a concern.
So, let’s dive right into, your kitchen. If you’re going to have a kitchen in your basement, that’s a big concern because you may need a service ampacity upgrade. So, if you’re looking at adding a second laundry, that’s going to be a 30 a two pole.
Drawing More Power
That’s going to be an extra draw on your house. If you’re looking at adding an extra range, that’s twofold, 40 a or 50 amp there. So, depending on what size of the range you got, what side of the stove you have, that’s going to be a big difference too. You might need a service AMPAC upgrade there. So, when you’re adding a kitchen, that’s one of the big draws. You may need a voltage calculation there, turn capacity calculation. So, we can do that through the city, and we can get that to you.
But that’s one of the things we might want to look for. It might be a hold up. So, if you can nip that the blood before you know, start framing and everything and getting your planning done, if you can get that out of the way ahead of time, then you might be better off.
What Is the Purpose of Your Basement Development in Edmonton?
Another big part we’re going to look at, or that we are looking at here is that if you’re renovating this basement, if your basement development in Edmonton for the purpose of a rental or for comfort, you know, are you going to be renting this out? And that’s why you have a second kitchen, maybe a second laundry, cause that’s going to be, potentially, quite a bit bigger of a job too, especially if you may want second metering. So, if you have a second entrance, separate laundry, you’re going to do a separate furnace.
You’re going to go by code the whole way and have a whole separate entity for this second suite. Then, you’re going to have service changes. You may have dual meter set up so that then they can bill directly to Fortis or whomever your utility may be, but, having two meters might be easier.
Sharing The Cost
It will cost more right off the hop, just be less maintenance overall than future. What other, what some people might do instead to is, just give an average utility bill and cut it in half and split it for the top suite and the bottom suite. And then, that way you don’t have to hire us to do metering, but if you do want to do the metering separate billing, we’re happy to do that for you. Another big part you want to look at, for that retro side is, you’re going to have to have certain stipulations.
If you want to drop ceiling, it has to the rated drop ceiling, if you’re willing with dry. Well, it has to be the rated of five inch drywall. The other side of your basement that you might want have a look at is the comfort side of things.
Basement Development in Edmonton for Rent or Comfort?
So, if you want to renovate that basement, finish that basement for, comfort, whether you want to have a home gym, you maybe you want to have a bar, maybe you want to have a heater down there, whatever you might want to have down to that basement, if it’s for comfort, the goal is going to be completely differently. Then if you’re having a second suite for, for rental.
So, if you’re doing it for comfort, you might want focus more on things like pot lights, especially, most basement development in Edmonton are not going to have as high ceilings. they’re not usually eight-foot ceilings like your typical standard home, but, if you don’t have those 8, 9, 10-foot ceilings, you’re definitely going to want to go pot lights, because if you, with a standard lighting fixture, even if it just takes up three inches, four inches, five inches of your ceiling space, it’s going to make it seem a whole lot more shallow of a ceiling.
Choose Your Lighting Wisely
It’s going to make it seem a lot tighter and more cramped. And more of that dungeon basement that no one likes. So, that’s why we would advise pot lights the whole way through. So, that 4-inch six inch totally up to you, six inches brighter, four inches, not as bright four inch to accept less spaceless. You can add a whole bunch more, so you get less shadows, that’s the whole science to that. Watch our videos on that on, on the recess, lighting and spotlights. But that’s one of the parts for comfort.
The other part, looking at the bathroom, if you’re going to do a nice tile set up for the bathroom, we’ve seen a lot of that then, you might want to have a shower rated pot above your shower. Maybe you want, an extra pot light of the rest of the bathroom, depending on the size of the bathroom.
Home Gym Possibilities for Your Basement Development in Edmonton
In addition to a nice fixture. So, that’s another consideration too, as far as comfort as well, if you’re looking at having maybe your home gym, maybe you want to have satellite TV to it, able coax kind of thing. It’s better to know that before, rather than after. Cause if you tell us before, Hey, I want to have hardwired internet over here. I’m putting in a gaming computer then, then we know that we can bring some cat six and, coax for cable to the certain drops throughout your basement.
Cause, if you ask us to do after you have to open up drywall, there’s not too many other ways. especially if it’s all drywall then, but, anyways, that, that kind of goes for the more, the comfort side of things, especially if you going to have, maybe you’re going to have a separate, say a separate, what’s the word fireplace.
Extra Electrical Circuits Are Necessary
Yeah. So, if you want to have a separate fireplace, we have to run power to it. If you want to have some sort of, accent heater feature with the nice fire lights going on, we have to know about it because we have to run the power to it. If you’re having a bar fridge, if you’re having a, refrigerator, if you’re having, extra, any sort of auxiliary things that maybe you want, or maybe it’s a little bit different, if you’re having your home gym, you, you want a treadmill over here that treadmill’s going to need it on circuit.
So, we need to know that beforehand, and not after the drywalls up, but that’s, big distinguishing factor there, comfort or rental. So, besides that, let us know we can do a walkthrough with you and show you exactly what, what must happen to get you what you want.
Bedrooms by your best basement Developers in Edmonton
Another part we want to get into here is the number of the bedrooms. So, whether it’s for a suite, whether it’s for comfort, your number of bedrooms is going to determine your number of small detectors. your number of plugs, number of lights. That’s going to be a big deciding factor, of how many circuits we must put on how many circuits it’s going to determine how many are fault breaks. And one thing with residential dwelling units is everything.
Shouldn’t say everything, but most everything has to be on our fault breakers. So, on our fault breaker, we have a video on that, the different between ACI, our fault sort interrupter and GFCI, ground fault, circuit interrupter, they both serve of different purposes. Both have the same intent and that’s for safety. And, but anyway is breakers aren’t cheap. And we want to limit the number of breakers that we have to do that to keep your costs down.
Tripping Breakers is a Nuisance
But that’s why we ask how many bedrooms. another thing is how many bathrooms, so every bathroom, it depends on who you have living there really, but ideally we want to limit the number of shared outlets with that bathroom. Cause if you have, someone who’s going to use a hair dryer, a hair straightener, maybe a heater, something like that. that’s going to draw a lot of current. And if that’s shared with other outlets that are also drawing some current, it’s going to trip your breaker and you’re going to have a bad time.
You don’t want that, going to your now as we get into the circuits, your panel availability is going to be huge when determining how many circuits. So, your average kitchen is going to use about six to eight circuits and a basement. You’re probably going to add about six circuits. So, if you, yeah, maybe, maybe not six, maybe three to four kind of average basement development in Edmonton, but regardless, you going to need some space in that panel.
Electrical Panel Upgrade May be Necessary for Your Basement Development in Edmonton
If you don’t have space in that panel, then you have a few options option one, the most expensive, if your panel is a fire hazard who advised changing that out. So if you have a federal Pacific panel, it’s best to change that out. And we do offer financing because it is a heavy blow. But if you, if you change that out, then you’ll have brand panel, lots of space. And Siemens breakers is what we stock. And even with COVID 19, Siemens breakers have been totally attainable.
Whereas federal breakers are on back order for the next four months, which, can, can be a lot when you’re trying to do a renovation and you just can’t get the breakers. But, anyways, that’s one service upgrade can be quite costly. You’re not going to see a bill for anything less than two grand for a service upgrade.
Financing Available
That’s why we offer financing for things like that because we understand it is such a high-ticket item, but when you do need it, you can have a monthly plan to, to pay that off, option two, you’re going to have a sub. So subpanel would be just right next to your existing pal. We’d come out of that breaker, relocate a circuit, make some space that way. During your basement development in Edmonton. And now you got a nice subpanel with, all the room that you need for whether you’re doing your kitchen rental or your basement or your basement, kitchen rental, whatever you need that way.
Now you have the space. the third option is if your panel has the circuit availability, perfect, you don’t need to do anything. We just must add the breakers as long as we can obtain them. If they’re not federal breakers, then, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Eliminate Fire Hazards During Your Basement Development in Edmonton
If you have a federal panel or, say mobile line panel, say, oh geez, those old bulldog Matic paddles. They’re, they’re a fire hazard. They’re not rated. So change them out. If you can. when you have the chance to put that on the budget and, get that swapped out. It’s a fire hazard should be changed, but, that’s, that’s a whole other video there about service upgrade coming back to your. Basement development in Edmonton, whether it’s for comfort or rental, you’re going to have a furnace room in your basement, pretty typical.
But, if you have now framed in your basement and it’s a brand-new framing. And then your switch is back there in the corner for your furnace, that’s not acceptable by coat. Once you open that door, that switch has to be within five feet. So, you’re going to going to have to relocate that furnace switch closer to that door.
Safety First
Typically, what we like to see is you open the door, you got your light switch right here, right above it. You got your furnace switch. That way you can turn off the furnace, at the switch in, the case in an emergency. But really if there’s an emergency, you’re just going to get out of the house anyways, but that’s okay. Code is, done it by nature and it should be enforced, but that’s what we have to do. So you have to put that furnace switch right close to that door when you’re, framing in that room is now an enclosed room.
Another thing that we want to get into here, touched on it is the tr receptacle. So I know dwelling units, all receptacles, anything that’s in reach of a child needs to be TR. So what tr means is tamper resistant. Which is important for your basement development in Edmonton.
Protecting Your Kids from Electric Shock
So, when little Susie comes with a paper clip and tries to stuff it into an electrical outlet, she can’t by nature. She shouldn’t be able to do with these tr outlets. The whole nature of them is they have two plastic shutters so that when you push on one, it won’t open. But if you push on both of them open and then you can stick an outlet in. So if you have a plug, you just stick it, wiggle it a little bit, and it goes right in. But, if you have a single metal prong or a single metal tab.
Even a screwdriver kind of thing, you won’t be able to really get it in there. unless you force it and break it, obviously it’s just plastic shutters, but that’s the whole point of that. So, make sure if you’re doing your basement. Or your electrician is doing your basement development in Edmonton. Whatever you’re doing with your basement, or any plugs really in your home, make sure that you’re installing tap resistant, tr approved electrical outlets, back to those pot lights there.
Choosing Light Temperature for Your Basement Development in Edmonton
Whether you’re going for rental or comfort, we always advise 3000 Kelvin. That’s a nice warm light. It’s not as warm as 2,700 Kelvin, which is what you might see in an incandescent or a halogen bulb. Which is an important consideration when doing basement development in Edmonton. That’s that really yellow light at 2,700, some like it, but the vast majority of people seem to be happiest with, 3000 Kelvin or three K.
But anything high than that on the Kelvin scale, you get more white and more blue, anything lower, you get more yellow. That’s just how the Kelvin scale works. So yeah, that’s, that’s basically what we have for you today here about basement development in Edmonton. If you have any success stories, any stories about your basement finishing it, we’d love to hear about it. We hear stories all the time, but we, we don’t want to bash anyone else.
Hauer Power Electrical For Basement Development in Edmonton
We’re we just focus on our customers and making them happy. Especially when doing basement development in Edmonton. But, if you do have an experience where you need something fixed in your basement, you weren’t happy with the guy or the work that they did. We’re happy to come out and have a look at it and do the work for you.
Again, at Hauer Power, we power customer service. And this is one of our ways that we like to give back and, and be a part of Edmonton, this, this great city of ours. So gimme a call 780-935-0622. Visit our website at hauerpower.ca and, email us info@Hauerpower.ca can check us out on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, right here. And, yeah, we look forward to giving you power. Have a great day, Edmonton.