Surface mount conduit or fish wires? Adding outlets

P man

Keister Bunny
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Background..2 car fully sheet rocked garage only has 2 outlets right next to each other and I need to add more.

Should I run conduit on the outside? Or fish wire through the walls? I don't see how I could fish the wires since the studs are 24" on center I believe.

I guess I could run wire into the attic and down the wall?

Is the surface mount conduit ok for normal garages?
 
Depends on what you care about. Nothing wrong with surface mount conduit - either plugmold, or standard EMT/PVC. If you want to run wiring behind the sheetrock, you can drill holes through the studs if you're willing to do some busting out and repair of the sheetrock afterwards. Another way is to slot the sheetrock over each stud and weave Romex around each stud and hide it with sheetrock mud afterwards. Faster and less to repair - BUT I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS! Someone hanging a picture on the wall or otherwise drilling/screwing/nailing could get a VERY rude surprise, and I'm 99% sure its against code and with good reason - so stick to drilling holes in the middle of the studs if you decide to go a hidden installation. Of course, dropping feeds from the attic can work as well if you have access.
 
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I thought I took pix of an outlet install that I did a few months back where I drilled through several studs and fixed the sheetrock afterwards - but apparently not. I used an old fashioned brace and bit to drill the holes.
 
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If you notch the studs put these over your notches to protect your wires and also keep it up to code in many places.

Screenshot_20221105-011713_Chrome.jpg
 
If you run the wires in the walls, you will probably use three conductor Romex cable (hot, neutral, ground) for single phase power. If you used metal conduit and are careful with your joints, you can run two wires in the conduit (hot, neutral) and use the conduit for ground. Check your local code before doing anything. Also, your insurance company may require an inspector's sign-off or you could lose coverage. Lot's of fires and other damage from bad wiring. Finally, you could find a licensed electrician and pay him to do it after work or on the weekend.
 
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