# Adding a light & switch to a room?



## savatreatabvr (Oct 14, 2013)

My predicament is I want to add a light above my pool table controlled by a wall switch. Can I run the new wire off of a wall outlet?


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 14, 2013)

Ok this drawing may be easier to understand? I hope this is correct so I don't burn my house down, lol!


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## nealtw (Oct 15, 2013)

Yes, Use short peice of wire "pigtails" to connect to the outlet instead of wiring to both sides of the outlet. Just wire nut the two black wires and a pigtail together, and the same with the white.
You can go to either the light or the switch first which ever is easiest and just cut the wire at the box and join the two white wires with wire nuts, don't forget the grounds and welcome to the site.


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 15, 2013)

nealtw said:


> Yes, Use short peice of wire "pigtails" to connect to the outlet instead of wiring to both sides of the outlet. Just wire nut the two black wires and a pigtail together, and the same with the white.
> You can go to either the light or the switch first which ever is easiest and just cut the wire at the box and join the two white wires with wire nuts, don't forget the grounds and welcome to the site.




Thank you nealtw for your response, I understand what you're saying about pigtailing to the outlet instead of wiring the other side but why, that's what I don't understand.


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## nealtw (Oct 15, 2013)

http://electrical.about.com/od/receptaclesandoutlets/a/WaysToWireReceptacles.htm


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## bud16415 (Oct 15, 2013)

Adding a single light at the end of the run I personally wouldn&#8217;t have a problem doing it off the screw terminals. I have often wondered about the merits of the pigtails and wire nuts method and if a wire nut connection is as secure as a connection made under the screw. On a long chain of outlets they say the reason is if the outlet fails the whole string will go down and also something about internal resistance of each outlet. That I don&#8217;t know but I&#8217;m sure there is resistance to the wire nut connection that can vary a lot based on how well the wires are in contact. A screw is in my mind much more repetitive and secure. The biggest advantage to pigtails I think is if you need to change the outlet or that there is no confusion as to what wire is coming into the outlet feeding it. 

The other method is to get a pool table light with a swag cord and line switch and just plug it in the outlet. No need to rip up the walls and ceiling.


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## JoeD (Oct 15, 2013)

Your connections are correct but I don't like your description of 'left the whites uncut'. Exact how did you run your cables? Did you use a box for the switch? It should have taken two cables in the switch box requiring you to connect the two whites together.


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 16, 2013)

JoeD said:


> Your connections are correct but I don't like your description of 'left the whites uncut'. Exact how did you run your cables? Did you use a box for the switch? It should have taken two cables in the switch box requiring you to connect the two whites together.



Yes I apologize for the misleading drawing, I've got one cable, (1 black wire & 1 white wire) going into the switch box and one cable coming out going to the light. The white is uncut in the box. My next project I want to add two switches to control three lights, I'll start a new thread for that one. Thank you for your replies it's helped out tremendously!


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## JoeD (Oct 16, 2013)

How did you  manage to feed the cable through the box without cutting it? I never heard of any one do that.


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## bud16415 (Oct 16, 2013)

I don&#8217;t know but I doubt it&#8217;s against code. I have seen it done. When the wiring is exposed just double it over and stick it thru the hole in the box and strip the middle. I have seen barns where they ran wire for lighting and every so often striped a couple spots and used a porcelain light fixture with the bare wire slipped under the screw heads, whole row of lights and never cut the feed wire.


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## JoeD (Oct 16, 2013)

I never thought of doubling it over and pushing both pieces though one hole. I suppose that could work.


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## bud16415 (Oct 16, 2013)

I thought for sure I could find a photo on line of a barn or something daisy chain wired without a wire nut used but I couldn&#8217;t find a one. Maybe I don&#8217;t know what to search on. 

They nail up 6 to 10 boxes and start at one end with a #12 cable and at each light double it over and poke it in the box about 6 inches and one staple close to the box. Then go down the line. When you strip the wire back in the middle about an inch and bend it to a U shape to go around the socket&#8217;s screw. The last one is the only one that gets a hook bend. Out in the elements like a barn this works pretty good because there are no wire nut connections to worry about. 

It&#8217;s not any more work than doing all the nuts and pigtails and short wires I don&#8217;t think.


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 17, 2013)

JoeD said:


> How did you  manage to feed the cable through the box without cutting it? I never heard of any one do that.



I'm still in the process of running the wire, I was assuming I could just stick a fish tape up through the box to the attic and hook on the wire. It sounds simple enough, lol! It's also a interior wall so there shouldn't be any insulation, right?


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 17, 2013)

I'm still kind of confused on how to install two 3-way switches, one each at the ends of the hallway to control three recessed lights that are being controlled by three separate switches?


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## JoeD (Oct 17, 2013)

savatreatabvr said:


> I'm still kind of confused on how to install two 3-way switches, one each at the ends of the hallway to control three recessed lights that are being controlled by three separate switches?



Is this a new project or a change to the original switch from a receptacle?
Give us a complete description of what is there now and what you want to accomplish.


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## bud16415 (Oct 17, 2013)

Doing a google search on 3 way switch will give you dozens of examples and videos of how to do that. They all can be a little confusing as they mostly show you how to wire it without the concept behind what you are doing. 

A 3 way switch is a single pole double throw switch and seeing it in schematic form first I think clears up all the other explanations for most people. Here is a link of the basic way they work and the two methods depending where the power comes to first. Here is a link to a schematic drawing and then it shows you the equivalent with a real switch.  

http://www.ezdiyelectricity.com/?page_id=381


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## PangioneDevelopers (Oct 17, 2013)

Hello
Technically yes you can jump a feed from an outlet over to a new switch that will feed a new light.

You may want to hire an electrician but it's not difficult. If you live in a condo, multi family, coop , you definitely need an electrician.
Good Luck


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 20, 2013)

JoeD said:


> Is this a new project or a change to the original switch from a receptacle?
> Give us a complete description of what is there now and what you want to accomplish.



I have three existing wall lights in my hallway controlled by three separate switches, each light has it's own switch and they're all at one end of the hallway. What I want to do is replace one of those switches with a 3-way switch and add one 3-way switch at the other end of the hallway to control all three lights together, so basically my girlfriend doesn't have to walk all the way from one end of the long dark scary hallway to the other end to turn the lights on! Ahhhh, the things us men do for beautiful women, lol! I think I need to run a 14/3 between the switches but I'm kind of lost after that and I'm assuming I need to find the feed wire to one of the lights and then wire the switches in some how? This stuff is so much easier for some people!


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## savatreatabvr (Oct 20, 2013)

bud16415 said:


> Doing a google search on 3 way switch will give you dozens of examples and videos of how to do that. They all can be a little confusing as they mostly show you how to wire it without the concept behind what you are doing.
> 
> A 3 way switch is a single pole double throw switch and seeing it in schematic form first I think clears up all the other explanations for most people. Here is a link of the basic way they work and the two methods depending where the power comes to first. Here is a link to a schematic drawing and then it shows you the equivalent with a real switch.
> 
> http://www.ezdiyelectricity.com/?page_id=381



See that's where I get confused, there are so many different circuit diagrams to figure out on the internet I don't know which one is the right one! I just bought this house and want to do all the work myself, that's just a macho way of saying I'm broke now so I can't hire an electrian, lol!


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## JoeD (Oct 20, 2013)

Well making one light be on a three way is simple once you get three wire cable (14/3 or 12/3) to the new switch location.
I am going to skip ground wires in the description. Connect all of them together and to the switch if it has a ground screw.

Remove the two wires from the existing switch. Leave everything else alone. The wires could be both black or black and white. Might even be black and red. It doesn't matter.
Connect one of the wires from the old switch to the common screw of your new three way switch#1.
Connect the other wire from the old switch to the black wire to your new switch#2 cable.
Connect the red and white wires to the remaining two traveller screws of the new switch#1.

At new switch#2 connect the black to the common screw.
Connect the red and white wires to the remaining two traveller screws of the new switch#2.


The problem comes in connecting all three lights into this one pair of switches. How to do that would depend on the current wiring in the triple switch box.


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