Can I get some advice. Trying to get a subpanel put in the garage, w/ 240v and 120v, to convert said pathetic excuse of a garage into a workshop. Issue is how.
House and garage are separated by a 4 foot wide walkway of poured concrete. Basically a dead zone - gets rained on in winter, fills with leaves in fall, visible from street so can't put bicycles there (even if locked - lots of bike theft around here). Just used to get from the driveway to the back yard.
The electrical panel is in the basement, on the exterior wall that borders the walkway, right at the driveway end of the walkway. The electrician is saying, look, you don't want an ugly naked conduit between house and garage, overhead across the walkway.
I'm (and he's) thinking, could either use the overhead route, support/conceal conduit in a "header" (not sure what's the right term) connecting house and garage, and build a gate under the header, so that the header makes sense as a overhead trellis thingy. Gate also helps with my leaf and potential bike theft issue. There is a gate at the other end of the walkway, so this would have some symmetry, and I could build it.
Or, could bring conduit out through the house wall, down the concrete part of the wall, cut a 4' long trench in the concrete paving and bury the conduit in there, then conduit goes into the garage. Cleaner solution maybe. I can't trench the concrete myself though (or can I?)
Here's a picture, if you're standing in the driveway about to walk down the walkway. Green line is one conduit route, purple line is the alternative.
O PPOT fount of wisdom - any ideas, comments?
As long as I have you - two other questions.
- The main panel in the basement is 125A and is full. Code will not permit him to replace it with a larger panel (something about location next to water line, window, location was legal when installed but not now, I don't understand it). Wife wants 240v in the basement to power her pottery kiln, plus a few 120v outlets for the other stuff one needs in a pottery studio. Electrician proposes to put a subpanel in the basement, in a legal location. With that, and the subpanel in the garage, the house would have three panels. Is that weird?
- I told him the garage needs to accommodate a someday-if-I'm-dreaming TIG welder. I looked up specs for home/hobby TIG welders, looks like the smallest needs 20A at 240v and the next size up needs 40A. So he proposes a 60A subpanel in the garage, one 40A 240v outlet, two 20A 240v outlets for saw etc, and some 120v outlets. Is that enough, you guys w/ home shops?