You are at one of your rental houses that has a 200 amp breaker box mounted on an outside wall. To do some exterior carpentry repairs using circular saws etc., you need 120 volt outlet mounted adjacent to the breaker box. You will need a 20 amp breaker, 14 gauge? Romex and probably a GFCI outlet with a protective cover.

NE,

Brain surgery is an easy operation IF you know what you are doing.

On the left, right or bottom of your panel outside, you will have knockout holes. Take one that's for a standard 3/8 Romex connector and punch that out. You will then need a threaded gray PVC connector with a metal lock nut that will attach to the panel. Or a metal offset nipple or straight nipple.

Then once your offset nipple or PVC connectors attached to the panel, you'll either attach a box to the metal offset nipple or a piece of pipe to the PVC connector. If you attach a piece of gray PVC, you will need another PVC adapter with a metal lock not that will go into an outside box that will screw onto your siding. Once you get that conduit and box mounted, run your wire through their back to the panel. Then you will mount your receptacle and breaker as normal. Make sure you put a waterproof cover over top of it.

Roy,

Go to youtube.com and search for "installing an electrical outlet from the panel". Step by step video.

Don't forget you will be working with a live breaker box. Be careful. This job is easy peasy...unless you die. LOL

Seriously, take simple precautions for working around live electrical components and it's a very simple job.

NE,

I just got off the phone with my master electrician and he quoted me $100.00 (labor) and $50.00 for the parts. I consider that reasonable.

Romex going out sided or bottom is not a good idea, it goes out the top into the wood to get physical protection, use a angled nipple into a 4inch square box that mounts on the wall - you twist the offset nipple to match the depth needed for everything to mount flat, the outlet goes into the metal cover plate by bending or breaking off the tabs that would rest on the wall surface in a finished location, the metal box provides the physical protection needed near or below grade, this metal pipe is used in many outdoor projects for the same reason. AWG 14 is not strong enough for 20 amps, only 15 amp projects like lighting loads. Outlets should be planned with 20 amp wiring to minimize the nuisance tripping.

I would do it like NE[PA]'s method except I prefer using a steel nipple & box instead of PVC. If you shut off the panel's main breaker while add in this circuit & outlet, you will greatly reduce the areas with live electricity in the load center.

NE, you crack me up sometimes! Easy peasy my tukus! You are practically an electrician, with that much training and experience. It’s so good to hear that some high schools still offer useful classes, instead of all the focus on arts. ( nothing wrong with some arts but, good-grief! Bring back the tech classes, and drivers ed! )

Busy, the thing is in this situation, the "hard part", every landlord should know. Especially if you're a full-time landlord. Changing a breaker and changing a receptacle as a landlord is the same as any person who drives a vehicle down the road. You need to know how to fill it with gas, check the tire pressure, check the oil, add some washer fluid, and change the tire in an emergency. The hard part in this situation is the basic stuff. Mounting a box and hooking up a piece of conduit, the non typical work, is nothing at all.

I just couldn't imagine calling an electrician out every time you need a light switch changed. It takes 30 seconds. Unless you have another business or a really good day job throwing off enough cash to sustain hiring everything out, you're going to chew up cashflow quick.

NE, you studied electrical work. Most landlords have not, nor should they. Maybe you were kidding about how a landlord with no electrical training should be running conduit, wiring, installing breakers, etc.

I don't think so. And doing those things is not even close to your examples of basic car maintenance.

Only a foolish landlord with no electrical training would even consider doing that kind of thing.

- Personal risk.

- Building/business risk.

- Waste of time.

And if there was a fire or other loss and there was an inspection and they found the cause and that the work wasn't done by a licensed contractor, good luck to you!

Also, for a landlord to personally do projects on a building is usually a bad idea for other reasons.

I respect Roy's and NE's die-hard DIYer views. It works for them.

I'm moving closer to Brad20K's "take the tools out of the trunk" ideal. I'm over 95% "hire it out" now. Even painting is gone, and was my once-upon-a-time cathartic task. If I'm already at a place and it's something super simple, I'll do it. Otherwise, I hire it done. I ran my 2018 numbers, and based my average number of hours LLing, I netted (after expense profit) over $280/hour.

I provide in most of my rental homes, duplex and triplex units an exterior mounted outlet. It is attached to a 20 amp breaker. I use 12 gauge wire with a ground. The distance should be limited to 50 feet from the panel. I install a GFI duplex outlet with a water proof spring cover over the outlet. Most of the time I will install a lighted GFI so it can be easily reset if tripped with a visual OK light when working.

Sometimes I'll run an EMT 1/2" conduit to a surface mounted box. Or I will run the line in a flex conduit in the attic or lower crawl space and install a box in the exterior stucco wall.

"A landlord needs to know roughly what things cost and how long things should take to complete. Good way to get hosed on jobs, if you don't."

Absolutely right NE , about good way to get hosed on jobs like that . I have noticed my electrician’s bill has been going way, way up. And, I know it’s exactly as you said, I know didly about it, I got started in this biz late in life, and have many, many other things to learn. Things like carpentry because my little 50s prefab home have crazy framing, Home Depot won’t even replace my doors.

And you are right in saying a landlord should work on learning some basic skills, unless they have either gotten big enough that they can manage a great crew, or they have outside source of income for family life. I admit, I am correctly accused of being a ‘hobbyist’ landlord. I make a small profit every year, but we sure couldn’t live on it!

I’ve been looking up woodworking/ carpentry classes, seeing what local community colleges offer. Maybe some electrical classes could be in Roy’s future?

My daughter has been teaching her kids how to do electrical, plumbing, basic handyman skills. Her kids are 4 and 6 years old. Here’s hoping there are tech ed classes in their high school when they get there.

I recently paid $400 to install a 50a 240v line, a 30a 120v, fix a bad circuit, install a light timer and reinstall two of my outside security lights that some rotten kids shot with bb guns. Took him about 3 hrs.

And I STILL have to go back and fix it. He forgot to put a junction box in the wall, now I have to fix it myself. I failed to notice with other things going on before he got away.

I would put a 30 amp breaker in and use #10 wire, it's a short run, and it will allow you to run a MIG welder and larger tools safely. The actual process isn't too hard. There's lots of videos on it.

Certain jobs around a house require knowledge, experience and to be performed with safety.

Electrical work is one of them.

I agree with NE....but note that he/she says "If you know what you are doing".

In any circumstance, you should shut off all power to the main panel before attempting any such alteration.

Just read your response to NE...

For me adding a circuit isn't a big deal. However doing almost anything with a computer or a cell phone upgrade requires me to seek out the services of one of my grandkids or The Computer Doc.

A man's got to know his limitations.

In education/ psychology, there is theory/train of thought about learners, puts learners ( people learning something) into four categories:

Unconsciuosly incompetent

Consciously incompetent

Consciously competent

In consciously competent.

In other words:

They don’t know they don’t know. These are the most dangerous. Especially with electrical.

They know they don’t know. These people are the best learners. They are ready to learn, they have schema for it.

They know they know. These are the best teachers. They can understand the struggle of learners. And can teach other ways to learn the material.

They don’t know they know. These are the absolute experts, but not at all good teachers. They are so good at it, they cannot believe someone can struggle.

Just some argument material. First, we must be aware. Then we can learn, or teach.

PMH, but a great question at the same time, for a forum about landlording. How many readers who are too shy to post have benefitted from reading through all of the responses.

Can you pull the meter so that the breaker box is de-energized?? If not, you are going to be working in a condition where if you touch the wrong thing, or your tool touches the wrong thing, you are gonna die. Touching the buss bar is not like getting juiced while working on an outlet or switch, it may well be fatal. At the very least, you need to understand the flow of electricity in the breaker box and never lose concentration on that while doing the work.

So I guess hooking a plug and wire into a panel that just dangles freely in the air for temp power is out of the question with most LL's here?

Or back feeding the panel with a generator to power the whole house?