Dear Jane,

I have a wonderful back yard and would enjoy installing outdoor receptacles and more lighting. I have pvc conduit which contains essex 12/3 wiring in it running on a single 20 amp breaker from my circuit box in the basement. (Which I know how to safely turn off...) I did help with the installation of this system ten years ago and wondered if you could tell me how to splice into this conduit to add outdoor 12/2 gauge wiring. I need a refresher course on splicing into the wires! Thank you!

Maryann and Pet-Pals

Dear Maryann and Pet-Pals,

Thanks so much for your Ask Jane question and an ambitious one at that! We are supportive in taking on tough projects but because you are dealing with electrical and some possible coding issues, you may want a bit of professional consultation. We found a few things with regard to this project that would alarm us to you doing this completely on your own.

Before we get to your splicing question, there are a few issues we think you need to be aware of:

The largest issue we see is the fact that you have 12/3 wire running through PVC. We're not sure what it might be in your area (there are simply too many variations to say for sure), but we believe this is actually a code violation. The good and the bad news is the fact that regardless of the code violation, in order to be able to splice this wire you'll have to run a new one through it anyway. This is based on the fact that the current wire is too short to install junction boxes to splice it. If this is done improperly you could have some water issues with the wires running underground.

Even though you may consider hiring someone at this point we still think it's a good idea to know what it is they are going to do so that you won't get the wool pulled over your eyes. However, please be aware that without being able to actually see what you have in front of you, we are answering this question to the best of our abilities and as such are recommending that you contact a certified electrician before proceeding.

That said, the first step in this process as far as we can tell would be to cut the PVC, install an elbow and attach it to a junction box. These will need to be installed anywhere you'll want a receptacle. The next step is to re-pull the wire through the conduit to and from each box. Make sure you purchase #12 THHN wire. This is a single conductor type of wire. You'll be able to find this at most home improvement centers. Also make sure that the junction boxes, covers and wire nuts are waterproof. As I'm sure you know electricity and water definitely don't mix!

In answer to your splicing wires question, it will be through installing the junction box that you will be able to splice the wires and install the receptacles.

One last bit of advice. Before you get started figure out what your game plan is going to be in order to light your yard. A single 20amp breaker is only rated for 16. And now you might be asking what does that mean to you? According to our calculations we were able to figure out that you will be able to put 1920 watts on this line without the breaker popping. In order to figure out your total wattage just add up the light bulbs and wattage of all of the apparatuses you have on it.

I'm sorry we couldn't give you an easy answer that would enable you to go out and do it this weekend, but maybe when you hire your contractor he'll teach you how to do it for next time.

But keep that great spirit and energy going! You go Jane!

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us at any time. We're here for you!

We hope this helps!

Hugs 'n hammers,

Jane