Extending circuit into second room
We have two rooms which share a wall: an office and a bedroom.
In the office, because of the large amount of equipment we are using, we are just about maxing out the 15A circuit which services the room. (This circuit also has a bunch of lighting and smoke detectors and other stuff also.)
The bedroom, on the other hand, is not really using any power to speak of. It has a 15A circuit which services nothing else except for the lights and receptacles in the bedroom, and nothing much is plugged in.
So, what I’d like to do is tap the bedroom circuit to add capacity for more equipment in the office.
Can I just punch a hole in the shared wall in the office near where a receptacle surfaces in the bedroom, and run a short bit of cable from the box in the bedroom to a new old work box in the office?
Here’s an illustration of what I’m thinking of doing:
http://headworld.net/newrecep.jpg
Would the cable have to be supported in some way if it’s just covering such a short distance (essentially the width of the wall + a little bit?)
Does code specify minimums as to how close together boxes can be located?
Any other issues you can see with this plan?
I don’t see any issues. The cable does not have to be fastened if it is fished and inaccessible. However it should be fastened to the boxes in whatever manner is acceptable for the box.
The only issue I could see regarding box spacing would be if the shared wall is a firewall, which is unlikely in your configuration.
Run the cable in a U-shape if possible so there is a little slack. It is usually easier to locate the new outlet further away rather than closer. For example if the existing outlet is on the left stud of the bay, put your new outlet on the right stud of the bay.
