Kitchen Electrical for Future Reno
10/15/2021 at 10:03:08 AM
We are planning a kitchen reno in the near future. However, we want to fix (replace) one GFCI plug that was already replaced about 1 year ago, which recently blew. We would like to add up to 3 NEW outlets in the kitchen. New wire needs to be ran for the new outlets, possibly new breakers installed.
Also would there or could be any issues connecting to old aluminum wiring?
What would the average time length of this project and cost be?
Thank you
10/18/2021 at 8:51:52 AM
Hi Todd,
If you are planning a new kitchen Reno that would be changing the existing configuration of the kitchen or adding countertop space or fixed islands then you definitely need to update your receptacle layout. Any countertop that has a width of 12 inches or larger needs to have a receptacle. And when running along the wall of your countertop your rceptacles cannot be more then 900mm apart.
Now a day we make everything in the kitchen 20A circuits and you can only put 2 receptacles on 1 20A breaker which allows the use of larger appliances in the kitchen.
As for connecting to aluminum wiring with copper it can be done using the appropriate connectors and paste. However a lot of insurance companies do not like it and will ask for all the aluminum to be changed to copper or change all your switches and plugs in the house with copper pigtails.
For this work depending on a whole bunch of different factors you're anywhere from $2500 - $4000 for the kitchen part. If the insurance finds out you have aluminum you can be spending well over $15,000.
With all that said make sure whatever you do you use a licensed electrical contractor registered with ESA and ALWAYS get a permit. If you use someone who is not qualified or has any liability insurance you could have a huge fire risk dealing with aluminum wiring.
I hope this helped a bit.
Matt McCarthy, M.E
President/ Owner
M&J Electric Inc.
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