Garage Construction Project

2026-05-26 - North Wall Both Outlet Lines With Workbench GFCI

3 min read

North Wall — Both Circuits Visible (16” Floor Line + Workbench-Height Line)

Along-wall view of the north wall — multiple blue plastic boxes mounted to studs at two heights: 16" AFF floor line (lower boxes — these are on the energized rear-wall circuit) and a workbench-height (~46" AFF) line (higher 2-gang boxes — these are a separate, not-yet-energized circuit); one of the workbench-height GFCI 2-gang boxes is visible; yellow Romex chained between bays; window opening behind one of the upper boxes; raked loft stair stringer visible at upper right; orange extension cord and tools on the concrete floor

Photo Details

  • Date: May 26, 2026
  • Time: 11:57 AM EDT
  • Weather: Clear, 82°F, 38% humidity, 9 mph SW winds. Strong daylight through the still-empty north window.
  • Phase: Phase 1 — 120V rough-in (DIY) — morning-after documentation
  • Location: Looking along the north (rear) wall — the workbench wall
  • Subject: Both perimeter circuits on the same wall in one frame — the energized 16” AFF floor-line circuit AND the not-yet-energized workbench-height circuit

Description

The single picture that captures both perimeter circuits on the same wall — but importantly, these are two separate 20A circuits, each with its own GFCI lead:

  1. 16” AFF floor-line circuit (lower boxes) — ENERGIZED. Lead/incoming GFCI is the workbench-height 2-gang near the loft stairs at the east end of this same wall (raised above 16” AFF to clear the rolling tool cabinets — see stairs photo). The 16” chain itself is the standard perimeter outlet height.
  2. Workbench-height circuit (~46” AFF, higher 2-gang boxes) — NOT ENERGIZED. Has its own separate GFCI lead somewhere along the wall (visible in the close-up). Rough-in is incomplete — ran out of receptacles during yesterday’s install; the panel-side pull and breaker for this circuit are also pending.

Layout context (per the construction plan):

  • Workbench: central section of the north wall, equidistant from both garage bays
  • Rolling tool cabinets: to the right (east) of the workbench, against the same north wall, near the loft stairs and the future 2-post lift
  • 5 workbench-height 2-gang boxes along the north wall total (one of them is the raised GFCI lead for the 16” circuit; the others are on the workbench-height circuit)

Rough-in state: wire pulled between boxes, not yet stapled to studs. Wire from the panel was deliberately left long with slack to keep the routing option open (run inside the kneewall vs. bundle into a conduit up to the rafters — see the panel-slack photo).

Visible Elements

  • 16” AFF floor-line outlet boxes — energized rear-wall circuit (first owner-DIY branch energized 2026-05-25)
  • Workbench-height (~46” AFF) 2-gang boxes — second circuit on this wall (not energized; needs receptacles and panel feed)
  • Yellow 12-2 NM-B Southwire romex chained between boxes
  • Window opening in the north wall (rough-framed, no window unit yet)
  • Loft stair stringer visible at upper right — east side of garage; stairs go up southward
  • No staples yet — wire dressing pass deferred
  • OSB sheathing behind the wires

Why This Photo

The single visual that shows both north-wall circuits in one frame so the relationship between the two is clear. For future troubleshooting:

  • 16” AFF outlets misbehave → check the raised GFCI lead near the stairs (stairs photo)
  • Workbench-height outlets misbehave (when energized later) → check the workbench-height GFCI lead (close-up photo)

This is also the documentation reference for the 5 workbench-height 2-gang count on the north wall.

Graph View

Backlinks