Garage Construction Project

2026-05-26 - North Wall Outlets and Stairs to Loft

3 min read

North Wall East End — 16” Circuit GFCI Lead (Raised) Next to the Loft Stairs

East end of the north wall near the loft stairs — upper blue 2-gang box mounted at workbench height (~46" AFF) holds the GFCI lead for the energized 16" floor-line circuit (raised above the standard perimeter height to clear the rolling tool cabinets that will sit on this section of wall); lower blue 2-gang box at 16" AFF is the first downstream box on the same circuit; yellow 12-2 NM-B Romex visible dropping from the upper box to the lower box; the bottom run of the loft stairs entering the frame from the right with a red fire extinguisher standing on the lowest tread; tape measure and Marrette wirenuts on a higher tread

Photo Details

  • Date: May 26, 2026
  • Time: 11:58 AM EDT
  • Weather: Clear, 82°F, 38% humidity, 9 mph SW winds.
  • Phase: Phase 1 — 120V rough-in (DIY) — morning-after documentation
  • Location: East end of the north wall, near the loft stairs (stairs start at the back/north and turn south to ascend on the east wall)
  • Subject: The GFCI lead for the energized 16” floor-line circuit (upper box, raised to workbench height) and the first downstream box at 16” AFF (lower box), both on the same circuit — adjacent to the loft stairs and the future rolling tool cabinet location

Description

The GFCI for the currently-energized 16” floor-line circuit lives in the upper 2-gang box in this photo. It was deliberately mounted at workbench height (~46” AFF) rather than the standard 16” AFF so the rolling tool cabinets planned for this section of the north wall — just west of the loft stairs, east of the central workbench, near the future 2-post lift — don’t block access to it.

  • Upper 2-gang (~46” AFF): the single GFCI device with incoming live power from the new 20A BR breaker added 2026-05-25. Second slot is empty (skipped at end-of-day yesterday after running out of receptacles; will be retrofit later with a standard 20A duplex wired in series with the rest of the 16” AFF chain so the new device stays GFCI-protected).
  • Lower 2-gang (16” AFF): the first downstream box on the same energized circuit. Romex drops from the upper GFCI down to this lower box, then continues along the wall feeding the rest of the 16” AFF chain.

Note that the north wall also has a separate workbench-height circuit (~46” AFF) with its own GFCI lead elsewhere along the wall (see the close-up of the workbench-height circuit GFCI). That second circuit is not energized yet — rough-in is incomplete.

Visible Elements

  • Upper 2-gang at ~46” AFF — GFCI lead for the energized 16” floor-line circuit (one device, one empty slot)
  • Lower 2-gang at 16” AFF — first downstream box on the same 16” circuit
  • Yellow 12-2 NM-B romex — drop from the upper to the lower box (incoming live power chain)
  • Loft stair stringer + lower treads entering from the right — east side of the garage, stairs go up southward
  • Red 5 lb ABC fire extinguisher standing on the bottom tread (staged for permanent mount)
  • Tape measure + Marrette wirenuts on a higher tread (staged tools from yesterday’s install)
  • OSB sheathing on the north wall behind the boxes
  • Loft framing / sloped ceiling joist visible at upper right where the stairs meet the loft

Why This Photo

Future maintenance / troubleshooting reference for the reset location of the energized 16” perimeter circuit: it is the raised 2-gang at the east end of the north wall, near the stairs — not at the panel, not at floor level, not at the workbench-height circuit’s GFCI (which is a separate device elsewhere on this same wall).

If the 16” floor-line outlets ever stop working, this is the first box to check. If the workbench outlets stop working (once that circuit is live), check the OTHER GFCI box — see workbench-height GFCI close-up.

Graph View

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