Add Light Switch To Existing

Add Switch to Existing Switch

Dear Mr. Electrician:  How do I add a light switch to an existing switch?  I want to change from a one-gang light switch to a two-gang.   The existing one-gang wall switch controls an outlet.  I want to install a ceiling fan and have two wall switches to control the ceiling fan and also the light on the fan separately.

Answer:  It is possible to add a light switch to the existing one and change a one-gang switch to two-gang or more. However, much of what you need to do will depend on the type of structure you are working in and what room.

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A three-conductor cable with a ground wire must be installed from the ceiling fan to the wall switch location.

If you have an attic space above, adding a light switch to the existing electrical box can be done sometimes without damaging the walls.  If you don’t have attic access or if there are obstacles inside the wall or ceiling, you will need to cut holes in the wall and ceiling.

Another possibility is to use a surface mount raceway such as Wiremold.  An example of Wiremold can be seen in this article of mine.

Below is an example of how I added a second switch to an existing one that controlled an outlet.  This is from a ceiling fan installation I did a few years ago for some homeowners who bought a single-family detached house initially built in the 1960s.

BEFORE ADDING A SWITCH

Before I add a light switch to existing switch boxes, I put down drop cloths on the floor with a cardboard box to catch debris from the wall switch being worked on. The existing wall switch controls the electrical receptacle outlet in the lower left.
Before adding a light switch to existing switch boxes, I put drop cloths on the floor with a cardboard box to catch debris from the wall switch being worked on. The existing wall switch controls the electrical receptacle outlet in the lower left.

When working in an occupied house, it is necessary to keep the work area clean so that dust and debris do not travel throughout the home.  I always use drop cloths to protect floors and carpets.

I use a cardboard box to catch dust and debris as it falls from the wall and ceiling.  It also helps speed up the cleaning process at the end of the job.

I used a short piece of metal fish tape to probe the left side of the existing metal switch box to determine if any obstacles, such as air ducts or pipes, would prevent the installation of a larger switch box.

I also confirmed the function of each wire in the switch.  I had a hot and a neutral, which were my main concerns.

The electrical outlet to the lower left of the wall switch was a split, half-switched outlet.  To feed power to that outlet, a three-conductor cable was used.  The switch controlled the red wire while the black had power at all times and continued that constant power to the other electrical receptacle outlets in the room.

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REMOVING THE EXISTING SWITCH BOX

The switch is removed, and the existing wiring conductors have been identified for when they are put back together when added to the existing switch
The switch is removed, and the existing wiring conductors have been identified for when they are put back together when added to the existing switch.

The photo above shows three two-conductor cables in the switch box initially installed by the builder.  One cable is the power feed, while another feeds the bathroom.  The third cable goes to the electrical receptacle outlet, controlled by the wall switch.

When we add a light switch to the existing one, the wiring will change so the outlet is always on, and two switches will be used to control a new ceiling fan and light.

The existing wall switch electrical box was mounted to the wood wall stud using two 16-penny nails.  The nails pass through the box’s upper and lower parts.

I identified the wires and separated them.  Tagging the wires helps with getting them back together correctly.   I use colored electrical tape or homemade labels made from white electrical tape.  In this particular switch, the white wires were all neutrals, the black wires were hot or LINE, and the red wire was the switch leg or LOAD wire that controlled the switched outlet.

Because there was already a hot and neutral switch in this switch box, I only needed to install a three-conductor cable with a bare ground wire up to the new ceiling fan location to add a light switch to the existing one.

Knipex high leverage diagonal pliers are being used to remove nails from an electrical box that will be changed to add a switch to the existing.
Knipex high-leverage diagonal pliers are being used to remove nails from an electrical box that will be changed to add a switch to the existing one.

Instead of cutting the nails inside the box, I grabbed each one with my Knipex 10″ high-leverage diagonal pliers and, little by little, could remove the nails by leveraging my diagonal pliers against the box.  When each nail came out of the wood, I pushed it through to the other side, where it fell into the hollow wall space.

To add a new switch to the existing, the electrical box in the wall needs to be removed along with the nails and cable clamps and the electrical splices need to be taken apart.
To add a new switch to the existing one, the electrical box in the wall must be removed along with the nails and cable clamps, and the electrical splices need to be removed.

With the box loose, the wires separated, and the cable clamp removed, removing the old switch box from the wall is now possible.

It was necessary to remove the old switch box to add a light switch to the existing one because more cubic inches of space was needed for the additional fan switch wires.

The electrical box has been removed so a switch can be added, and you can see on the wall stud where the original installer notched the wood so that the protruding screw tab on the side of the electrical box does not push the box away from the wood stud.
The electrical box has been removed so a switch can be added, and you can see on the wall stud where the original installer notched the wood so that the protruding screw tab on the side of the electrical box does not push the box away from the wood stud.

Because this already had a metal switch box in the wall, I planned to install a new two-gang metal switch box to add a light switch to the existing one.

A two-gang metal switch box consists of two single-gang boxes with one side removed and then connected.  Just one way to add a light switch to an existing one.

The existing electrical box hole in the wall has been enlarged to accept a two-gang box for adding a switch.
The existing electrical box hole in the wall has been enlarged to accept a two-gang box for adding a switch.

The existing hole is cut to the size of the new two-gang metal switch box.

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CUTTING AN ACCESS HOLE

I used my angle drill to drill a hole down into the wall space from the attic so a wire can be fished down for adding a light switch.
I used my angle drill to drill a hole down into the wall space from the attic so a wire could be fished down to add a light switch.

I had to cut an access hole into the attic space because this house had no attic access via a door or a ceiling hatch.  I made the access hole big enough to fit my angle drill up in the attic so that I could drill down into the wall.

It is difficult to see, but I cut the hole in the ceiling drywall with my saw at a 45-degree angle with the blade’s tip pointed inward towards the center.  This is a technique that I developed many years ago.  It makes it easier to patch the hole using the same piece of drywall that was cut out.

To patch the hole, I butter the edges of the ceiling hole and the cut-out drywall piece with joint compound.  Then, I push the piece into place until it is even with the existing ceiling.  Much of the joint compound will ooze out, but that is okay as it gets smoothed over with a wide putty knife.

This method is so excellent that no taping is needed over the joint.  The joint compound fills in all of the gaps, and the 45-degree angle prevents cracking from showing up.  On most jobs, I do a rough finish and let the client handle the fine finish and painting, as the joint compound needs 24 hours to dry.

I use some drywall screws on ceilings to keep the piece from falling.  However, on walls with smaller holes, I have found that the joint compound is enough to hold the piece in place.  When there is no wood to screw into, I add small pieces in the corners above the ceiling and screw through the drywall ceiling to hold them in place.

It was necessary to cut an access hole into the attic space to facilitate the installation of a new 14/3 cable from the existing wall switch location to the center of the room so a new switch could be added.
It was necessary to cut an access hole into the attic space to facilitate the installation of a new 14/3 cable from the existing wall switch location to the center of the room so a new switch could be added.

Using the access hole that I made caused the job to go a lot quicker as I could fish my wire across the ceiling and down the wall with little effort.  I was lucky because the owners planned to repaint the room after I finished.  They had no problem with me cutting holes to add a light switch to the existing one.

A big attic space was discovered during the process of adding a switch to an existing switch.
An ample attic space was discovered while adding a switch to an existing one.

This attic space was revealed after I cut the access hole to add a light switch to the existing one.  I let the homeowner climb up my ladder to see how much attic space there was.


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INSTALLING A CEILING FAN ELECTRICAL BOX
My home made dust catcher for when I cut holes in a ceiling
My homemade dust catcher for when I cut holes in a ceiling.

I made a dust catcher for my compass saw out of the sawed-off bottom of a juice container.  I cut a slot in the bottom for the saw blade to fit through.  It doesn’t catch 100% of the dust but collects a lot.  The slower I cut, the more dust I keep in the bottle bottom.

Before I cut the electrical box opening to add a light switch to the existing one, I made a small hole in the center and pushed a long, thin screwdriver up to probe for obstructions.  I then pushed a fish tape up to do more probing.  I also feel around with a wire coat hanger bent into an L shape to detect things against the ceiling surface, such as furring strips or resilient channel.

A close shot of my homemade dust catcher that I cut from a plastic disposal juice bottle
A close shot of my homemade dust catcher that I cut from a plastic disposal juice bottle.
My fiberglass rod protruding from electrical box hole
I could push my fiberglass rod over to the electrical box hole I made very quickly since there were no obstacles in the attic.

With the open attic space, it was straightforward for me to use my fiberglass pull rods to fish a 14/3 Romex cable from the switch to the ceiling fan in the middle of the room to add a light switch to the existing one.

My fiberglass rod protruding from the access hole that I cut in the ceiling.
My fiberglass rod protruded from the access hole I cut in the ceiling.

I forgot to get a picture, but after I finished using the access hole, I patched it up using joint compound and the drywall piece that was cut out, as I explained above.

The rest of this ceiling fan and switch installation can be seen on page 2.

Click on Page 2

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