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7 guides

Renovation and projects

Kitchen, bathroom, basement, garage, cottage, new house and lighting: the Code’s rules room by room, to plan before opening the walls.

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Rooms of the house

3 guides

7 min readRenovating your kitchen: the electrical work to plan before opening the wallsA kitchen needs more outlets and circuits than you might think: an outlet within 900 mm of every point along the counter, at least two circuits for the counter, GFCI protection near the sink, a circuit for the fridge and one for the microwave. Add arc-fault protection, tamper-resistant outlets and, since the 2026 Code, a neutral at every switch. Plan it all before the drywall.
  • Counter: no point more than 900 mm from an outlet, at least two circuits of two outlets each, and nothing else on those circuits.
  • A fixed island gets its outlet, so does a peninsula (unless the wall at its end has one), and never an outlet directly behind or in front of the sink.
  • Ordinary outlets within 1.5 m of the sink are protected by a Class A GFCI.
Read the guide 6 min readBathrooms: where outlets, switches and heating go under the CodeIn a bathroom, everything is measured from the tub, the shower and the sink: an outlet within 1 m of the sink but at least 1 m from the tub or shower, GFCI protection within 1.5 m of water, and switches and thermostats 1 m from the tub or shower unless protected. The 2026 Code relaxes the rules for heating. Here are the distances, in one table.Read the guide 7 min readFinishing a basement: outlets, circuits, alarms and the sump pumpFinishing a basement is almost like wiring a whole floor: an outlet within 1.8 m of every point along the walls, arc-fault protected circuits, the laundry room, room-by-room heating, interconnected smoke alarms and a well-placed sump pump outlet. The 2026 Code adds rules for flood zones. Plan it all before closing the walls.Read the guide

Garage and cottage

2 guides

7 min readThe garage: outlets, EV charger, sub-panel and heatingThe Code calls for a duplex outlet for each car space, an outlet near each cord-connected door opener and a circuit reserved for garage outlets. An attached garage follows the dwelling rules, a new house with a garage must be ready for a charger, and a charger outlet has its own rules. Here is everything to plan, from heating to the workshop.
  • A duplex outlet for each car space, an outlet within 1 m of each cord-connected door opener, and a circuit reserved for garage outlets.
  • An attached garage follows the dwelling rules (arc-fault, tamper-resistant); for a detached garage, the RBQ recommends them.
  • A new house with a garage must be ready for a charger: a cable or conduit to an outlet box, for level 2 charging of at least 7.68 kW at 240 V.
Read the guide 6 min readElectricity at the cottage: connection, winter and generatorTo connect a cottage, a contractor who is a CMEQ member sends the request to Hydro-Québec, once its work is done and compliant. Here are the 10 steps, the documents to prepare, the choice of service, winter when the cottage is empty, a safely connected generator and the waterfront rules.Read the guide

New house

1 guide

6 min readNew house: the electrical work to plan, from connection to move-inA new house means an electrical service, a panel with room for what comes next, an EV charger planned from the start and room-by-room rules. Here is what the Code requires, what the 2026 Code adds, and the steps with Hydro-Québec, in order.
  • Apply for the connection early: only a CMEQ member sends it to Hydro-Québec, once its work is done and compliant.
  • The Code’s load calculation sets the service; a planned EV charger counts at 100%, installed or not.
  • With a garage, carport or parking space, the house must be ready for a charger: a cable or conduit to an outlet box.
Read the guide

Lighting

1 guide

4 min readLighting: LED pot lights, dimmers and smart switchesLED pot lights in an insulated ceiling, a dimmer that doesn’t flicker, a smart switch that works: it all comes down to the wiring. The 2026 Code now requires a neutral at every switch. Here are the rules for pot lights, damp locations and controls, and what to plan before closing the ceiling.
  • Since the 2026 Code, every switch location controlling a fixed light fixture has a neutral conductor.
  • Electronic dimmers, occupancy sensors and smart switches need this neutral to work.
  • A pot light in contact with insulation must be IC-rated; otherwise, 13 mm of clearance from combustible material and 76 mm from insulation.
Read the guide

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Words to know

The whole glossary
Ampere (A)
The unit of electric current. An electrical service is described in amps (100 A, 200 A), just like a breaker or an EV charger (32 A, 48 A).
Volt (V)
The unit of voltage. At home, ordinary outlets are 120 V; large appliances, such as a level 2 EV charger, are connected at 240 V.
Watt (W) and kilowatt (kW)
The unit of power: what an appliance draws at a given moment. Watts = volts × amps, and 1 kW = 1,000 W. A 32 A charger at 240 V delivers about 7.7 kW.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
The unit of energy on your bill: 1 kW for one hour. At Hydro-Québec’s Rate D (April 1, 2026), the first 40 kWh per day cost 7.065¢ and the rest 11.142¢, before taxes.
Nameplate
An appliance’s label giving its electrical values (volts, amps or watts). It sets the circuit size, and it gives your appliances’ actual watts for choosing a generator.
Gauge and rating
In French, « calibre » means a wire’s size (gauge) or the amp rating of a breaker or a service. The breaker must match the gauge of the wires it protects; a rating that is too high can let the wires overheat.
GFCI
An outlet or breaker that cuts power in a fraction of a second when current leaks to ground, for example through a person (DDFT in French). The Code requires it near water and outdoors: within 1.5 m of a sink, bathtub or shower, on all outdoor outlets, at the hot tub and at the pool.
Arc-fault breaker (AFCI)
A breaker that detects electrical arcs, the small sparks in a damaged wire or a loose connection that can start a fire. The Code requires it for most outlet circuits in living areas, in new work and in renovations that affect those circuits.

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We do this work in Sherbrooke and the surrounding municipalities. Each town page gives the electricity utility and the municipality to contact for permits.

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