A detached workshop needs more than a subpanel, receptacles, lights, and tool circuits. Plan the feeder size, trench route, grounding, disconnect, shop loads, and what you might add in two years before anyone digs or pulls wire.
Nix Electrical is a family-owned, licensed contractor serving Cobb, Paulding, and Cherokee. We treat detached shop power as a feeder and grounding project first, then as a tidy row of breakers on the wall.
Put feeder size beside the trench
Distance from the house panel or service equipment to the shop drives wire size, conduit choices, and whether the run is direct burial or in raceway. A short yard crossing behind a garage is not the same job as a long pull under a driveway you do not want to saw-cut later.
Mark the preferred trench path on a sketch: gates, septic, irrigation, retaining walls, and future patio pads all compete for the same dirt. Utility locate requests and open-trench inspection steps need calendar space, not a weekend surprise. If the driveway is new or about to be coated, say so before the route is chosen.
Photograph the house panel and the wall of the shop where the subpanel will land. Note whether the shop slab is already poured and whether walls are open.
Grounding and disconnect are not optional footnotes
A detached building needs a grounding arrangement that matches the installation method and local requirements. The disconnect location has to make sense for someone standing at the shop, not only for a clean photo of the interior panel. These details change materials and labor even when the breaker count looks small.
Do not assume a “subpanel kit” from a shelf answers grounding. The property conditions do. If the house service is also marginal, the shop feeder may force a wider conversation about capacity before the trench is worth opening. Our panel upgrade guide is the right companion reading when the main panel is already the weak link.
List shop loads before you pick breaker spaces
Compressors, welders, dust collection, window units or mini-splits, electric heat, EV charging in the shop bay, weld outlets, and ordinary receptacles do not share one vague “tools” line. Continuous loads and large motor loads need clear planning. Lighting and general receptacles should be on the drawing too so the first winter night in the shop is not lit by a single construction lamp on a yellow cord.
Write down future equipment before you size the feeder. A welder you will buy next year and a charger you might add for a second car change feeder and panel choices now. Leaving a spare conduit or correctly sized feeder is cheaper while the trench is open than cutting the yard again after landscaping matures.
Lighting, receptacles, and work zones
Task lighting over benches, general overhead light, and exterior lights at the shop door are easier to place before insulation and finish skins close the walls. Receptacle height and spacing should match how you actually build: assembly tables, charger shelves, and dust-prone corners each want a clear plan.
GFCI and other protection details follow the location and use. Outdoor receptacles on the shop wall, and any shared circuits with lighting outside, belong in the same site visit rather than as afterthoughts when the inspector is due. Indoor outlet and switch layout should be sketched with tool placement, not copied from a house bedroom pattern.
Keep the house panel conversation clear
A shop feeder is another large ask on the existing service. If the house already runs a heat pump, dryer, range, and EV charger, the combined picture matters. We may recommend feeder work alone, a panel upgrade, or a phased plan that gets the shop safe power without pretending the house side has unlimited headroom.
Renovations that open the garage or side yard at the same time are good moments to stage the trench and house-panel terminations. Troubleshooting notes such as dimming lights on compressor starts should be mentioned up front so we are not surprised mid-pull.
What a written shop scope should include
The proposal should state feeder size and route, trench and restoration expectations, grounding and disconnect provisions, subpanel size, circuit count for known loads, lighting and receptacle coverage, and what is left for a later phase. Service size limitations at the house should be named when they affect the design.
Keep future equipment and optional circuits as separate lines until you confirm them. If inspection requirements add a step you did not expect, that belongs in writing before the trench closes.
What to send before we walk the yard
Share shop dimensions, distance from the house panel, a load list with nameplate data when you have it, and photos of both buildings. Note irrigation, septic, and hardscape that limit trench options. Say whether the shop will be heated or cooled electrically.
Mark unknowns rather than inventing feeder sizes. Accurate blanks are easier to work with than confident guesses.
How to reach Nix Electrical
Call (470) 681-7660, use Book Now on the site, or request a free estimate. Tell us your town, how far the shop sits from the house, and which tools or chargers are definite. We serve Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Woodstock, Dallas, Hiram, Canton, Powder Springs, and communities across North Georgia.
A detached workshop subpanel is only as good as the feeder, grounding, trench, and future-load plan behind it. Get those right and the breakers on the wall finally match how you want to work in the building.