How to split a circuit

Question

I have a one floor house with semi finished basement. On the main floor the Living room, Bath, 2 Bedrooms, garage and Microwave outlets are on 1 circuit. If I go to skinny breakers I have room to run a couple of lines from the breaker box and could get them to a couple of outlets on the main floor without poking too many holes. The breaker box will accept the skinny breakers. My question is can I pick 2 random outlets to run the new lines to and split the circuit, if effect turning it into 3 circuits? If I can, how do I go about it? Steps.

I am handy but have not done much electric work. I have switched pull-chain lights, installed outlets, installed some outside light fixtures. But that is about it. I have not screwed with the breaker box before.

I'm in MN. The breaker box is a standard 24 slot GE 100 Amp box. While I'm sure there is a way to upload photos, I don't see any link on this page to do so. – Pat

Answer 1

Yeah, that's fine. Plan your breakpoint carefully based on the loads you expect.

For instance I like to break circuits mid-room, so BR1 has half of circuit 1 and half of circuit 2, and BR2 has half of circuit 2 and half of circuit 3 etc. That way if you make one the computer room, and need to plug in both a gaming PC and laser printer, you can put some on each circuit.

Make darn sure you're not making a loop. Check that by sticking a load in every outlet, and go through each breaker, turning it off while the others are on. Make sure every outlet turns off with exactly one breaker.