How to Add a Receptacle & Cut a Hole in Drywall

Turn off power to the room you will be working in. Plug a circuit tester into the outlet you will be adding a second outlet to. If the circuit tester does not light up, the outlet is safe to work with.

Back out the screw securing the existing outlet's cover plate to the electrical box. Set the cover plate aside. Remove the screws holding the outlet in place. Set the screws aside and pull the outlet out of the wall. Measure the height from the floor to the bottom of the electrical box.

Select a location on the wall for the new electrical box. Run a stud finder over the wall to ensure you will not hit a stud as you cut the hole for the new box. Set the new box against the wall, with the opening facing the wall. Position the box's bottom edge the same distance from the floor as the box you measured in Step 2.

Trace around the new electrical box with a pencil. Do not include the mounting tabs or screws in the tracing. Set the new electrical box aside. Poke a hole through the tracing with a drywall saw. Use a sawing motion to cut the tracing out of the wall.

Extend a fish tape down from the attic or the basement, depending where you wish to run the cable, and out of the hole that was cut in Step 4. Attach a cable to the fish line and reel the cable back in.

Send the fish tape through the old outlet's electrical box (from Step 2) toward the cable in the basement or attic. Attach the cable to the fish tape and reel it out through the old electrical box.

Cut the cable so it extends 6 inches into the old and new electrical boxes. Strip away 6 inches of the rubber coating from both ends and cut off the insulating paper. Separate the black, white and green wires.

Loosen the screws on the side of the old outlet. Unwrap the wires from the screws and set the outlet aside. Cut off the wires' hooks and strip off 1 inch of rubber coating to reveal fresh wire. Cut a 6-inch piece of cable. Remove the rubber coating and paper insulation, and separate the three wires. Strip 1 inch of rubber coating from each wires' ends.

Hold the 6-inch black wire next to the old outlet's black wire and twist a wire nut over them. Repeat with the white wires, then the green wires. Bend the short wires' loose ends. Wrap them around the old outlet's screws. Tighten the screws to hold the wires in place.

Stuff the wires and electrical outlet into the electrical box. Secure it in place with the screws you removed in Step 2. Cover the outlet with the cover plate and secure the plate in place. Return to the new outlet's location.

Hold a screwdriver against the new electrical box's knockout hole. Hit the screwdriver's handle with a hammer to remove the knockout. Feed the wires into the knockout hole. Place the electrical box into the hole, with the mounting tabs flush against the drywall. Turn the set screws located on the box's top and bottom edges to secure the electrical box in place.

Strip 1 inch of rubber coating from each of the wires' ends. Bend the ends into hooks. Loosen the screws on the side of a new outlet. Wrap each wire around one screw. Tighten the screws to hold the outlet in place.

Push the wires and outlet into the new electrical box. Secure the outlet in place with the mounting screws provided with it. Place a new cover plate over the electrical outlet. Secure the cover plate in place with the provided screw. Restore power to the room.