New Construction Wiring, Ellensburg

Homes, shops, ADUs and remodels

On a new build, the electrical decisions that are cheap on paper get expensive the day the drywall goes up. Sasquatch Electrical wires custom homes, shops, ADUs, additions and remodels across Ellensburg, Kittitas County and Central Washington — working with owners, builders and architects from the plan set through final inspection.

What We Build

From the service in

Custom and design-build homes. Layout, service sizing, rough-in, trim and final, built around how you’ll actually live in the house.
Shops, garages and pole buildings. Feeders, subpanels, lighting, and circuits sized for the welder, compressor or lift you’re really going to run.
ADUs and rental conversions. A second panel, a separate feeder, or a second meter where the utility and the property allow it.
Additions and remodels. New circuits tied into an existing system — which often means finding out what the existing system can still carry.
Commercial construction and tenant build-outs. Covered in detail on our commercial electrical page.

How a New Build Goes

Six steps, two inspections

Plan review and walk-through. We go through the plans, then walk the framed building with you and mark device locations before a single box goes up. Moving an outlet is free at this stage and a drywall repair later.
Service and utility. Where the meter sits, overhead or underground, and how big the service is. This is the step to start early — see below.
Temporary power, so the other trades can work.
Rough-in. Boxes, cable or conduit, panel and grounding, done once the framing is complete and before insulation.
Rough-in inspection. The inspector has to see the wiring before it’s covered. Nothing gets insulated or drywalled until it passes.
Trim and final. Devices, fixtures, breakers, labeling, testing, and the final inspection.

Permits and inspections throughout Kittitas County go through the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. We pull the permit and meet the inspector at both stages.

Start With the Utility

Three utilities, three processes

New electrical service is the longest-lead item on most builds here, and it isn’t one process. Inside Ellensburg city limits, power comes from the City of Ellensburg’s own municipal electric utility. Outside city limits it’s Kittitas County PUD or Puget Sound Energy, depending on where the property sits. Each has its own application, its own requirements for the meter base and trench, and its own timeline for a line extension or transformer.

On rural parcels that distance matters. A long run from the road to the building site changes the conductor size, the trench, and sometimes where the meter should go. We work with all three utilities and sort this out before the foundation dictates the answer.

Size It for the House You’ll Have in Ten Years

200 amps minimum, 400 when it’s called for

We size the service from a real load calculation, not a rule of thumb. 200 amps carries most new homes comfortably. 400 amps is the answer when the property genuinely calls for it: a large home, a detached shop, an ADU on the same service, or an EV charger alongside solar and battery storage. More on how that decision gets made on our panel and service upgrades page.

The inexpensive move is to plan for what’s coming even if you aren’t installing it yet. Current Washington code expects a new home with a garage or carport to be wired ready for EV charging. Beyond that, an empty conduit to the shop site, the roof for future solar, or a generator pad costs very little during construction and a great deal after the landscaping is in.

Shops and Outbuildings

A detached shop is its own building as far as the code is concerned. It needs a properly sized feeder, its own disconnect, and its own grounding electrode system — not an extension of the house wiring. We size the feeder for the real equipment load, including motor starting, and lay out lighting and receptacles for how the space will be used. If lighting is the priority, that gets planned at the same time.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I bring in the electrician? Before the plans are final if you can, and no later than framing. The service location, panel location and utility application all go more smoothly when they’re settled early.

Who gets the electrical permit on a new build? We do. Electrical work in Washington requires a permit and inspection, and on new construction that means both a rough-in and a final inspection.

Can I add an ADU or shop to my existing service? Sometimes. It depends on the load calculation for everything on the property. If the existing service can’t carry it, the options are a service upgrade or, where the utility allows it, a separate service.

Do you work with my builder, or directly with me? Either. We work as the electrical subcontractor for general contractors and directly for owner-builders.

How far do you travel for new construction? Kittitas County, Yakima and Selah, and Snoqualmie Pass are regular territory, and we take projects across Central Washington within about 150 miles of Ellensburg.

Service area line: We also serve Kittitas, Cle Elum, Roslyn, Thorp, Easton, Ronald, Snoqualmie Pass, Yakima and Selah.