Wiring to shed issues

redfoxes

I've just purchased a house and was told there was power to the shed and found there was none. In investigating the wiring have found the following. The previous owner, put a weather proof junction box outside of one of his bedrooms. Ran direct burial cable to the junction box off of the closest outlet (internal circuit) to the junction box. Tied in more direct burial cable at the box at the house and ran that about 6 inches in the ground to a junction box at the bottom of the shed (yes bottom). Tied in more direct burial cable that ran to a switch in the shed that powered the shed which consists of 3 sets of outlets. Now on the junction box that was attached to the house, the Hot wires were disconnected and capped and black taped off.

After trying to read the NEMA specs/code as well as local codes, this not only seems 100% illegal but also extremely dangerous. So I won't be connecting that hot wire back. I'm assuming this was done this was because the panel is on the left side of the house and in the front whereas the shed is in the right/rear side of the house.

My question is the following. Do I need to run the shed off of its own circuit or can I run it off of another outside power outlet? There is only 2 outlets on that circuit. I wanted to bury metal conduit and run direct burial cable through it to the house to protect it as well as raise the junction box of the shed to 4 ft off the ground. I only want 2 120v 15a outlets in the shed. (small shed for just battery chargers and a light).

My other thought was running the cable/conduit to the closets corner of the house and then running the cable through the attic back to the panel.

To offset costs, I want to do the trenching, lay and run the cable. I plan on having an electrician connect to the circuit to the panel.

Any help would be appreciated.

jbfan

You can feed the shed with any circuit you want to use, except the bathroom and kitchen.
The wire needs to be 12" deep if gfci protected or 24" if not protected.
Do not run metal conduit, use pvc, and do not run the cable inside, as it is not needed.
discuss your options with the electrician you hire to do this job.

__________________
Yes I am a Pirate, 200 years too late. "Jimmy Buffett"

kevinp22

A strongly worded letter to the home inspector is probably in order as well.