3 way wiring for recessed lights

[bvs]

I have an older house with no overhead lighting in the living (just one switched plug.

I'd like to add some recessed lights in this room, and since the room has two entrances I'd like to get them controlled by two switches.

I've never done any 3-way wiring before, so I have a few questions

1) can I get 3 way dimmer switches?

2) my general plan for wiring is as follows: (edit: ok the forum is screwing up my ASCII format... hopefully you can still figure it out)
|----------------|
| e-----e |
| | | |
| o o
| | |
| o o--a|
| | |
|___x ____-|

e = eyeball can
o = regular can
x = existing switch (controlling plug right now)
a = switch I will add

Is this pretty much how I'll need to do it in order to get both switches to control my lights? (I know the wire will have to be 3 way)

3) since I'll be adding these lights to an existing ceiling... I believe the biggest I can go is 5 inch cans. (that's the biggest I've seen for a remod installation at least) will 6 of these be enough to provide good light to a 12x18 room?

[joed]

I have an older house with no overhead lighting in the living (just one switched plug.

I'd like to add some recessed lights in this room, and since the room has two entrances I'd like to get them controlled by two switches.

I've never done any 3-way wiring before, so I have a few questions

1) can I get 3 way dimmer switches?

yes
2) my general plan for wiring is as follows: (edit: ok the forum is screwing up my ASCII format... hopefully you can still figure it out)
|----------------|
| e-----e |
| | | |
| o o
| | |
| o o--a|
| | |
|___x ____-|

e = eyeball can
o = regular can
x = existing switch (controlling plug right now)
a = switch I will add

Is this pretty much how I'll need to do it in order to get both switches to control my lights? (I know the wire will have to be 3 way)

Can't figure it out all. I can tell you the simplest way is to run the 3 wire cable from one switch to the other switch. Run the first light cable from either switch. It makes no difference.

3) since I'll be adding these lights to an existing ceiling... I believe the biggest I can go is 5 inch cans. (that's the biggest I've seen for a remod installation at least) will 6 of these be enough to provide good light to a 12x18 room?I don't know this one

Please attempt to describe how you intend to run the cabling. Will you still require the receptacle to be switched?

[pcboss]

Yes, you can get 3Way dimmers. Standard 3W dimmers only install at one location, the other end would be a regular 3w switch.

You say that your house is older. Do you have a grounding means available? Ungrounded circuits should not be extended. Does the circuit you want to add these lights to have the capacity to handle the new loads? What else is on this circuit?

What wire colors and how many are at the existing switch. You may only have a switch loop, you do not have a neutral if this is the case.

Progress lighting makes a nice 6" remodel housing, P187-TG

I feel the easiest way to keep 3w wiring easy to understand is this way.
Power in to 1st 3W on a 2wire w ground cable. 3 wire cable between switches. From 2nd switch to 1st light with 2 wire, then 2 wire between each additional light to previous light.

The power in and out from the 2 wire cables would go to the common terminal on each 3W. The black and red travellers go to the 2 other screws on the 3w's. All whites spliced together and capped with a wire nut. All grounds get spliced together along with a pigtail to connect to the ground screw on each switch.

Please check out a book on basic electrical wiring to make sure you understand what you are doing.

[bvs]

Good news on the dimmer....

My intial thought on the wiring was to put the lights between the switches, but I guess it would be quite a bit easier to just run 3-way wire between the switches and then connect the lights using standard 2-way wire after the 2nd switch. So thanks for that one.

The circuit is standard 15 amp and runs the outlets in the living room as well as the overhead lights in the dining room. Normally I just have the TV, the Dining room light and a few lamps on in the living room. I'm fairly certain I have room on that circuit.

As for a ground, the house wiring doesn't have ground wire run, just standard hot/neutral. I was under the impression that I could attach a ground wire to teh metal box frame where I made the connection to the cans... but I haven't really researched that part yet.

[joed]

DO NOT attempt to put the lights between the switches. It will require a cable that is not readily available (14/4).
There are at least eight different ways to wire one light into 3way switches. The simplest way to do it is to have power into one of the swithces, a 14/3 between the switches and the feed to the light leaving one switch( it doesn't matter which one) and then running from light to light.