I have a light w/two switches in separate locations. one is a single switch that has one cable coming in (w/white,black,red,ground) and would like to turn it into a switch and outlet combination where the outlet remains independant of the switch. How?
by 
dumb ape
ANSWERS: 3
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good question. it would involve a lot of splicing that is too hard to describe in words. I suggest getting an electrician to look at it and kind of show you how to do it.
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The switch you have is called a 3-way switch. You need a 3-way switch combo outlet. The you will need a tester because only one of the switches has a feed that is hot all the time. If you buy the switch from a home center and have a tester you should be able to follow the directions that are supplied with each switch.
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It is actually very simple to do what you want to do. Unfortunately, it can not be done to the switch that you have chosen, because that switch is the slave of the other switch. The wires that are already available in your junction box (the box where the switch is installed) each have a specific function. In ALL cases, the ground wire should only be green or bare wire, and the nuetral (return) wire is the white wire. Any other color should be considered 'HOT'. Typically, in most installations, the hot wire is black. Usually, but not always, when you have both black and red wires, the black wire is always hot, and the red wire is hot only when it is swithed on. In the case of 3-way switches (which you have), only one switch has constant power, the other will have only switched power on both the red and the black wire. The switch that you want to convert only has switched power (controlled by the other switch) on the red and black wires. If you want to convert the other switch, you simply need to replace it with a 3-way switch/outlet combination. There should be instructions in the package on how to wire it.
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