Posted Jan 7, 2022, 7:20 PM UTC
It would be a code violation to install a GFCI receptacle on the existing lighting circuit. Bathroom receptacles are required to be on a dedicated 20-amp circuit.
Didn’t know that. Super helpful. TY.
hes wrong tho, lights can be on the bathroom gfi circuit provided the circuit feeds that bathroom and only that bathroom.
That is not the case here.
bold conclusion.
Where are you located? Just curious about the code differences.
USA. 20-amp GFCI protected receptacle circuits have been required for bathrooms under the NEC since the 1996 code cycle.
Cool thanks. I’m in Canada and had never heard of that.
that is incorrect, youre forgetting the exception.
Which code exception allows a bathroom receptacle to be installed on a 15-amp general lighting circuit? Please, tell me.
Holy sassaroni batman! Alright Mr. snarky I mean sparky, why not brush ther chip off your shoulder and share with the class why you think its a 15 amp circuit? i see naothing in the comments, picture or title to suggest that is the case. and i ***know*** youre not going off the color of the jacket of the romex.... right? Either way the statement "Bathroom receptacles are required to be on a dedicated 20-amp circuit" is a false one, considering they can in fact be on with the lights, if the conditions are right. also it can be on the same line as every other bathroom outlet in the house, i dont know how liberal were getting with the definition of "dedicated" here. words have meaning, as youve so delicately explained to others on this website.
i do enjoy how puffed up my fellow electricians get tho.
The length of those wires make it a nightmare to work with.
You haven't worked in many older homes have you? Compared to what I've seen a lot of, that wire length looks generous...LOL
Seriously try installing new receptacles in a home built in the 40s or 50s. I swear they wired it up and then pulled any remaining slack when running the romex. Just enough wire to pull outlet quarter inch from wall and that's all you got.
Is the available wire length here less than ideal or what code specifies? Yep. Is it a nightmare? Not by a long shot. LOL!
60s house here!
Yeah we are at ‘hire an electrician’ stage. Getting two estimates. First came in at $1,000. Thoughts?
Electrician is covering their ass. This job could potentially be completed within a couple hours or take much longer if they encounters a lot of issues with the wiring and needs to trace wires, go into crawl space/attic.
This.
OK. Good to know.
Technically code requires 6 inches of wire coming out of the box. Your short on quite a few.
It could be done with splices. A thousand seems like a lot. I’d say around 500 is fair without having to replace wire.
Your paying for the knowledge, not the time it takes to get the job done.
6 inches coming out of the sheath or raceway. 3" coming out of the front of the opening.
6 inches is 15.24 cm
This house is a nightmare of previous DIY or contracted out for as cheaply as humanly possible. So no surprise on the not up to code. No problem paying for good work. Just have no experience with electricians. Thank you for your response. Very helpful!
Just an fyi, I mainly do commercial work and I rarely do any side work. I’m not experienced giving prices.
I’m a journeyman, not a contractor so please don’t go by my estimate. I’m just guessing.
500 is what I’d charge but maybe someone with more residential and troubleshooting experience would charge less because they can do it better and faster than me.
$1k and what’s included? It might be low depending how fucked it is
Like $280 per switch times 3, plus tax. Looked like the standard unit charge for that service by this company. No break down for parts or hours.
You don’t need that breakdown, unless they are charging you time and material which seems like they are just charging you by the job. So just three switches? No receptacle/GFCI addition? Get other opinions
Correct. Three switches. We are getting another estimate later today.
I’ll do it for $500.
She said they want a GFCI
I think it's the GFIC that's causing the high quote as that's likely a new run (to get it up to code). The clean up doesn't look that challenging.
I think you are right, but now I’m confused about GFIC in a bathroom. It just needs a separate line or circuit?
So code requires the bathroom (technically it can be all of them) to be on a dedicated 20 amp circuit. When adding one - it's a lot easier to run a new circuit in a lot of cases. In my house I've got a bathroom with a 20amp circuit that has one outlet, 2 lights and and fan. While there are reasons for the code - they didn't give much room to address cases where it needs to be added. Just to confirm the bathroom doesn't have a gfic (it could be a breaker). What's the gfic for in this application ?
This is because they know this circuit is going to be used for curling irons, hair straighteners, hair dryers.
Yep - I more meant what is the OP seeking to do with the outlet. Trust me my wife has the turbo dryer so I know 😂
I’d fix that for $250 and would take me 30 minutes. Get another quote.
TY! Will post when we get second estimate!
You will find someone who will do it for $50 too. The important thing is to find someone who knows what they are doing. Just ask if they are a journeyman electrician and where they were trained. If they are and received proper training then you can start going off of price. If they are not then pass no matter how inexpensive.
How are you going to fix that random white butt spliced wire coming out the bottom of the box? Or you just leave stuff like that the way it is?
Properly pigtail it after I remove whatever splice that is.
Remember that she wants a GFCI. Might need to add a circuit for that. It looks like she does have one neutral but the rest of them are switch legs. You don't want the circuit to go out when she uses her curling iron or blow dryer, if you were thinking of using the existing wires
I’ll do it for a 12-pack!! Happy Friday! good luck with that!
Bwahaha! Maybe we’ll take you up on that!
Remindme4hours!
This can be quite complicated for DIY. I'd recommend a good pro. But you have it all torn apart already, the person that took it apart should be the one putting it back together.
I’ll tell my H!
Yeah he might be thinking of adding a new circuit for the gfci, and depending on the distance of the location to the panel, that's where he's getting that $1000 quote (if it's close by this price is way to much) . Have to also consider if there is accessible attic space above where the new circuit is going to be or accessible crawl space.
To be honest it just depends. 1k might seem high but don’t expect more quotes to be much much lower. To figure this mess out, it’s going to take some time to trace back what is the constant hot. Then figure out what is what. Eliminate what is no longer needed and then worry about the rewire. Some guys will charge you 100-150 just to come out and look at the problem. They then will charge you by the hour on this one. Strongly depending on location that could run you 100-200 an hour. In your case, I’m more worried about the previous owner having done some YouTube university and this whole box needing to be rewired.
Yeah, that could be the case with YouTube U! The hourly rate sounds right. H said the tracing was pretty straight forward, as he is not an electrician and he could do it. But, off course, professionals will want to make sure everything is done right and up to code. It sounds like this job very much depends on what they find when they have a good look at it. TY!
First step is to determine which wires are hot from the breaker box when everything is disconnected. Then check to see if they are all on the same circuit.
From there I would calculate the approximate load of all that crap if they are on the same circuit. To make sure it can handle it amps wise.
Finally you the start wiring the switches. If there is only one hot, you will need to pigtail the others to that hot.
This almost makes sense to me and I know nothing. Good explanation. TY!
I'll fix it for 500 I'm n colorado
The commute would be a bit much! But TY for the offer!
$1000 to unfuck the shit that shouldn't have been fucked with is pretty cheap.
It would have been fucked by previous homeowner or contractor. All H has done is determine what line powers what device. The two lines in/three out may be above his pay grade. So $1,000 for this seems OK?
Pretty sure it worked before husband unplugged everything to make additional work out of tracing all the lines again to verify where they go. It's now more work than if it hadn't been touched. As a base estimate, yeah. It's ballpark.
The fan/light was not functioning. Thought problem was unit, so bought replacement. Previous unit had separate lines for fan and heat lamp. New unit only needs one. Unexpected complication. Thank you for your reply.