DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Basement Bathroom Circuit design

7K views 6 replies 2 participants last post by  drtpdee 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I am in the planning stages of a basement bathroom addition. My question relates to the design of the curcuit. I know that each bathroom must be on its own 20A circuit. Is it okay to run 12/2 from the panel to a GFI outlet and then from that GFI to another outlet and then on to power a switch for the light and fan? The bathroom will be combined with the laundry area, which has its own circuit for the washer & dryer. The reason I ask is that I saw the post below on a different site:

In a given bathroom
  • On a per-bathroom and a per-lavatory basis
    • Without regard to the size of the bathroom (i.e., ½-bath, 3/4 –bath, etc.)
    • Without regard to how close one lavatory is to another
    • Without regard to whether the mount requires piercing a mirror, moving a rack, etc.
  • At least 1 dedicated, ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI, or GFI) shall be installed
    • Which circuit shall be rated 120V/20A and
    • Which receptacle shall be rated 120V/20A
    • Which installation shall be proximate to and within 3 linear feet of each bathroom lavatory and
  • This circuit shall be dedicated to that receptacle only and to no other application whatsoever
    • There shall be no branches in these dedicated circuits for fans, lights, heaters, or anything else, i.e., wire the rest separately
Thanks:thumbup:
 
See less See more
#2 ·
If you dedicate the circuit to just that bathroom, then you can have the receptacles and the lights/fan on the same circuit. You need to have a GFCI protected receptacle within 3ft of the outside edge of the lavatory.

Unless the light/fan is within a shower area and requires GFCI protection, I would run the circuit to the switch first, then to the receptacle. That way a tripped GFCI will not put you in the dark.

And the receptacle does not need to be a 20A, a 15A will do.
 
#5 ·
If the one near the sink edge that I install is an outlet that is downstream from the GFCI outlet but is wired so as to be protected by the GFCI outlet, would that be acceptable? Or, does the actual GFCI outlet need to be the one next to the sink?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top