Hi all, first time poster here. Gotten lots of good advice through the search function, but I've finally hit a wall. And man, what a wall.
I'm remodeling a small bath and have upgraded the existing fixtures and added a couple more. Previously there was a ceiling light and a medicine cabinet with integrated lights and single outlet, all fed by a single circuit that appears to be 40 amps. I say "appears" because the only way I can kill the power to that bathroom is by flipping a 40a breaker in the main panel. This also kills power to several outlets in other rooms that I know of, and likely others that I don't. There is a sub panel in the house, but none of those breakers affect this particular bathroom. So as far as I can tell, this room is on a 40a circuit. Can this possibly be correct, or is there something I must've missed? My house is almost 80 years old, and it definitely shows in the crazy variety of wires in the attic.
Clearly I'll need to get this bathroom on its own circuit(s), but how many and what amperage? It now has an LED can in the shower stall, a fan/ light combo in the ceiling, and a vanity light controlled by a single 15a gfci outlet/ switch combo at the sink. As I understand it, bathroom outlets now require dedicated 20a circuits, though there seem to be exceptions (such as when the circuit feeds nothing but the particular room). Does this negate my plan to use the single 15a outlet/ switch? Because also as I understand it, you can attach a 15a outlet to a 20a circuit, but only if there's more than one. That isn't the case here, as my plan only includes a single outlet. Short of adding a duplex outlet or sourcing a 20a outlet/ switch (which doesn't appear to exist in the style my wife wants), is there any safe workaround to this requirement? And further, am I able to wire any/ all of the other fixtures into this circuit as per the exception I noted above? Running an additional circuit is not a big problem, only added work and expense I hope to avoid if at all possible.
Whew. I'm asking a lot, I know. If anybody's still reading this, thanks for your time and any guidance you might provide.
I'm remodeling a small bath and have upgraded the existing fixtures and added a couple more. Previously there was a ceiling light and a medicine cabinet with integrated lights and single outlet, all fed by a single circuit that appears to be 40 amps. I say "appears" because the only way I can kill the power to that bathroom is by flipping a 40a breaker in the main panel. This also kills power to several outlets in other rooms that I know of, and likely others that I don't. There is a sub panel in the house, but none of those breakers affect this particular bathroom. So as far as I can tell, this room is on a 40a circuit. Can this possibly be correct, or is there something I must've missed? My house is almost 80 years old, and it definitely shows in the crazy variety of wires in the attic.
Clearly I'll need to get this bathroom on its own circuit(s), but how many and what amperage? It now has an LED can in the shower stall, a fan/ light combo in the ceiling, and a vanity light controlled by a single 15a gfci outlet/ switch combo at the sink. As I understand it, bathroom outlets now require dedicated 20a circuits, though there seem to be exceptions (such as when the circuit feeds nothing but the particular room). Does this negate my plan to use the single 15a outlet/ switch? Because also as I understand it, you can attach a 15a outlet to a 20a circuit, but only if there's more than one. That isn't the case here, as my plan only includes a single outlet. Short of adding a duplex outlet or sourcing a 20a outlet/ switch (which doesn't appear to exist in the style my wife wants), is there any safe workaround to this requirement? And further, am I able to wire any/ all of the other fixtures into this circuit as per the exception I noted above? Running an additional circuit is not a big problem, only added work and expense I hope to avoid if at all possible.
Whew. I'm asking a lot, I know. If anybody's still reading this, thanks for your time and any guidance you might provide.