How To

How to Wire a Bathroom

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By eHow Contributing Writer
(0 Ratings)

Water and electricity can be a dangerous combination, but you can safely wire your bathroom if you simply take some standard safety precautions and do good work. The main consideration for wiring a bathroom, beyond those of every other room in your house, is making the results as safe as possible.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Check with your local electrical code to find out if your project requires an inspection. The code also contains regulations for what standards your work must meet. If you reside in certain more authoritarian locales, the law may not permit you to do electrical work at all.

  2. Step 2

    Plan out the circuit or circuits that you're installing in the bathroom. Having a well-thought-out plan helps keep your project on track and eliminate most unpleasant surprises.

  3. Step 3

    Buy the necessary equipment or supplies, such as cable, light fixtures, ceiling fans and receptacles. When buying cable, buy a little more than you expect you'll need so that you have some leeway in your work.

  4. Step 4

    Do the rough-in of the cable. Make sure your cable is the correct gauge for the load that you will be powering on each circuit.

  5. Step 5

    Use ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) for bathroom circuits as required by local electrical code. In some cases, you may be able to use GFCI protection in the service panel; in others (such as receptacles), you can use a GFCI outlet.

  6. Step 6

    Contact your local inspector (if required by law) to have your work inspected. Be sure to do this before you cover up any work with drywall or other material, since a failed inspection could force you to have to expose the wiring again.

  7. Step 7

    Connect the circuit or circuits to the service panel using an appropriate circuit breaker. Prior to this point, no part of the wiring should have power. If you don't feel comfortable with this step, contact a professional electrician.

Tips & Warnings
  • Improper wiring, especially in a bathroom, can be extremely hazardous to both life and property. Make sure you know what you're doing when you wire a bathroom (or any part of your house).

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