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robert_obe727

Electrical advice

6 years ago

Recently bought a home built in 1955 and gutted the bathroom because it was horrendous. plan on redoing the wiring( partly also because the outlet was tied to the light so the light had to be on for the outlet to work) because they had everything in the bathroom tied in with a 15amp circuit that ran one bedroom lights and outlets as well as the hallway and part of the living room. I also need to add an above the range microwave outlet that is directly on the other side of the bathroom wall Where the bathroom outlet would be on. Basement is unfhe’d so pretty easy access.

Please correct me if this isn’t right. I would like to run a new 15amp breaker with 14-2 wire to power the lights and new fan So the bathroom is on its own circuit to lighten the load on the other circuit. And then run a gfci protected 20amp breaker with 12-2 wire to the gfci outlet in the bathroom as well as the microwave on the same wall out the other side. Is this okay or should the microwave be on its own?

thanks in advance.

Comments (5)

  • 6 years ago

    The bathroom receptacle and microwave can't share a circuit. It's against code and in addition, it'll trip if someone is using a hair dryer at the same time as the microwave. Both draw a lot of electricity. Run separate circuits for each.

    And you don't want a GFCI breaker AND a GFCI outlet on the same circuit. It's pointless and if it trips you won't know which one trips first and you'll have to reset both. I'd suggest just using a GFCI receptacle. Easier to reset if it trips instead of walking to the panel.

  • 6 years ago

    @greg_2015 thank you for your response. That’s what I thought might be the case. Which is simple considering I have 5 open spaces available on the main panel. So the lights on one 15amp breaker With 14-2 wire, the bathroom gfci receptacle on a 15amp Breaker with 14-2 wire, and a 20amp breaker with 12-2 wire leading the the gfci receptacle for the microwave? Could I possibly combine the bathroom gfci receptacle with the same 15amp breaker for the lights that is designated only for the bathroom?


    in regards to the breaker and receptacle both being gfci protected, that makes sense. I figured doing it for both because an electricIan had did that with my last house. But I’ll just stick with the regular breaker with gfci receptacl.

  • 6 years ago

    I'd run a 20a circuit to the GFCI in the bathroom (I'm not sure if it's required by code, but it's a good idea if it isn't).

    You can put the lights/fan on the same circuit as the receptacle. A bathroom circuit can't include non-bathroom outlets, but it can include other items in the bathroom.

    Don't put the lights/fan on the 'load' side of the GFCI receptacle, because you'll be left in the dark if the GFCI trips.


    I'm not sure if the dedicated microwave receptacle requires GFCI. But I guess it probably doesn't hurt.

  • 6 years ago

    Receptacles in bathrooms need to be on a 20A circuit (either serving only that bathroom or serving only receptacles in multiple bathrooms). That means 12-2 cable. All receptacles in bathrooms need GFCI protection.


    You can neither share this circuit with the microwave (nor can the circuit serving the microwave feed bathrooms or other than kitchen areas). You'll need to run a separate circuit fo this (possibly shared with other kitchen receptacles). If it doesn't serve the countertop it doesn't need a GFCI (dedicated means nothing here, what gets you around it is that it's not on the countertop).


  • 6 years ago

    Thanks for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it. that answers my question so I can get started Moving forward with the project.

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