When I'm feeling thrifty.... I often hit say a master, guest, and powder room with one circuit for just the recepticals. Lighting on an adjoining room if loads allow. Anything wrong with that?


Or have I read this wrong?

Bill Gates could have all 27 bathrooms in his house on one GFCI 20 if he was only serving the receptacles.
That is a design issue.

I see nothing wrong codewise. It is the bare minimum required by the code. However, a line-load design with GFCI device in the basement, and the master bathroom on 2nd floor, is a poor, poor design.

Ron:
IF you are saying a GFI receptacle in the basement, then up to the baths, that buys a red sticker. If you are saying a faceless GFI in basement then I say "BAD design", but compliant.

John

I know that where I come from (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) you cannot have wiring from the basement (etc) additionally serving another floor, stairs exempt. It is a mod the city added to the NEC.
(Sidenote: A nice thing they also added is that panels in a residence cannot be closer than 6" to a corner. Makes for easier access)
Edited for better wording.

[This message has been edited by trobb (edited 07-14-2006).]

As the code section you referenced states,
You are not allowed to add receptacles from other rooms onto the circuit that feeds the bathroom receptacles.

Heres the right way to do it.

HR for bath plugs goes in the master bedroom. You can jump out of that the feed another bathrooms plugs.

Depending on if there is alot of plugs in the master, multiple bathrooms, etc. We will pull another circuit for other bathrooms. Hair dryers are pulling alot of amps these days.

The 20amp circuit is only for bath plugs. Lighting is pulled from any general circuit.

So E, your right. Bigger houses you might wanna ppull 2 , 20 amp circuits for plugs.

[This message has been edited by Trick440 (edited 07-14-2006).]

I am quite familiar with the practice of having all bath receptacles, in all baths, on one circuit, protected by a GFI receptacle in the first bath the cirrcuit reaches. "Economy" is always cited as a reason for this.

I question that reasoning.

Sure, it makes sense in tract homes of the "1970's" style. In those homes, the design usually had all the plumbing grouped together, so baths were either back-to-back or directly above one another.

Yet, I have just come from a new home in the "Courtyard" style. This style has the rooms arranged in a box, around an inner courtyard. There were five baths, including eight receptacles , scatttered around this square, and on two levels. One GFI receptacle protected them all.

That is a lot of wire to loop around, up, and down. Apart from the wire cost, there is the labor involved. Compare that to using a multi-wire branch circuit, with one leg for the neighboring room, and one for the bath- and each bath having its' own GFI.

Since, in realtive terms, the cost of GFI's has dropped- I think saving $$$$ by eliminating $10 devices is often false savings!

(This can also be another reason in favor of AFCI devices!)

Although NEC compliant, and INHO poor design practice one 20 amp circuit for ALL baths is a PITA. Not the GFI tripping, but the 20 amp CB tripping from more than one blow dryer on.

It's a pain in the butt as AHJ, GFI in first floor powder room & 3 or 4 baths upstairs.

But, alas, it's compliant!!

John

Actually, John - and I should have clarified - what I meant was that the GFCI device would be in a downstairs (maybe basement level) bathroom with no other loads feeding receptacles in other bathrooms. I despise doing it like that but my boss demands it because of $$$. At the very least, elimanate the line-load design and install devices in each bathroom to avoid the nuisance of going down flights of stairs in order to reset the GFCI.

Or having to reset the breaker like you mentioned.

Hey if I wired something like that I`d remove my name from the panel box so the home owner wouldn`t know who to call.Coarse they`d still be calling you something.........cheap cheap cheap.Hey this isn`t ditected to anyone just I hate poor design and return calls from poor design installers.Please do it like you live there or at least tell the cheap contractor what the problems are.If bidding gets that tight then I`d move into better construction zone.

renosteinke,

What size box do you take a 12-3, and two , 12-2 to.

We use 20cu single gangs. Usually you would need the 12-3hr in, then to powers out. One GFCI protected to the next plug, and the other HR out to the next bath's GFCI.

Do you install an overly large single gang for this?

Plastic 1900 nail-on boxes + plaster ring come in handy for this type application. I use them all the time. I just wish I could get adjustable 1900 nail-on's for wiring kitchens and baths.

We all have to remember, the NEC is NOT a design tool.

Shock:
Your 'boss' is not alone, it's common for 1-gfi, and usually in the bath a the lowest level

My comments regarding 'poor design' are my personal opinion.

ReelBreak:
Yes, it's all about $$$$$$. Personally, I have a 20 amp dedicated line for the GFI recept. But, as an AHJ, I have to accept it.

John