Back to the Bathroom

Egads...

I haven't written in a long time. I would say I have been busy, but that's not true really. I haven't been focused or maybe blogging just hasn't been a high priority.

The bathroom is coming along.. slowly. I think I had a mental block about doing wiring. The attic is dirty and dusty. The first time I went up there I ended up sneezing for hours. A dust mask helps, but it's a pain in the butt to work in. I need a portable shop vac so I can do other things like take out some of the multitude of recessed lighting that are found throughout the second floor.

ANYWAY... I ran a line for a GFI outlet next to the where the sink will be. That was no problem at all. The most difficult part was the fact that the cable used is underground something something and it's a pain in the butt to get the outter insulation off. I was happy the GFI trip worked correctly. Not that I was very worried about wiring it wrong, but it's always nice when things come out right. (A GFI outlet won't work at all if you wire it wrong.)

I put in a new, smaller vent fan. I mounted the fan case in the cutout for the previous vent fan and ran the wire to a switch. The biggest challenge here was that I couldn't decide where I want the on/off switch. I was putting in a double switch set that fits inside a single, instead of double gang outlet box. The second switch will run the light over the sink. Well, I wired it once with the run to the sink light capped with wire nut for now. I did this is the old two gang box which gave me plenty of room to tuck in the wire. But then how do I close that up? Crud. I didn't want a blank wall plate. SO, I took the two gang box out and put a single gang in. I couldn't get in the wall far enough to mount a hammer in style box so I put up a cheaper box that mount on the front of the stud. That was ok, but after looking at it some more the switches landed more toward the center of the wall than at the edge. That bothered me.

SO, I mounted a new single gang on a different wall, pulled the runs out and re-ran them to the new box, then put in a new power cable from the j-box in the attic. I had to do this b/c be this time after twisting, untwisting, stripping the power supply cable a bunch of time I had shortened up my run too much.

The j-box was a bit challenging. It took me a few minutes to figure out that there were two cables bringing power into the box, not just one. Let me say - thank goodness I didn't assume the power was cut to all the cables in the box and I checked with the multimeter before handling anything. I didn't think anything in the box was hot, but I Was totally wrong.

Anyway, so I pulled the one power line out of the box and put it in a box of it's very own. The box was originally missing a grounding screw so I had to add that later. Then I put the other power cable in a separate box and ran a new power line to my switch set. That's now done.

I put in a new light over the toilet area too. I cut a hole in the ceiling, mounted a new box, then ran a circuit in parallel from the light over the door. Now when you hit that light switch you get light at the door and over toilet. Hooray!

Wiring has been fun and I have learned a lot. Some good things to have - long-handled, high-leverage wire cutters, lineman's pliers, a couple of screwdrivers, a sharp utiliy knife or tool for removing out insulation, a good pair of wire strippers, and a multimeter or circuit tester.

Wiring isn't hard, but a good working knowledge of circuits is helpful and it's good to at least read a little in how-to books so you have a clue when you crack open a j-box and see a bunch of wires. I probably would have made due with a small pair of needle nose pliers and general duty wire cutters if I hadn't read about specialty tools in one of my books. The high-leverage wire cutters (you can find them in the electrical department) really came in handy and a larger pair of pliers for twisting wires was also very helpful. The other tool that is a MUST have is the multimeter or circuit tester. Better safe than electrocuted!

It takes running a few circuits and opening a few j-boxs to feel comfortable with electrical work, but it's worth it. I understand how my home wiring works much better now and am not afraid to check it out if there is something wrong or something I want to change.

Regardless, if ever in doubt, call an electrician. Not only do they have to pass a test in order to get licensed, they also have to spend several years apprenticing - it's not called a skilled trade for nothing!