Bathroom/Outdoor GFCI Circuits

[ray hampton]

Ask your inspectors which section of the code they are citing. As the Building Official, I get that question asked every day, and it doesn't bother me, unless it's asked in a hostile manner. Regardless, it keeps me honest and keeps me on my toes to verify that I am indeed enforcing the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, which is my only job. I don't get to enforce my own personal code.

It's news to me about the 1/3 ration-post-thingy you cite, where are you finding that in the residential code about a pool barrier? At least your inspector had the common sense to call someone and ask them if he was right, a lot of them won't do that, due to pomposity issues. And remember, some inspectors are not allowed to use common sense. Everything must come from the book, in their world. In the real world, everything doesn't fit in a box. It's a shame that some departments don't allow for some individual thinking.

I DO feel like I am there to help folks, they DO pay my salary. But put yourself in the code enforcers' shoes for a moment: Joe Shmoe waltzes into your office and declares as how he once hooked up a Lionel train set for Junior Joe Shmoe and now he is an authority on All Things Electrical. He doesn't know neutral from ground or arc fault from her fault. I WILL ask this type of person to hire a qualified electrician. This isn't like driving a 16d finish nail in a piece of shoe molding, this is electricity, and it can kill. On the other hand, I will attempt to suggest different ways to get the to the end result, and then let them decide how they want to proceed. Much easier scenario, which is what I see most of the time, is folks call, tell me what they want to do and if I will approve it like that.

Not all us code guys are jerks. Most of the people that I see live in the community. They are my neighbors and my customers and I treat them as such, politely.

Rich

For Ray, "I live in a mobile home and one GFCI only cover the plug-in in both bathrooms and the weather-proof rep. outside" Manufactured Housing (singlewides and doublewides), are regulated by Federal code, not state. Sitework, like piers, elec. hookup, etc., is governed by local/state code, but the home is built under Fed code.

do the Federal code apply to the pre-fab homes too

[Logan William]

do the Federal code apply to the pre-fab homes too

From my general understanding it is based on how they're taxed. Mobile's are generally taxed as personal property and not real-estate so they must follow Fed code while prefab(meaning factory built but permanent foundation, customized, similar construction to stick frame etc) and modular(SIP or other modular style construction where different modules are combined) are taxed as real estate with similar valuations as stick framed structures and therefore follow the local codes.

[Richard Jones]

SW & DW homes, or manufactured houses, are built to Federal code, inspected in Virginia under the VA Manufactured Home Safety Regulations. Modulars (pre-fabs?) are built and inspected under the International Residential Code, just like a stick built. In my county, SW & DW's are personal property, since they have a title. The skirting wall, which some real estate and banking types refer to as a "permanent foundation", is really just for looks. It has no load bearing status, at least 99% of the time. Modulars can have piers, just like a SW/DW skirting wall, or the more typical perimeter foundation wall.

Rich

[Richard Jones]

It has been my past experience that upgrades during renovations don't have fit the latest NEC, for lack of a better description, they're grandfathered. The house was wired per NEC and past inspection in 1980. If my information is correct, the 20A outlet for the bathroom only came about around 1999-2001 time frame. To meet the latest code I would have to install a GFCI (which I plan on doing) outlet or breaker and also rewire the bathroom and two bedrooms. I would have to rewire 1/4 of the house to upgrade the service. Seems a little over the top to half to rewire something that hasn't been touched in 30 years.

I don't think I would ever require that, unless the whole thing was just downright unsafe. In renovation work, there must be some common sense applied. Anything that you do is making the house that much safer. You're not making it any less safe by simply changing the service. To inhibit this is just unwise. I recently heard of a jurisdiction that is requiring new wiring where the only thing going on is replacing drywall. That's just wrong and a number of us told them that. They didn't like it............would cut their revenue, I'm sure.

If you upgrade your service, the service must meet the current code, but that doesn't mean everything downstream of it, only the service.

Rich

[Rollie Meyers]

A 20A bathroom circuit may supply the required receptacle(s) & the lighting for THAT bathroom or can serve the receptacles only of it and other bathrooms.

[Anthony Whitesell]

A 20A bathroom circuit may supply the required receptacle(s) & the lighting for THAT bathroom or can serve the receptacles only of it and other bathrooms.

as of NEC 1999 or 2000.