Aaron,

Section 210.8 of the NEC covers GFCI protection for personnel.

The more significant code question involves whether or not your local jurisdiction (typically at the State level in the US) has adopted the 2011 NEC by the time you begin the modification. If it has you'll also need to review 210.12, a new subsection of the NEC which covers Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (AFCI) protection.

Do not automatically assume that since it's 2011 that your jucal jurisdiction has adopted it yet. Here a new NEC usually takes effect in October of the year its issued.

AFCI has taken ahold in the Industrial world (higher voltages & currents) and there we've seen that just as it adds safety, there is a significant cost associated with complying. There are a number of us in the electrical engineering community who are optimistic that, with the large volumes of instances in the lower voltage / amperage world that economies of scale won't be as painful but some are skeptical.

For those who know Jim Stallcup (the senior member of the NEC committee), he has expressed to me his concern on the short-term cost of meeting this requirement. Then again, I talked with him before this equipment had been released in the mass-market, so there was no way to know how the manufacturers would be pricing their AFCI equipment for the commercial / residential markets. He (and I) have little doubt the requirement is a good one... as for how long it'll take for mass-production to bring the prices down (like it did for GFCI), only time will tell.

Jim