i am remodeling a bathroom. i see that the wiring is old. the main service panel was just replaced but the wires werent since i already have the bathroom walls opened up. i want to replace the wiring.the electrician said to use 12-2 wires for outles and 14-2 for light switches and fixtures.ok. i got that. ive been looking on diagrams that have outlets switches and fixtures and none of them tells what type of wire to use wheredo i need to bring two wires from the service panel up to the bathroom? one 12.2 and one 14.2?i have a VERY LIMITED space for more breakers and i dont want to have a breaker for just the outlet and a breaker for just the switch and fixture. i want to put the entire circuit into one breakeri read in some websites to never mix 12 wire with 14 wire. but that i should use 12-2 for outlets and 14-2 for switches. how can i do that?do i just use the 12-2 wire? also. the breaker i have for the bathroom i believe its 20 amp.
when did the code change? was the wiring for a bathroom always 12-2?
The electrician confused you some what,and by code a bathroom can be on its own 20 amp circuit Hit your light switch first for a hot feed then tie in your receptacle and make sure it is a GFCI receptacle. The code states that a bathroom can be on its own circuit (20) amp or the lighting can be on a circuit and the GFCI receptacle must be on a 20 amp circuit. In most cases they tie the GFCI's on a 20 amp circuit and use 14/2 for lighting. Good Luck :)
Bathroom Electrical Wiring
Just use all 12-2 for the bathroom. And yes 20 amp breaker is correct. One circuit would be fine.
Keep it simple - you're not adding enough wire to complicate things by running two types of wire, just use all 12-2 with ground (commonly called 'romex') Use a GFCI protected outlet. If the switch and outlet are going to be near/next to each other - I would bring the wire up from the circuit box to the outlet/switch, and from there on up to the light fixture - as opposed to running power to the light first, and then another wire down to the switch and back. I ran my entire house with 12-2 w/ground, when we put in all new electrical, shortly after buying it. It originally had 60 amp service, and cloth wrapped wires. It would have cost a bit less in electrical wire, if I'd ran most of the outlets with the lighter gage 14-2 w/ground - but you can ONLY use 15 amp breakers (or less) with 14 gage wire.with the 12 gage wire, you can run the 20 amp dedicated circuits required by code for certain appliances (built in microwave, for example). And - many of the new televisions today require 20 amp circuits. You can put 15 amp breakers on 12 gage wire circuits - but you cannot put 20 amp breakers on 14 gage wire. Hopefully - you checked to see if you needed a permit to do any of this work before starting it. Remember, when in doubt - call an electrician Have Fun
