Above Code Obsession

We are just beginning to start with our kitchen remodel. Today, I mapped out all the circuits and this is what I found.



Circuit # 7 - 20 amp circuit to 1 back splash outlet then to 3 kitchen wall outlets, then to a closet outlet and closet ceiling light and then to a side  porch light!



Circuit # 8 - 20 amp to Dishwasher and Disposal



Circuit # 9 - 20 amp circuit to microwave and kitchen ceiling lights. 2 patio recessed lights and dining room ceiling light.



Circuit # 12 - 20 amp circuit to another back splash outlet then to 2 dining room wall outlets.



Circuit # 14 - 20 amp to Refrigerator only



Circuit # 18 - 15 amp to GFCI outlet in garage then that feeds 3 outlets for 3 bathroom outlets and 1 outside patio outlet.



I going to have to add 1 more back splash outlet due to increase in counter space. I'll put the microwave on a dedicated circuit. So I need 2 additional breakers but I only have 1 blank spot in the breaker panel. I guess I can add one of those slim tandem breakers.



So my question, is it ok to have additional wall outlets on the same circuit as a back splash outlet?  If it's ok I'll lighten up circuit # 7 by putting some of those wall outlets on the additional back splash outlet.

Oh, I have 2 20 amp circuits I did not get identified yet! I'll get to those tomorrow.



thanks!
      

New appliances coming in. No change in service, so I believe that existing wiring can be considered grandfathered. Please correct me if wrong. BTW: we're under 2005 code in my locality, but I go with 2008.



Currently, the kitchen is wired all 15-amp except for non-counter-top receptacles. (I know, opposite, and wrong, but that's the way it is)





Can dishwasher and disposal be on same 15 amp circuit? (This will be a new circuit, so perhaps I need to run 20-amp?)


Current range wiring is 3-wire on a 40 amp breaker (3-pole). Can I still utilize a 3-prong receptacle here?


Does the kitchen wiring have to be upgraded to provide for 2 SABC (currently, only 1), and 20 amp?



      

My wife and I are doing some minor kitchen remodeling in a few months (new sink, countertops, backsplash, adding disposal).  I was looking at the electric to see what I was in for.  There is currently a switch located where you would locate the switch for a disposal... but it shuts off the dishwasher.  WHAT?  WHY?



So I look into the dishwasher circuit.  20a at the panel, wires run in conduit to the switch location.  Out of the switch box comes 14/2 NM-B (WHAT, undersized!) comes out under the drywall and over to the junction box on the dishwasher.



So, what do you guys see as the solution here?  I was thinking to run a new 20a circuit, with 12 gauge THHN from the panel to the switch box, then splice that to a new piece of 12/2 NM-B to the dishwasher.  Question: can the NM-B just lay behind the dishwasher like that?  Should it be BX? 



The 14/2 NM-B would be removed and 12/2 run from the switch to a new outlet under the sink for the disposal.  So, I would end up with 2x 20a circuits: one for disposal, one for dishwasher.



Does this sound like a solid plan?
      

Hi all, this is my first post, so...my kitchen was just renovated and the electrical outlets are on the walls and I wanted them in plugmold under the cabinet. Why didn't it happen?  Long story, but I'm doing it myself now.  The electrical receptacles are on 2 separate circuits with a gfci receptacle on each and neither circuit has a receptacle outside the kitchen where I can put the gfci's, so I'm putting gfci breakers in the panel instead. I've run into a different problem on each circuit that'd like some advice on.



Circuit 1: this is a 20 amp circuit.  I have to plug this circuit's neutral wire into the gfci breaker, but I couldn't see which neutral wire matched the hot wire (buried in mess of wires) and I don't have a continuity tester so I just pulled one neutral at a time (tedious) until the circuit failed, but it never failed. So I did this again for every neutral...same result. This circuit shares a few boxes with other circuits so I'm wondering if the neutrals on different circuits are tied together somewhere, and if so I'm pretty sure, but not completely, that that's not going to work with the gfci breaker.  So I didn't install that gfci breaker since I'm not confident it would actually gfci (yep i verbified gfci).  What do you think?



Circuit 2:  this is a 20 amp circuit.  This circuit currently has the refrigerator, gas stove and range hood, and then a gfci in front of 3 electrical receptacles, which already sounds bad since I thought the kitchen receptacles required 2 dedicated circuits. I replaced that breaker with no problem, but it tripped after a few minutes and continued to trip every few minutes. I haven't changed anything else on that circuit yet and it's never tripped before, but now it is, so I put the old breaker back for now. The current gfci receptacle is only protecting the 3 outlets since the appliances are ahead of it. I know you wouldn't normally want the appliances gfci protected, so do you think the refrigerator motor may be a problem?  Do I need the appliances on a separate circuit?  What would you suggest I do?



Thanks, and if you're wondering "why all the effort?", it's partly because I'm meddlesome, partly because I'm bored, and partly because the backsplash tile is to be on showcase, not the electrical receptacles.
      

That means it applies to the entire country

Permits & Inspections are usually required for ALL electric work

It may not be legal for you to do your own work, Check with your local Building Dept

This thread will be added onto as a form of "Cliff Notes" for the NEC

If there is something that needs to be corrected, or if you wish to add to this thread; please let us know



The NEC is available online, you may have to sign up for an account to view it:

http://nfpaweb3.gvpi.net/rrserver/br...NFPASTD/7008SB

(may not be working)



Draft Version:

http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF...08ROPDraft.pdf 



Also a link to State specific NEC/Building codes:

http://bulk.resource.org/codes.gov/



New Code book comes out every 3 years, it is not always fully accepted by States & sometimes not until 1-2 years later

Local codes can vary from the NEC



210.23 An individual branch circuit shall be permitted to supply any load for which it is rated (some think you can only load to 80%)



210.50 Required Branch circuits

14g wire is rated for 15a, 12g wire is rated for 20a

15a outlets ONLY on a 15a circuit

15a/20a are allowed on a 20a circuit

A single 15a receptacle is not allowed on a 20a circuit

AFCI protection is required almost every where under NEC 2008

Exceptions are GFCI required: bathrooms, kitchens, laundry (GFCI if sink within 6' of receptacle), garage & outside circuits



Bathroom requires a dedicated 20a GFCI protected circuit that can serve outlets in multiple bathrooms

OR

Outlets & Lights in One bathroom



Kitchen requires 2 dedicated 20a GFCI protected circuits for counter (no lights)



Laundry area requires a dedicated 20a GFCI protected circuit

.

.
      

I will be pulling from the breaker panel new 12/2 romex for a kitchen microwave and a 20 amp circuit, 12/2 for the garage. I might also pull some extra wire for a future add on room and to divide up existing circuits to avoid overloads in the future. I am snaking these cables through existing sheetrock ceilings and walls. Are there any code requirements about snaking through existing walls and ceilings other than drilling holes 2" from the face of a stud or beam?
      

I am new to the forum so kindly bear with me.  I live in Mesa, AZ and have just had a PEX repipe done to bypass my copper hot water lines.  (God don't ask!  A real problem here with slab foundations.  I already had my kitchen jack hammered once.  It is NOT pretty!).

It seems really odd to me that just because it is a dedicated circuit  that code would not require that circuit to be GFCI protected.

I have a dedicated 20 amp duplex 12 AWG wire outlet under the sink and it is within a few inches of the water lines.  The outlet serves a switch for the garbage disposal and serves my dishwasher which is always hot. 

  Now that I have all my maple cabinets pulled out I thought I might change the outlet to a GFCI just to be safe.  I have a ground wire, a red wire, a black wire and a white wire.  As it is dedicated I think I should use the LINE sided instead of the LOAD side but I am not sure where the wires should go.

Could someone give me info on this?  It would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.
      

I was going to put this in this thread  Junction box in stud wall behind drywall?  but, decided to start a new one.



Two nights ago while sitting in my kitchen the can lights in my soffits above my cabinets suddenly went out. At first I thought my daughter or her boyfriend was messing with me and reached around the corner and flipped the switch. Nope. Tried the other switch near me and nothing. Everything else in the kitchen worked.



Thinking tripped breaker for a moment...nope other lights work on the circuit. Can't be 6 CFL's burnd out at the same time. Hmmmmm?



Background:

Kitchen was remodeled 12 years ago. Drywall was in good shape so not removed. Added circuits for Fridge, Microwave, Garbage disposal, Stove (gas),Dishwasher, range hood, and countertop recepts. None of these are tied to lights. Original task lighting was 4' tubes over countertops above cabinets. Remodel added sofits and can lights from these two feeds



Started tracing circuit path to look for loose/broken wire. Found no power at lights. Checked power at breaker...Good. Follow wire to kitchen, no junctions. Wire disapears up into wall below the switch area. Check for power at switch box. Yep, power there. Power off and pigtail Neutral/hot  wires at a can light together. No continuity on the load side of the switch circuit. Broken wire somewhere between the switch and the lights. Fortunaly there is an attic space above the kitchen. Unfortunatly, it is a short headroom ~3' or less and full of blown ihn insulation. In I go to trace the wire.  after about 10 min up there I found the burried junction box. At some time in the past there used to be a single light in the center of the "U" shaped kitchen cabinets. This was abandoned and the box was drywalled over...still in the location for the light hookup so the cover was not readily accessable. found a tightly twisted Ground, Neutral and Hot with nuts. All looked good untill I Started messing with them. found that one of the hot leads had broken right at the insulation on the wire. Looking at it closer I could see some arc burn at the break. I am thinking that when the handy hack that did the job nicked the wire he did not know or care and tristed it together anyway. It took over, to my best guess, 20 years for it to fail.



Moral... It can happen
      

I have a 1960s house with EMT throughout. 



I recently replaced 2 florecent fixtures in my basement with 4 LED lights in their own J-Boxes in the drop ceiling. I did the following:



1. Rerouted the the conduit from the light switch to the main j-box for the lights. (previously it was going directly into the fixture) 

2. Ran 4 foot whips to each jbox holding the LED (metalic 14# wires)

3. Cut the old spliced wire (that was just twisted and taped) and used a wire nut

4. Replaced the switch with a dimmer



The lights work great.  Noticebale improvement and the dimmer is excellent.



The issue is that the circuit for the kitchen is now tripping.  I told my wife its just a coincidence, but she is sure I caused it.  Its only happened 2x (1 day apart.  Nothing unusual running on the circuit, only the fridge and the gas stove which as not in use)



Can my "new" work possibly impact another circuit?   What should I check?  Any way to avoid re-doing my work?



Things I noticed / may or may not be relevant:

1. Some of the EMT is directly in contact with a copper water pipe

2. The switch / dimmer isn't grounded

3. The wires in the jbox were nasty and old.  There was corrosion on the jackets and the jbox.  Looks like some water leaked down fromt the laundy above at some point in the last 40 years.

4. At some point (months ago) when I was in the basement I touched some of the EMT and something that was plugged in I swear I feld a shock. (just listing everything I can think of).  I didn't think much of it at the time, but now my whole electrical system is suspect.

5.  The tripped circuit (fridge, MW, stove) didn't appear to be tripped.  The fridge wasn't on.  When I turned off and back on the circuit the aplliances came back to life.  Appliances less than 1 year old. 

6. The clock on the range was reset at one point but I didn't think I turned on or off the circuit.  The lights for the basement were switced off but still worked with the fridge circuit tripped.

7.  We had a huge electrical storm right before I did the work

8.  We have a "stablock" panel that the home inspector got all bent out of shape about.  Other than truning on and off breakers I have never touched it.

9.  Kitchen breaker and basement light breaker are adjacent in the box

10.  I believe kitchen and basement share the same EMT in places.

11.  I think I now have too many connectors in my j-box.  Will likely add an extension.

12.  I didn't use the red "bushing" on all my whips as I ran out of them, but I was careful with the metal sheath and really don't think any wires were cut. (besides if there was a short wouldn't my LED lights fail and that circut break?)



HELP.  I am happy to call a contractor to come in, but I don't have an electrician I trust yet and I'm scared bringing someone in before I isolate the problem a little.
      

I've been the owner of a 1930s era Colonial Revival that our first major project is to rewire the house. We have a 100A main box that is maxed out, a combination of cloth 2-wire, flex, and some cracking Romex along with some downright dangerous open wiring in the basement, tapped wiring in the kitchen and study, some gangboxes that were wallpapered over in the bedrooms that we assume were wall lights (we have similar wall lights in the bathrooms), inadequate outlets in most rooms, no GFI. Etc. Etc. In addition the bathrooms are small and lack wall switches or outlets (they have two pull-cord wall lamps, with one lamp with a outlet.



Here is a floor plan with electrical represented on the ground and second floor. Still working on mapping the basement and the attic (which has a 3/4 converted finished "bonus" room.



My Father-In-Law who is a licensed electrician has promised to gracefully donate a couple months of his time to rewire everything. Also a bonus in this is the majority of outlets are mounted on the baseboard trim and not in the plaster.



My plans are to go with a single 200A main, likely double the amount of outlets in each room, GFI where needed.



While I know some basics, I want to familiarize myself a bit more on what is the best approach to rewire. For instance should I look at running conduit in just one spot of the house, or should I run two on each end of the house? I plan to do some major remodeling of some rooms in the future, especially the kitchen and bath so what are the best ways to ensure I have an easier time with these remodels?