I am making a half bath in my basement.?

Question

I want to install a heater, exsuast and light unit. also at the sink a GFI receptical and switch for vanity light. how do i go about wiring as i want to control heater, fan and light from switch inside door and vanity light from switch beside gfi outlet

Answer 1

The first thing I have to ask, is have you considered your plumbing drain?  Most basements are below the main drain line.... meaning you'd have to get a pump.

Ok... this question is about electrical...

First thing you have to decide, is what kind of switches do you want?

If you want full size switches, then you need a gang box, like these, big enough for all of them, and the outlet.  If you are running 1 heater, 1 light, and 1 outlet, you need a 3 gang box.  Ive shown one of each type here, metal, outdoor, and plastic... each comes in multiple gang versions.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pr...

Run your supply line into the box, and secure it.  (Most codes require you to either fasten the wire to a stud, or to run it inside conduit.  I would suggest that you run at least TWO lines... one for the heater, and another for the rest. (If you want more than one outlet receptacle, think seriously about 3 supply lines, and seperate the outlets from the light fixture.) Use seperate circuit breakers.

I would run the power to the outlet first.  You can hook up a standard GFCI outlet so that other things are protected by the outlet, or not.  Follow the instructions that come with the GFCI to determine which way you need to connect.  (Not a problem if you are running seperate supply lines for each, one line goes to each item)

My personal preference is to run power to a light switch FIRST, and then to the fixture.  

That heating unit may need to be on a GFCI circuit... you can branch off the outlets, or use a GFCI circuit breaker.  If running the heater on its own circuit, I would opt for the GFCI breaker for this item.

Just remember black to black, white to white, and green is ground.

By the way, the LAST connections you should make will be in the circuit panel.  Connect everything else first.

As to the switch and outlet selections... I prefer the large 'elbow' switches, like this one -

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pr...

But to save space, you might prefer to use a 'triple' switch, like this one -

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pr...

If you use a triple switch, I'd make the top switch the light switch.  If you use individual switches, make the one nearest the door the light switch.  You might even consider using a different color switch for the heater.  Make sure to get the appropriately rated switch for the heater.  The single I've shown, for example, is rated at 15 amp.

To keep the wiring simple, I'd use all 12-2 with ground, commonly called 'romex'.  Smaller 14-2 wiring is cheaper by the foot, but you cannot exceed the 15 amp rating with it.  With the 12-2, you can run 20 amp outlets, and fixtures.

When in doubt, call an electrician.  If this is your very first time at running a circuit, I would suggest you seriously consider hiring it done, or at the very least, have an electrician inspect your work before covering it all up.

You may be required to use an electrician, if you have to pull a permit for this type of work -- better check on that first, as inspectors get very grumpy if they get called in afterwards, lol.

Good Luck

Answer 2

With the heater/vent/light combo you should have a switch with 3 separate switches. (use 12 guage wire from a 20 amp breaker.)

With his you will have to run power to the unit. Connect all black wires together in fixture.(4-total) From the unit pull a 4 conductor wire (ALL insulated12 guage). Connect the white from incoming power to the 1 white going down to switches. the other 3 wires will go from each switch to the 3 white wires of the unit.Use a deep single gang switch box for combo. Use a double gang wall box for gfi and vanity light switch. Bring the power line into the box, wire gfi as per directions and then feed power from gfi to the light switch.

Answer 3

If you don't know how to do this maybe you should call some one who does.  Like a licensed electrician!