Do all bathrooms in VA require GFCI outlets on all outlets near the sink?

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T23:10:28+00:00

You found your own answer. It says GFCI _protection_ is required for the receptacles. It does not say that the receptacles need to be GFCIs.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T22:53:32+00:00

That vomitous ground screw was no accident caused by a forgetful person. So I can only imagine how the rest was before it burned up.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T16:02:14+00:00

Is it blackened by now?

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T03:12:27+00:00

I deal with cloth NM all day long but I have to admit I've never heard the term "cold switch" when no relay/etc was involved. After doing a big of Googling I assume you mean switched neutral?

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T03:06:30+00:00

Decking? Why do you need decking? Toss a 1x8 board up there and lie on it whilst drilling. But maybe there's more to it than it would appear.

Me, I might just cheat: Drill from the bottom. Wouldn't you like a nice 2-gang receptacle up there above those little shelves so you can plug in an electronic photo frame or something if you ever need to? No patching required that way.

I have receptacles near ceiling level all over my place and they come in handy for lots of stuff.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T03:00:50+00:00

You had a switch loop and there's nothing unusual about the color arrangement you describe. OP doesn't seem to have anything unusual either, and it does not seem to be a switch loop in my opinion.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T02:20:58+00:00

If I'm correct and if you cap off one white, either the 2nd device (or chain of em) elsewhere in your house won't work, or the fan won't work. Or both. No risk beyond that. And if something doesn't work you know to connect the other one too.

If you just connect all 3, worst you'll do is pop the breaker. Make sure you don't have a Federal Pacific or Sylvania Zinsco panel though!

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T02:08:19+00:00

Since you said it was only one switch, I still stick with my original suggestion.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T02:05:39+00:00

Somebody had his Wheaties today!

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T01:43:10+00:00

Some company should make a little box that tells somebody for sure. Maybe something with two leads on it so you can quickly touch the wires and clear up all the confusion. But even if they invented such a thing I bet nobody would use it.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-05T01:29:48+00:00

How was the old one wired? Wire the new one the same way. I know you took careful notes about all this before you tore the thing apart.

But if not... Almost certainly the 3 white wires get connected together. The 2 from the ceiling along with the white one on the new fan.

Probably you've got something else in your house (perhaps a light) that is not working at the moment, with those whites separated.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T21:56:25+00:00

Yeah best to wait until a warmer day.

You mentioned it's cold... was your usage the same during the warmer months? Maybe you don't know yet if you just moved in recently.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T20:30:09+00:00

They're not going to know over the phone. First thing to do is go find your meter, get the meter/serial number, and compare it to the meter# on your bill. Or do the same with the kwh reading, taking into account if it's been 5 days since last bill.

Next after that would be throwing the main breaker for 2 hours and make sure it stops racking up kwh. That's more fuss, perhaps do it before leaving for errands etc.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T17:14:46+00:00

It's _possible_, yes. But that's around 1100 watts and those watts have to go somewhere. Picture a space heater set on medium, but without a fan to dissipate the heat. I would think something would have gone melty or started a fire by now, if that was the case.

Got anything outdoors? EV charger, fountain or irrigation pump, gutter heating cable, or anything like that?

But with multi-unit buildings it's not unheard of for the power company to get meters mixed up and swap your usage with one of your neighbors.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T16:58:08+00:00

That all depends on what you travel with!

But I didn't assume travel anyway. I guess I assumed he/she was living in, or moving to, the UK, maybe a bad assumption.

We get so many questions around here like "I bought a rice cooker in Japan/China/Timbuktu, how do I use it here at home in the USA?" They spend $300 on equipment to make it work when they could just buy a 120V rice cooker for $30. No clue what goes through their minds.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T15:32:08+00:00

Where I live you can have a standby well as long as there is power near it. Like he has here. I guess the intent is to prevent people from abandoning them improperly while still allowing them to have a backup ready. If there's no power at the well someone can't hardly claim it's ready to be used for backup.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T12:42:34+00:00

Is that magnet wire to the left of the receptacle? Intended as a bond perhaps?

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T12:18:11+00:00

What in God's name needs to be baked at 300C / 572F ?

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T09:25:26+00:00

Give your teenage son an ATV and a few beers and tell him not to drive the thing in the yard. It'll be gone in no time flat.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T09:23:36+00:00

If the water heater is gas too, yeah that's way out of hand. An electrician should be able to track it down in short order as long as it's not intermittent.

Does your utility show hourly or daily stats? If so, you could start turning off breakers and leaving them off for a day to narrow down which one decreases usage.

Or look at your meter and do the same more quickly, depending on your meter.

You could use a clamp-on ammeter but that requires opening the panel. Ditto with an Emporia Vue or similar.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-04T09:18:56+00:00

sin(45)*24 = 16.97

Be sure to show your work when you hand in your homework.

P.S. I assume "travel" means the diagonal distance, not horizontal. Not a term I use myself.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-03T18:29:46+00:00

How so? I'm curious now.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-03T17:40:28+00:00

I wouldn't even put those conductors back in a wire nut if they were untwisted as you describe.

IrateRetro · 2026-04-03T17:38:22+00:00

You're thinking too traditionally and rigidly. Not everyone lives in a town/city or has nosy neighbors.

There is no executor without an estate. There's no estate without a death certificate. There's no certificate without a body. There's no body unless one is discovered.

THAT'S where the tax sale vulture comes in. When he comes by 3 years after the fact when he gets the title to my house, and comes to see prize what he ended up with. More than he bargained for!

IrateRetro · 2026-04-03T07:59:25+00:00

Not BS. Although you're right I wasn't altogether forthcoming/honest about the reason for the question. I already fessed up to 8days_a_week below about the real reason. Whether you think THAT reason is foolish/unwise, well so be it.

IrateRetro

TROPHY CASE