Bedroom and Bath Addition Wired for Rough-In Inspection in Vancouver, WA

This older Vancouver home was getting a new bedroom and bathroom, and Newman Electric wired the addition from bare studs to a permitted rough-in inspection. The challenge wasn’t the addition itself. It was adding a bedroom, a bathroom and air conditioning to a house that still runs on 100-amp service.

What went into the walls

The addition’s electrical, all roughed in before insulation:

• Nine 5-inch recessed cans across the bedroom and bath
• A Panasonic fan-light combo plus a second Panasonic exhaust fan, cut in at trim
• Bathroom ceiling heat on its own run
• A 20-amp bathroom circuit for the vanity outlets
• A 30-amp circuit for the new A/C
• Outlets, switches and a quad outlet location

Every bored stud got a steel nail plate. Cable within an inch and a quarter of the stud face is fair game for a drywall screw, and the plate is what stops it.

AFCI and GFCI on the new circuits

New bedroom circuits need arc-fault protection, and bathroom outlets need ground-fault protection. On this job a 15-amp AFCI and a 20-amp combination AFCI/GFCI breaker handle both at the panel, so there’s no GFCI outlet to hunt for when something trips. Our explainer on GFCI vs AFCI protection covers the difference.

Adding load to a 100-amp house

A bedroom, a bath with ceiling heat, and A/C is real new load on a 100-amp service. The property already has an ADU and a mini split, so a load calculation is the first thing to check, not the last. Sizing the new circuits against what the service can carry is part of any remodel electrical scope that adds square footage.

Planning an addition or a big remodel? Our remodel electrician work in Vancouver section has more local jobs, or call 360-828-7143 to walk the plans with us before framing.