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Lighting Bathrooms

Bathroom sconces beside mirror? Wiring requirements?

3 years ago

I know nothing about electrical wiring, but I am in the planning stages of remodeling a bathroom, and I need to choose lights. Currently, drywall is gone so now is the time to move any electrical wiring and add any braces needed for the lights.

We had 2 light bars (5 bulb + 4 bulb) previously above the mirror. One light was wired to the other.

We want wall sconces on each side of the mirror. Does this require any changes to the wiring? I know 1 switch will control both lights. I don't think any changes will be needed since we will have less bulbs (2 instead of 9). Thanks.

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Comments (5)

Peke
Original Author
3 years ago
I forgot to mention that there is not a window in the bathroom. I have a 3 bulb ceiling fan and a heat/vent/light in the ceiling.

Will 1 light on each side of a single mirror be enough light? The room is 12 ft long, but the toilet and sink is on the end of the short 7.5 ft wall. The ceiling fan light should be bright enough for the tub/shower since we will have a glass door and a pony wall with glass.

The picture below shows 2 single lights between 2 mirrors. Could they have used a 2 bulb light instead of 2 singles?

Transitional Moroccan Industrial Bath · More Info

Like this?

Oxford Ave. Venice · More Info

I usually only see single lights. Will 2 single lights be enough?

Thanks.
chispa
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Not enough lighting for me. In my master bath I have 2 x 6" recessed light in the center of the bathroom (should have done more) then 3 elongated sconces with 2 lights each in the mirror over sinks, then 2 x 4" recessed light in the shower and the fan/light combo in the toilet area (should have done recessed light here). Oh, I also have a ceiling pendant between the tub and the window, but that is for looks and doesn't put out much light. Every area is on a separate switch and with dimmers. I also have a large window in the main area and a smaller window in the toilet area and in the shower.

I have doubled the amount of lighting that was there when I remodeled the bathrooms.
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Comments (5)
I believe a more detailed answer is that the bathroom receptacles must be either a) on a circuit that feeds only loads in that bathroom or b) on a circuit that feeds only bathroom receptacles, possibly in multiple bathrooms. But this is a poor choice because of the likelihood of simultaneous hair appliances tripping the breaker. Lighting and fan can be on either the circuit referred to by (a) or on another circuit that feeds other rooms, but not (b). The heater load will be subject to the 80% derating rule for continuous loads (sometimes stated as 125% ampacity required). So 4800*0.80 is 3840 watts maximum load. You have 2500 allocated here. You are ok but don't have as much margin as you might think.
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I would run 20A to the bathroom receptacles. Hair dryers, etc take a lot of power. But the circuit load you use depends on the wiring you use. 12 AWG allows the use of either a 15A or 20A breaker. 14AWG only allows you to use 15A. Actually, in your situation, I'm not sure I wouldn't run 2 circuits in this manner: One 15A 14 AWG circuit for the laundry room light, bathroom lights, and fan that isn't GFCI protected (unless the lights or fan are directly above a shower or tub) and another for the bathroom receptacles and the laundry room receptacle that is 12 AWG 20A and is GFCI protected. As always, do a load calculation to make sure you are using the proper sized circuit for your application.
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A bathroom needs a GFCI receptacle that is easily accessible by the vanity, but any additional receptacles in the room are optional. I usually use only one GFCI receptacle circuit, but always make sure there is one wall receptacle on the circuit near the entry door (for a vacuum cleaner, etc.). Based on the current popularity of fancy commodes (with bidet, etc.) I may start putting a receptacle near the commode. The counter height GFCI receptacle on the vanity side wall meets the basic requirement for a bathroom. I would probably just move the double GFCI receptacle on the long wall down to standard height and leave it there. That might also be a good location for a heated towel bar. Where to put the sconce is a combination of esthetics and electrical requirements. Most fixtures can be located as close an an inch from a side wall, but might look funny that close. You also need to work around the placement of the medicine cabinet and the swing of its door. The attached picture will give you an idea of what you might need to consider with sconce and medicine cabinet placement. If you look closely you will see that the medicine cabinets are slightly off from the sink bowl center, since that is the only easy way to make them fit with the three sconce lights. The placement of the sink bowls is determined by the vanity (cannot be changed), but lining up with that sink centerline would have cut into the space needed for sconces on each side. The sconces could not be moved farther out because they got too close to the window on the left and the wall on the right. Bruce
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For this type of installation, I think you're better off having a custom mirror made by a local glass contractor. You'll have to have the sconce j-boxes installed prior to the glass guy doing an onsite measure, then they can make cut-outs for the j-boxes. If you like, you can have your contractor's finish carpenter make a frame for you to install after the glass goes in. And no, it's not a dated look. I'm doing this for two new bathrooms in the same home as we speak.
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Peke
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks, Chispa.

The ceiling fan was installed this week, so I can finally see in the bathroom.

Here are pictures taken without flash. The black walls make it look darker, but when the drywall goes up, that will help. The floors, walls, shower tile, etc. will be light colored. Plus the shower is essentially open with two walls of glass.

The toilet will be on the left corner where the towel is on the floor. The tub will go on the lower left where the missing tiles are. The two yellow circles represent where the lights will go above the vanity. There is not much room since the vanity is 48" wide.

I could move the vanity to the wall on the right, but I believe the lights would not be bright enough to reach the door. If I put two lights with 100 watt bulbs on the toilet wall, the lights should reach the door.

I guess I could put a double light on each side of the mirror, but I have not seen any pictures of double lights on each side of a mirror. The first is 18" wide and the second is 12" wide. That takes away space for the mirror which I need to reflect light. I would rather have a 36" mirror than a 24" mirror.

It looks like a single light on each side of the mirror will have to do.
chispa
3 years ago
Why is there a ceiling fan in the bathroom?
Peke
Original Author
3 years ago
My husband likes the air movement. He takes extremely hot showers, then complains that he is hot. I can't get him to use the vent fan, but the ceiling fan defogs the mirror quickly and dries the walls. Not normal, I know. We also live in Oklahoma, and we have really hot temperatures in the summer and other times. We had 89° temps in January one year. Our electric bill would be $500-600 a month during the hot months, but with ceiling fans going, our electric bill is $150-200.

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