How close can a bathroom sconce be to a corner/side wall? # of receps?

3 years ago

How close can a bathroom sconce be to a corner wall? When I look at Houzz pictures with a vanity in a corner, it looks like they might be 3-4 inches from the side wall, but pictures can be deceiving.

I assume the sconce placement depends on where the box will be. Drywall is gone, but I am trying to draw the mirrors and lights placement for planning purposes, but I don't know how close the lights can be to the side wall. I always plan before the electrician gets here..no point in being uninformed.

What does the electrical code say?

Also...

I found the code for how far a receptacle has to be from a water source unless it is a GFCI, and read about the distance from a ceiling fixture to a tub, but Is there a minimum number of receptacles for a bathroom? No whirlpool receptacle is needed. This is a hall bathroom that is used by a guest bedroom and any other visitors.

We had a double receptacle (4 GFCI) on the long 12 ft wall next to an enormous L shaped vanity cabinet. (Too big for the space.) We removed it, and now the 4 receps are in the middle of the side wall about 6 ft from the vanity. Should we close it up inside the drywall or move it to a new location or just leave it where it is? We have a 2 GFCI recep on the wall beside the vanity. The right corner side of the vanity, not the main vanity back wall.

I put an R where the two receptacles are. Thanks.

Featured Answer

Bruce in Northern Virginia

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

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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Comments (6)

Ron Natalie
3 years ago
Other than not putting it in the shower or over the tub, the code doesn't really talk about it other than the general rule that you have to follow the manufacturer's requirements.

A bathroom needs to have one receptacle within 3' of the edge of the sink (and no lower than 12" below the countertop).. Other than not putting it in the shower area, there's no restriction on where not to put it. Bathroom receptacles have to be on a 20A circuit that either only serves that bathroom OR that only servers bathroom receptacles.
Peke thanked Ron Natalie
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Peke
Original Author
3 years ago
I measured the 4 GFCI again, and it is 7 ft from the vanity (5 ft from the door) and 38" from the floor. That 20 Amp breaker only has that 4 GFCI recep on it. I couldn't find anything else that went with it. However, the single recep near the new vanity just has wire ties on it because we found it behind the mirror and under the drywall. I don't know how to test it.

Since I have that long wall, I could recess a tall skinny medicine cabinet. That cabinet would be good to keep things in like a hairdryer or curling iron, and it's beside the receptacle. It might look strange having a wood framed mirror in the middle of the drywall. Maybe it could be a mirror only with no frame on it. It would look like a wall mirror. I measured the distance between studs on that wall, and they are all different. 13 1/4", 14 1/4", 14 1/2", 13 3/4". Last one is where the 4 GFCI are located.

I would have never noticed the mirrors not being centered in your picture. I did notice the left mirror is different than the right. I like both of those mirrors though.
Bruce in Northern Virginia
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Actually, the two mirrors are identical. The left one seems to have picked up the light/shadows differently and it makes it look like the edge is different.

Bruce
Peke thanked Bruce in Northern Virginia
Peke
Original Author
3 years ago
I looked more closely, and the camera was tilted slightly. More of the right sconce was showing than the left sconce. Tricked my eyes! It looked like the right mirror was smaller, too. I assumed you were trying to decide which mirror to use. LOL. Beautiful countertop, too!
Bruce in Northern Virginia
3 years ago
Thanks. The vanity is made by Strasser and was purchased at Somerville Kitchen and Bath (primarily a Northern VA and MD chain). The Cambria quartz countertop was one of the standard choices they offered with this vanity.

Bruce
Peke thanked Bruce in Northern Virginia

How close can a bathroom sconce be to a corner/side wall? # of receps?

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