While I’m doing the wiring in the basement, I decided to also fix something that really annoys me: my upstairs bathroom plug. As you can see, there are two sockets, and they’re connected to the light switch. This means we usually have a wire all the way across the wall/counter, and my girlfriend is always changing plugs for her hair appliances.

I cut a hole for a 2-gang box in the wall, and ran a wire down there, beside the central vac pipe, and down through the floor into the basement. This was actually pretty simple since there is a return air vent on the other side of the bathroom wall. You can see the picture below, looking down from the hole I cut in the wall at the central vac pipe. On a side note, I’ve found this to be a very effective way of figuring out where to run wires (or just generally see in tight places) while I’m working. I may change my mind if I ever drop the camera into the wall cavity, but until then it’s been very helpful and saved a lot of guessing and extra work.

I replaced the light switch with a dimmer, and replaced the old plug with a timer which will eventually be used to control an exhaust fan. The plugs are both GFCI-protected, and are now on a dedicated circuit along with the downstairs bathroom plug. Being a 33-year old house, the old plug was on the same circuit as the bathroom light, hallway, and most of the plugs in two bedrooms. I also ended up adding a plug in the hallway (probably the only real use will be the power brush for the vacuum cleaner).