Switch – How to wire a new light from an outlet, with power to the light box

Since your light is on a different circuit than the outlet, you'll need to run a switch loop from the light to the 2-gang box using 14/3 (yes 3) cable, with black as the hot, red as the switched hot, white as a spare neutral, and the bare or green wire as well, the ground (aka EGC) :)

In the light box, you'll take the black that currently goes to the fixture hot and connect it to the black of the switch loop instead; the fixture hot then gets wired to the red wire of the switch loop. The switch loop white and green wires get wired into the existing white and green wires coming into the box.

After transposing the existing GFCI from the old 1 gang box into the new 2 gang box, you'll want to leave it alone from here on out. To wire up the switch, you connect the brass screws to the black and red wires, the green screw to the EGC, and simply wirenut off (i.e. put a wirenut on the exposed end of) the neutral on the switch loop -- it's there for future use by say a motion sensor or lit switch as per 404.2(C) (neutrals are called 'grounded conductors' in the NEC, btw, if you're a Code newbie and scratching your head at this :):

C) Switches Controlling Lighting Loads. The grounded circuit conductor for the controlled lighting circuit shall be provided at the location where switches control lighting loads that are supplied by a grounded general- purpose branch circuit for other than the following:

(4) Where a switch does not serve a habitable room or bathroom

Yes, this should work. A few things you may have already considered:

1. Each time your cable goes into or out of a junction box you should plan to lose 6" in length.

   So tying into and out of the ceiling box for the fan would require 12" of slack on the existing 4-wire cable. Your plan to add a separate junction box is a better approach. The trick is to put it at least 6" closer to the dual-wired receptacle and run 3-wire the longer distance to this box. When you tie into the 4-wire here you will have extra 4-wire to use in the ceiling fan box.

2. Don't disconnect the red wire going to the duplex receptacle.

   Just tie red and black to the un-switched black in your junction box. This puts half the load on each wire and you don't have to rewire the receptacle in the wall.

3. Get a deep 2-gang switch box to fit all those connectors

   and dissipate the heat any dimmers you use to control fan speed or dim the fan lights. You're looking at needing at more than 29 cubic inches not counting extra for dimmers. And you always want to leave room for future expansion.

4. Get a ceiling box designed to hold a fan and mount it securely to a joist.