I have a condo that hasn't been updated in probably decades, and I am looking to sell it in the near future. As part of my updates, I am installing GFCI outlets in the bathrooms and in the kitchen countertop areas.
However, there is perhaps a situation with my bathrooms. The first floor half-bath and the second-floor full bathroom outlets are on the same circuit. The lights and fans of both bathrooms are on another circuit entirely. This line appears to run just up the wall and power the both bathroom outlets only.
This NEC set of rules says that all bathroom outlets must be GFCI. However, I'm looking at some questions on this site, and it appears that having two on the same circuit might cause some inconvenient, if not unexpected, behavior. This answer seems to indicate that two on the same circuit will cause one to not function properly if the second trips, while this answer says that finding which outlet tripped is an annoyance, when you're not expecting two on the same circuit.
In any case, it seems that one GFCI outlet on the circuit is all that is necessary, strictly speaking, to provide adequate protection.
However, in terms of salability, I would like any potential buyers to look at the bathrooms, see GFCI outlets in both, and not give it a second thought. If they see a regular outlet in the bathroom, they may balk, or have concerns about the property, even if the circuit is adequately wired and protected. I don't want the realtor to say "Don't worry, the owner assures me this is perfectly fine"– I want it to be a non-issue.
Is there a way to wire two GFCIs on the same circuit, and not have any issue in functionality? It seems like this would be addressed, either in code, or in the hardware itself– I can't be the only person who has a legitimate, code-driven need for two GFCIs on the same circuit, can I?
Best Answer
Just connect the cable from the second outlet to the "line" side of the first GFCI (or wire-nut and pigtail the first GFCI. Then install the 2nd GFCI normally.
Alternatively, most GFCI outlets come with little stickers to put on the cover plates of downstream protected outlets. If you choose that route, you would wire the cable to the 2nd outlet to the "load" side of the first outlet.