House electrical questions (GFCI)

Our house only has one GFCI and it's outside for the pool plug. I'm assuming the house was wired before GFCI became required. I have swapped out a GFCI for the mother in law, but that was just taking pictures, labeling, and reinstalling the same way. How hard is it to go from standard outlet to GFCI? I was reading the first one in the series on that circuit is the best place to put it. Would it hurt to add more to the circuit? How do you tell which one is first? I have swapped out all outlets and switches in our house a while ago, so they are all in good shape. The part that confuses me with GFCI are the terms load and line.

Here is my set up and what I was thinking:

We have a switch and plug in the one bathroom. I was going to just swap out plugs and think the two wires would go to the terminals without tape on them. Unless the switch is wired from that. I would have to look and see.

The other bathroom has two switches and one plug. I like the light up plug for the lights so when it's dark, you know which one it is. The outlet cover is hard to find for that set up at local places. I may buy one online or switch it to rocker type or push button type (same size as GFCI) and get a 3 GFCI cover.

If the bathroom plugs are on the same circuit, do both need to be swapped out? Would have to double check the circuit of course.

Deck has one in an enclosed plastic case on the siding and pretty much protected by the overhang. It is a couple inches above the deck. I believe that is the end of that circuit because it only has the two wires and ground. That should be straight forward if it just gets wired into the terminals without tape on them. Only issue may be making sure it fits into the box plate or may need a new one since I bet I tossed the extra parts.

Kitchen has a plug to behind the stove (not sure if it's on the same circuit), left of sink, right of sink, and under sink for garbage disposal (not sure of that circuit either). Should I put all 3 of those as GFCI or just one that gets power first?

Also, does AFCI do any good as I see some plugs advertised as AFCI/GFCI dual purpose. Can you wire a GFCI wrong, and if so will it work as a regular plug or not at all?

I am by no means an electrician, but have replaced plugs and switches before. I know black to brass and white to silver is the basic standard. I have watched many videos on it, but some just feel to me like they missed a few parts and don't feel 100% comfortable doing it.

1. Your wiring color assumptions are correct, but incorrect assumptions kill people.
2. Most important wiring for a GFCI is the ground and the neutral wires, the GFCI is looking for a very small difference in current flow between the neutral and the ground
3. One GFCI can protect down circuit outlets with equal protection, if the they are all on the same circuit, controlled by a single breaker.
4. Not sure if a AFCI has any use for your application, where a GFCI does
5. I highly recommend them for all domestic use
6. Early in the concert industry they were often installed to protect the performers, but because of their intentional extreme sensitivity to errant current flows, they were quickly yanked.
7. The above best done if one has least has acquired the skills to use a Volt meter properly, if not they should get someone else involved.

Installing GFCI's is very common in old houses with no grounds on the circuits. A GFCI is installed at the first outlet with a new cable with ground. The GFCI then protects everything else on that circuit. If you can't access the first outlet to run a new cable then you install the gfci in a new box beside the panel (with ground to the panel) and you run the old cable out of it.

The biggest problem retrofitting GFCI is having enough room in the box for the unit and all the wire.

A simpler but more expensive solution is to install GFI breakers in the panel.

The problem with GFCI all over the house is figuring out why some things don't work.

EXAMPLE: we just did this to an older house my daughter bought. Installed a GFCI outlet in the first box on a circuit. A few days later the kitchen lights don't work. Go in the basement and check the breakers and they're all fine. It took me a few minutes to think to check the GFCI outlet and sure enough that was tripped. I suspect if I hadn't been there my daughter would have ended up calling an electrician.

Thank you.

Today I earned the GFCI's are the first in a circuit. Armed with that knowledge I am now dangerous enough to think I can wire a whole house.

Kudo's and be sure to look for the story about new home with suspicious electrical fire on the news.

many, many moons ago when i still had hair on the top of my head, i was replacing a shop light fixture in the garage. it was wired in a gang of six, controlled by the wall switch.
i figured if they weren't on, i was good to go.
so up on the step ladder i went. bulbs out, wires unhooked, but i thought i may have felt a slight "bite". ahh, just being paranoid and over cautious.
i reached over the fixture, pulled the wires through, and was immediately greeted by the biggest LIGHTNING BOLT i have ever seen right in front of my eyes !
as i was blindly semi-falling off the ladder, i figured this MAY be a lesson worth learning...........
after my eyeballs got refocused, i called my cousin who is a licensed electrician.
he looked at the wire routing and started saying "bad" words.
it seems the, shall we say, less than honest "gentleman" we bought this place from, had the shop lights on the gang i was working on wired into one leg of a 220v circuit !
well needless to say, i had my cousin rewire the entire garage, install a new 200 amp service for the house, and install a 100 amp sub box for the garage addition we built on a few years later.
since that [almost] fateful day, i have learned more than a little about house 'letrics. i also call my cousin on a semi-regular basis to ensure i don't light myself up like a christmas tree.

I think all the boxes were metal with a ground wire in them. I replaced all the outlets in the house as they were stabbed in the back and some wiggled loose and caused issues in the same room. Each one was pulled, hooked around the screw, and reinstalled. As each room was painted, we replaced with all new outlets. I have never went from standard to GFCI. Want the safety of them, but never messed with them other than taking pictures, labeling, and replacing an exact replacement.

Same way my house was wired. Couldn't figure out at first why my tv in the living room wouldn't turn on. Breakers good, then I remembered to check the GFCI outlet on the back of the house and sure enough something I had plugged in shorted.

This is the simplest and most effective IMHO.

Until you have to go into your basement to reset a popped breaker. Usually when you're dirty from working with someone outside when the circuit popped!

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I just read through this thread
None of it is good advice .

If the house is pre 70s this could get more difficult for a number of possible reasons .

Save yourself some aggravation and call a professional.

If it’s post 70s with a non metallic wiring system (Romex)) then the simplest way is replace each outlet that is required to be protected with a gfi receptacle . All terminations will be on line side of the device . They all should be tamper resistant as well as weather resistant for the exterior.

Our house was built in 1973 I think and has copper wiring that is a direct swap for new plugs. None of the plugs are tamper resistant as they were not something I knew about when replacing all the plugs that were painted over by the prior owner. When I replaced plugs, I just took pics of what wires went where and swapped out plugs. Only GFCI in the house is for the pool outside and it was there when we moved in. Adding breakers may be easier, but the breaker box in in the pantry closet and is not up to code for a box now. Not sure if they can just replace it since it's already there or if they have to move it? Moving it can be expensive especially since the whole house generator is ran to it.

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Pm sent

Our house was originally built in the 70's but has been remodeled a couple of times and GFCIs have been added. Most of them seem to work but we do occasionally find a weird problem where something will flip and shut down something that seems unrelated. I had a hall light that wouldn't work for a long time until I discovered a GFCI that was flipped in a bathroom. Also, our electric car tends to flip the GFCI while charging. Happens about once a month. Just often enough to cause an issue but not often enough to do anything about it. I just have to verify that the car is actually charging. We have one GFCI that trip every time I plug the vacuum cleaner into it. Becomes a little dance where I plug the vacuum in, the thing trips, I reset it and then I can get to work.

LOL! When my house was built in 1978 the two outdoor outlets were fed from the bathroom GFI. So if I popped the GFI working outside, it was a trip to the bathroom to reset it. I look at it as a horse apiece.

Yep, mine is the same way. Now that I am selling it they want them in the kitchen as well, if a plug is six feet from the sink.