Re-Wiring an unfinished attic

[jtfoxman]

A little long and I hope you all can picture it in your heads.

Here is the deal.
My power comes in through the floor, old knob and tube no ground, and splits off into my bedroom closet light and continues over to a old style switch and a light. The switch actually must be left on to power the closet light, an outlet in my bedroom and the attic lights, I have a pull string hooked up to the attic lights so they are not always on. I would like to rewire so the switch does not control my outlet and the closet light. This is all one circuit which I will keep it that way since it is only 3 lights and a outlet, which are all hardly ever used.

Here is my idea.
Once the power comes into the attic into a box I would jump off into a GFCI outlet, none up there now and to be safe the GFCI, from the outlet run down into my closet light and over to the bedroom outlet. From the bedroom outlet up to a switch and then onto the 2 attic lights I have. I would like to run a ground from where the main power comes up into the attic and connects to the new wiring that goes to the outlet. All the attic wiring will be replaced with new except for the main power coming into into it.

Where can I connect the ground since the old wiring has none but the new wiring will? Do I have to run it all the way down to the main breaker box or can I go somewhere else, like to an existing grounded outlet. If I have to run to the basement for the box can I run it outside uncovered? Also to hook up the 2 lights can I wire directly into the first light and then from there onto the second light or is there a certain way of doing this? Can I install a box and split into 2 and run 1 to the closet light and the other over to the outlet?
The same would apply for the 2 attic lights.

Electrical work does not intimidate me as I have wired plenty before but I want to do this the proper safe way and many of you are experts on this stuff.

Thanks All!

[HayZee518]

In the existing switch box - to aacomplish what you want, just remove the switch and wirenut the wires together. Put a blank plate on the box and be done with it. For your other part why not run a brand new romex, 12/2 upstairs to a junction box. you'll have your ground and a new circuit for feeding whatever you want to hitch up to it. As far as running a ground to the old wiring just for the sake of having one, I wouldn't. GFCIs can be used inplace of two wire receptacles but you won't have the protection of the third wire.

[jtfoxman]

Thanks for the reply, everything else seems ok correct?

[HayZee518]

in the panelbox run both the uninsulated bare ground AND the white neutral to the neutral bus. does your house have exposed porcelain fuseholders?

[jtfoxman]

It does not have exposed porcelain holders.

[HayZee518]

OK just asking because some older houses still have the porcelain fuseholders fastened to a board. They feed the knob n tube circuits. When adding new circuits, they tap off the bus wires going to the feed to the fuseholders. The bus may be a #8 insulated conductor.

[jtfoxman]

I finally figured out why I have no ground to my outlets in my bedroom. Well the bedroom and the attic are on the same circuit. I checked my outlets they all have grounds hooked up and the basement circuit breaker has the ground hooked up for that circuit.
Well it seems the wire from the panel runs into the attic and connects to the old knob wiring then into the bedroom so I lose my ground right there. So I will need to replace all the attic wiring, which is only 1 light and a switch. This now makes my job easier as i know now what I have to do to get the ground back and to get rid of the old knob wiring.

[HayZee518]

ok, so what you have is a romex feeder going up to the attic - the ground wire is clipped off - the white and black are wrapped around the knob n tube wires which are on opposing joist surfaces and taped. IF you have some slack, you could put in a junction box, I'd use plastic, bring out your ground wire, add your circuits and "use" that ground to your new wiring. if you need to still use your knob n tube - do what they did - run a romex to the "taps" n snip off the ground.

[jtfoxman]

You are exactly right with your reply, that is how it was done and it just doesn't seem safe with wires taped together with no boxes or anything to protect them.
There's not much knob and tube except for the light and the switch so I'm just going to replace it. I have all the parts already that were left overs from past jobs. Where the wire comes into the attic I'll start from there and run it to the closet light the attic lights (2), switch and I was thinking of putting a GFCI outlet up there just for some power to run my small exhaust fan in the window. Now it's hooked up to the light that has a outlet built in to it.

Why plastic? I have the metal boxes, anything wrong with using them since I have them already? Can I mount the boxes to the ceiling joists or should they go somewhere else. Unfinished attic so there are no walls just roof rafters.

Thanks for your help Hayzee!

[HayZee518]

No reason, just metal boxes require an equipment ground. Plastic eliminates this. If you got a plastic nail on j box, just nail it into the side of a joist and don't forget the cover plate. Personally the less metal that I can deal with the better. If you have to get into the box later on, you don't have all that metal and your pliers banging around inside where "sparks" seem to hide! LOL

[jtfoxman]

Yeah, sparks are never a good thing!