Not sure why there would be a GFCI in the attic, unless there is some HVAC equipment (unlikely since there are no walk boards) or an attic vent fan. Is there even a light in the attic?
A blower for a radon mitigation system might also be in the attic.
ETA: Code does not require outlets in an attic space be GFCI protected.
I was up in the attic above my Dad’s shop recently, and there was lots of power up there. I don’t really know why. There was a normal light and switch near the entrance. Unsurprisingly, there was conduit at the top of the wall. What was surprising was that along the conduit every box that dropped a connection down to the shop contained an outlet.
I have no idea why there were multiple outlets installed in places that were nearly unreachable. I’d understand one near the light for an attic fan. I guess it will make it easy to add more lights or cameras under the eaves…
Anyway, the point is, sometimes stuff is just done weird.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense. You’re saying the home inspector reported the existence of a redundant GFCI (i.e. a GFCI receptacle downstream of a GFCI circuit breaker or another GFCI receptacle) but couldn’t point out which one was redundant? How did they know there was a redundant one then?
I suppose if they plugged in a GFCI tester, pressed the “test” button, and some previously-powered receptacles still had no power after resetting any tripped GFCIs they were able to locate, they could infer that there was a GFCI they hadn’t located. But did they not then ask the then-current occupants about additional GFCIs? Obviously it got reset some time between the inspector tripping it and you moving in.
It’s always important to remember that code (i.e. the NEC in the US) is a minimum requirement, not an upper limit. It is the bare minimum standard that e.g. cheapskate slumlords are required to meet so that their spaces aren’t deemed legally unfit for human occupation. It’s perfectly fine to exceed the requirements of the NEC, for example by GFCI-protecting circuits that don’t have it mandated.
Also, GFCIs are electronic devices. The will generally have a longer life if located indoors instead of outdoors. It wouldn’t be too surprising for somebody to put a GFCI for an outdoor circuit in an attic (instead of outside) to protect it from the elements. Probably not very friendly for the people having to reset it in the future, although in some houses getting into the attic isn’t any more trouble than going to the basement.
There is zero point to putting a GFCI in a difficult to access location. That is just begging for someone down the line to remove or bypass it.
I would also disagree that an attic is a more benign that an outdoor location with appropriate (code compliant) cover. Attics get substantially hotter than outside in the summer, and heat is a far worse enemy to electronics than cold.
Finally, the NEC is not some slapdash bunch of rules. There are man-centuries of good engineering work embodied in the code. Basically it is good engineering practice boiled down into a set of rules that can be followed by someone with a modicum of training. 99% of the time when the code is exceeded it is for convenience rather than safety.
RESOLVED:
Long story short, it was just a simple GFCI in a dumb location–WITH A SHELF BUILT OVER IT.
I still have many little things to straighten out now that I’ve traced out this problem, but I pretty much know my electrical system much better now.
But all it was, this whole giant problem, it was another GFCI on the back wall of the garage. But this one was further down–way down, near the corner, not under the breaker box like the others, and THE PREVIOUS OWNERS BUILT SHELVES OVER THE OUTLET SO THE SHELF ITSELF PARTIALLY OBSCURES IT. Literally any item on the shelf blocks it completely from view.
I NEVER knew this outlet existed because it’s blocked by shelving!!!
Resolution came by total coincidence after a whole-ass day of really, really digging in:
I’ve spoken to everyone I knew and we had it figured down to “just finding the dang outlet.”
I decided to dedicate my day to it yesterday–
–made a print out of the breaker box and started correlating known GFCI outlets to KNOWN SWITCHES on the breaker box. I ended up with a “downstairs GFCI” breaker switch but no outlet–I assumed this one the one we needed to find.
-I printed out a floor plan of the house, then mapped the interior walls and mapped every known location of every outlet, marking each TYPE.
-every wall with “no outlet” marked, I moved furniture to search for unknown outlets.
-Furniture that was too big to move, I used my endoscope to inspect if there is an outlet behind it and what type.
I got REALLY EXCITED every time I found a new outlet, but each one was a normal outlet.
I now had a map of all the outlets in the entire house, plus illustrated “gaps” on walls where I didn’t know of an outlet. Through deduction, and considering spacing regulations, I searched these gaps, too. Still no GFCI.
I gave up and left to pick up dinner for the family. It was getting late.
When we got back home, as we were pulling into the garage, I was just spaced out, looking at the edges of the wife’s Xenon Headlights on the wall–the white light bleeds green and purple–when I noticed: HEY IS THAT THE BOTTOM OF AN OUTLET COVER STICKING OUT UNDER THAT SHELVE!!!
I literally jumped from the moving car and moved a bucket on the shelf–there it was. Popped the button–LED came on GREEN–
I ran to plug a lamp into a known-dead socket–EUREKA!!!
I might as well won a lottery, the amount of joy it gave me. HOLY HELL, talk about unwrinkling my brain! AND after a WHOLE DAY of dedicated outlet hunting, to find it by chance!
So–
Now I know my electrical system intimately, and I have a map of all the outlets, and a much clearer (and corrected) idea of the circuits, so I can re-label and put up a map of outlets on the breaker for future generations.
I still will need to unkink some weird kinks: I don’t know why this GFCI exists since the bathroom has its own; I don’t know why the GFCI labeled “FREEZER” has nothing to do with the breaker switch labeled “FREEZER,” which, the freezer switch controls the den’s overhead lights and one wall outlet–did the previous people have a deer-meat freezer in their den??
Obviously I’m relocating the shelf so it doesn’t block the outlet anymore.
I don’t know why those are where they are. The only GFCIs in the whole house are: Two under the breaker box, this bastard one a few feet UP and 10 feet further down on the same garage wall, one in master bath, and one in guest bath.
The “POOL” ground fault only controls the motion light near the pool area–it doesn’t kill the pool pump or that electrical equipment.
I have an electrician I’ve been discussing things with who will probably come fix a lot of this.
For whatever it’s worth, the tone-tracer would have found it, except it’s on the main breaker wall where literally every wire in the house meets, so of course the tone tracer made mad-noise all over the back wall.
I’m a very happy boy!
Congratulations! It’s rewarding to make that kind of discovery, especially after a long search like that.
I once was trying to find a junction for a kitchen circuit that I knew must exist, but didn’t know where it was. I opened 6 different boxes, including one on the roof, without success. Finally I noticed this weird little half-plate up near the ceiling that I had never noticed before, and sure enough, that was what I was looking for.
