Thoughts on centralizing attic junction boxes vs. running individual lines?

I've seen these 'hub' setups in older 1970s builds, and while they look like a disaster, the logic behind them is usually to save on home runs back to the main service panel. I dealt with a similar mess in my ranch-style house where the previous guy used 4-square metal 1900 boxes for everything. If he used those cheap plastic snap-in connectors, they probably popped out, wich explains the loose wires you're seeing. When I rewired my master bath, I actually leaned into the hub idea but used a large 8x8 NEMA 1 enclosure instead of a cluster of small boxes. It makes tracing much simpler if you use a label maker on every Romex jacket. The headache you're facing with the neutrals is common when someone mixes up the white wires from different circuits—I've spent hours with a Fluke multimeter trying to find which neutral belongs to which hot when the GFCI keeps tripping for no reason. If you’re seeing cream-colored NM-B, that’s likely 12-gauge, so make sure you aren't mixing it with 14-gauge on a 20-amp breaker. Personally, I’d rather have a well-labeled junction box in an accessible attic than have to fish new lines trough finished drywall all the way to the basement. It’s only a nightmare because the last guy didn't use any wire markers or keep his grounds tidy.

Actually, I’m a proponent of a centralized junction area if it’s handled with a bit of foresight. When I rewired my 1950s bungalow, I installed a few 6x6x4 NEMA 1 enclosures in the attic specifically to bridge the old 14/2 cloth-wire runs to the new home runs. It’s a lot cleaner than trying to cram everythign into a single 1900 box with an extension ring. The real problem isn't the hub concept; it's ussually that people don't label the Romex jackets with a Sharpie or use proper terminal strips. If you’ve got a mess of neutrals that don't seem to go anywhere, you might be looking at a shared neutral setup, wich was common back then but can be a headache for modern AFCI/GFCI upgrades. I’d suggest grabbing a roll of white electrical tape and a multimeter to start identifying those pairs. Instead of tearing it all out for individual home runs, I’d just focus on migrating those loose connections into a single, larger gutter box. It makes adding a new circuit for a bathroom fan or a vanity light much easier than drilling thru three top plates just to reach a panel in the garage.

I'm not so sure the 'hub' layout is the root of your bathroom outlet issue. Have you ruled out a tripped GFCI hidden behind a shelf or a loose back-stabbed connection at the first outlet in the chain? It’s easy to blame the attic spiderweb, but usually, those 'mysterious' neutral issues are just a downstream break. Also, before you rip anything out, have you verified that the cream wire isn't actually an old 240v circuit that someone repurposed incorrectly? I'd double-check the voltage to ground before assuming it's part of your 120v lighting.

Back in the 60s, we called that a 'tree' system. You’d run one heavy circuit up to a big junction box and branch off like a trunk. Saves copper, but it's a bear to troubleshoot forty years later. If you’re seeing cream NM, check those splices for old solder and tape jobs hidden under the wire nuts. I’ve seen guys wrap connections in friction tape so tight you’d need a hacksaw to get thru 'em. If your neutrals are acting up, look for a loose locknut on those metal boxes—sometimes the box itself was the only thing keeping the ground path continuous.

I had a mess just like this in my 1940s place. Tracing those cream wires by eye is a losing game when they're all zip-tied together. What finally worked for me was grabbing a cheap circuit toner. I’d clip it to the dead outlet downstairs, then go up to the attic and listen for the beep in that cluster. It saved me hours of digging trough those loose neutrals. Also, check for those old 'beehive' wire nuts—I found a couple in my hub that had literally melted onto the copper, which was why my bathroom lights were flickering even though the breaker never tripped.

Man, I've dealt with that exact mess. It's usally a total coin flip if the guy acutally pigtailed those grounds properly or just twisted 'em and hoped for the best. Since you're seeing loose connectors, I'd bet money there's a loose wire nut buried in the middle of that cluster causing your bathroom outage. Grab some Wago 221s if you're gonna dive back in there. They're way easier to handle in a cramped attic than trying to twist five wires together with a standard nut while you're balancing on a joist. Just make sure those metal boxes are actually grounded too, or you're just asking for a shock.