Swapping a light switch - Pic attached

spida

In my apartment the light for the bathroom door is on the wrong side (the hinge side) of the door. It is in a double switch with the hall light switch. The other side of the door has a single switch for the hot-press which is next to it.

How big a job is it to change these around so that the double switch is doing hot-press and bathroom and the single switch is on the far side only doing the hall light?

Basically what I want to know is, whether or not it is something I can do myself or something I should just live with; annoying as it may be it is not worth an electrician (or a plasterer to replace the wall!).

Thanks in advance.

10-10-20

It's not a huge job, but may require that the walls be opened up to allow new wiring to be fished through. The main difficulty would be with routing the wires between the wooden studs in the wall; these would have to be drilled.
Perhaps you could look at getting trunking attached to the wall instead of opening them up. Trunking can be painted over afterwards.

ART6

If it's an apartment, can you get at the cables anywhere other than at the switches? If you can, then (with the power off) you could attach cord pull-throughs to the wires in each switch and then pull them back to where you can get at them. Then swap them over on the cord pull-throughs and pull them back to the switch bays you want them in. Then put the bathroom switch where the hot press one was and vice-versa. If you do that, make sure the pull-throughs are firmly attached and the cable ends are taped over to stop them from splaying out if they meet any obstruction-- you only get one go at it if the wires are not in conduit:)

However, a warning: Before doing anything like that, make sure the wires are long enough to be switched over. They don't leave a lot of spare wire when wiring buildings nowadays!

spida

ART6 wrote: »

If it's an apartment, can you get at the cables anywhere other than at the switches?

On the far side of the hall (behind the picture) is the jumper-switches box. All roads lead to there at some stage. Question is where they go 1st. I think I'll have to put together a map of the wiring before I can figure which wire to pull through!

Thanks for this!:)

ART6

spida wrote: »

On the far side of the hall (behind the picture) is the jumper-switches box. All roads lead to there at some stage. Question is where they go 1st. I think I'll have to put together a map of the wiring before I can figure which wire to pull through!

Thanks for this!:)

As a disclaimer, I have to say that my qualifications and experience are all in industrial medium and high voltage electrics. However, as far as I am aware, the switches on domestic lighting should be in the neutral circuit -- in other words, the live feed is to the light fitting and the neutral from it goes through the switch. Problem is, that in older installations that was not always the case. The only way to find out is to open up the switch patresses and look at the colour coding of the wires therein. If they are both blue, then the switches are in the neutral circuit, and those are the ones to concentrate on. It is a multimeter job from then on!

knx

ART6 wrote: »

As a disclaimer, I have to say that my qualifications and experience are all in industrial medium and high voltage electrics. However, as far as I am aware, the switches on domestic lighting should be in the neutral circuit -- in other words, the live feed is to the light fitting and the neutral from it goes through the switch. Problem is, that in older installations that was not always the case. The only way to find out is to open up the switch patresses and look at the colour coding of the wires therein. If they are both blue, then the switches are in the neutral circuit, and those are the ones to concentrate on. It is a multimeter job from then on!

Maybe an honest mistake but this is completely not true. The live is switched and neutrals are ran straight to the fitting. Neutrals can be run through the switch box as well but would be connected behind the switch.

OP I reckon there is no easy way of doing what you want if cables have to be rerouted, however depending on how the circuits are wired it may be possible to change it around. How many switches control the hall light.

eoghan.geraghty

ART6 wrote: »

As a disclaimer, I have to say that my qualifications and experience are all in industrial medium and high voltage electrics. However, as far as I am aware, the switches on domestic lighting should be in the neutral circuit -- in other words, the live feed is to the light fitting and the neutral from it goes through the switch. Problem is, that in older installations that was not always the case. The only way to find out is to open up the switch patresses and look at the colour coding of the wires therein. If they are both blue, then the switches are in the neutral circuit, and those are the ones to concentrate on. It is a multimeter job from then on!

Switches are never on the neutral wire, never!

OP, if you have an attic space above these switches this is a very easy job for a sparks, if not then it is doable but involves a lot of cutting into walls and patching up, not worth it in my opinion.

DublinDilbert

ART6 wrote: »

the switches on domestic lighting should be in the neutral circuit -- in other words, the live feed is to the light fitting and the neutral from it goes through the switch. !

:eek: I've never heard of the neutral being switched in any installation, domestic or not. The exception of course is where your using a double pole switch/contractor and switch both the live and neutral at once....

spida

Thank you all for the words of wisdom.

"eoghan.geraghty" says it right though, as there is no space above the ceiling it's just not worth it. I suppose I was hoping for a bit of a miracle-cure!

Have learned another little bit about wiring though. A topic I've always found interesting.

Regards.