This has to be against building Regs???

spankmemunkey

Hi all,

I bought a house in 2009 the house was built in the same year however the thing i noticed was the Fuse Board is mounted on a wall directly below the bath upstairs, the plug hole from the bath is about 10 inches away from the fuse board, If theres ever a leak from that bath then were fried, Electricity also arcs!

Im sure theyve broken some sort of regulations there, this is a real hazard baths do leak, seal do leak if it does then me or my kids could be killed.

bigneacy

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Hi all,

I bought a house in 2009 the house was built in the same year however the thing i noticed was the Fuse Board is mounted on a wall directly below the bath upstairs, the plug hole from the bath is about 10 inches away from the fuse board, If theres ever a leak from that bath then were fried, Electricity also arcs!

Im sure theyve broken some sort of regulations there, this is a real hazard baths do leak, seal do leak if it does then me or my kids could be killed.

You own the house? And presumably have lived in it for 3 years? Do you think 'they' should come round 3 years later and fix it for you? If its bothering you, call an electrician and get it sorted!

DOCARCH

If you are worried I would suggest contact the ESB and ask them to comment and/or contact RECI and they will tell you whether or not it is contrary to regulations.

kippy

bigneacy wrote: »

You own the house? And presumably have lived in it for 3 years? Do you think 'they' should come round 3 years later and fix it for you? If its bothering you, call an electrician and get it sorted!

A tad harsh, no?

If the fitting is against building requirements the OP has a reason to ask how it managed to pass through a number of checks......and possibly seek some form of fix.

I daresay moving a fuseboard isn't straightforward or cheap.

spankmemunkey

Wow have a bad day? I was just wondering was it against building regs, I dont expect anybody to come around and fix it for me, and i didnt realise till some stage later that it might be a danger, i also didnt know where to go.

spankmemunkey

kippy wrote: »

A tad harsh, no?

If the fitting is against building requirements the OP has a reason to ask how it managed to pass through a number of checks......and possibly seek some form of fix.

I daresay moving a fuseboard isn't straightforward or cheap.

DOCARCH wrote: »

If you are worried I would suggest contact the ESB and ask them to comment and/or contact RECI and they will tell you whether or not it is contrary to regulations.

Thank guys you gave me the answer i was looking for and reacted to that other poster the same way i did, The people in Priory Hall were none the wiser were they? alot of houses were signed off on and should not have been.

Moving a fuse board would need a complete rewire in this case and would not be cheap. I think i will try get in touch with RECI or ESB, I got in touch with my local council planning dept and am waiting an answer!

Maggie 2

Might be cheaper to move the bath! Good Luck.

monkeysnapper

bigneacy wrote: »

You own the house? And presumably have lived in it for 3 years? Do you think 'they' should come round 3 years later and fix it for you? If its bothering you, call an electrician and get it sorted!

jeez, talk about having a huge chip on your shoulder. :mad:

spankmemunkey

Hi all thanks for the help, I got onto RECI and i got a good response from them and the guy i was speaking with was very helpful, Im still waiting on the council to get back to me, I presume its the council as they signed off on the plans, whos responsible for building regulations? the council? anyway the guy from RECI said he may send someone out for an inspection after i get a response from the council. something tells me their going to drag their heels!

muffler

If its a private house it has nothing to do with the council. Whoever built it should have had their own arch/engineer/technician there for the purpose of "signing off"

spankmemunkey

muffler wrote: »

If its a private house it has nothing to do with the council. Whoever built it should have had their own arch/engineer/technician there for the purpose of "signing off"

Thanks for the reply, whos responsible for building regs then? surely thats self regulation? and if its a danger to life can the council intervene like they did in Priory Hall?

deandean

No non-compliance with building regs there, OP.

Also no non-compliance with national Rules for Electrical Installations as far as I can see.

If the consumer board was installed IN the bathroom, that'd be a problem !

Sure water pipes and wiring often run side-by-side through floor voids.

spankmemunkey

deandean wrote: »

No non-compliance with building regs there, OP.

Also no non-compliance with national Rules for Electrical Installations as far as I can see.

If the consumer board was installed IN the bathroom, that'd be a problem !

Sure water pipes and wiring often run side-by-side through floor voids.

Thanks for the reply, I was onto reci and the response i got conflicts with what your saying, why is there no light switches permitted in a bathroom? yet its okay to place a fuse board directly below a bath at least 10 inches away from plug hole, Of course wires run under floor boards but they dont pose a direct risk of death as it does when your sitting in a bath and it leaks onto the fuse board a few inches below you.

What you say is right as said to me by reci the regulations state that you can have a fuse board in the hall and thats it, however i was also told a very important word by Reci EXTERNAL INFLUENCES. I dont want to quote what i was told over the phone but lets say i have a case and it will be going on after the conversation with Reci

sydthebeat

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, I was onto reci and the response i got conflicts with what your saying, why is there no light switches permitted in a bathroom? yet its okay to place a fuse board directly below a bath at least 10 inches away from plug hole, Of course wires run under floor boards but they dont pose a direct risk of death as it does when your sitting in a bath and it leaks onto the fuse board a few inches below you.

What you say is right as said to me by reci the regulations state that you can have a fuse board in the hall and thats it, however i was also told a very important word by Reci EXTERNAL INFLUENCES. I dont want to quote what i was told over the phone but lets say i have a case and it will be going on after the conversation with Reci

why not?

if you have important and pertinent information, why not share it?

either its a breach of regulation or its not......

muffler

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, whos responsible for building regs then? surely thats self regulation? and if its a danger to life can the council intervene like they did in Priory Hall?

The house owner is responsible for compliance with building regulations. None of us like it but that's the way it is.

If you feel there has been a clear breach of the regs then you can of course contact your local building control dept. but from personal experience you may well be told the same thing - you are responsible or the person who built it is responsible

spankmemunkey

sydthebeat wrote: »

why not?

if you have important and pertinent information, why not share it?

either its a breach of regulation or its not......

Cos alot of what i was told was off the record by RECI and i was given good info, i think you should just read between the lines or send me a pm

Ive just heard back from the council and i was told that its nothing to do with them or planning control but im getting an email from the council engineers something to the effect that the house shouldnt have been signed off on by the builders engineers!

sinnerboy

This thread is moved from Construction and Planning

Bruthal

spankmemunkey wrote: »

Hi all,

I bought a house in 2009 the house was built in the same year however the thing i noticed was the Fuse Board is mounted on a wall directly below the bath upstairs, the plug hole from the bath is about 10 inches away from the fuse board, If theres ever a leak from that bath then were fried,

It may be hard to believe, but it would be extremely unlikely anyone in the bath would be electrocuted in that scenario. Fresh water is actually a very poor conductor in electrical terms, contrary to the belief of the masses.

Electricity also arcs!

It does, but where is it going to arc to? At 230v it needs a fairly high current flow to be interrupted (circuit opened), for it to arc any more than a few mm.

Im sure theyve broken some sort of regulations there, this is a real hazard baths do leak, seal do leak if it does then me or my kids could be killed.

Sounds like cowboy work alright. But imo, there is little danger of deaths in the bath.

It still should be sorted out though.

M cebee

there's a couple of regulations on distribution boards,external influences etc. but they don't seem to me to rule it out as a location

i wouldn't fit one under a bath myself

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

i wouldn't fit one under a bath myself

No I would`t myself either, it could cause a few problems if a leak did occur alright.

2011

This does not break any of the applicable ETCI wiring regulations (ET:101).

I very much doubt that RECI or anyone else will be able to show any specific wiring regulations that are broken, all they can do is say something vague which is ultimately meaningless.

Many homes would have a radiator or some sort of piping passing over the distribution board.

cast_iron

I've seen a water pipe burst and drown a large 3 phase board.
All relevant safety devices operated as expected and no harm or great damage was caused to the electrical installation. A hair dryer and a few fuses fixed all.
Though the water damage to the surrounding area was much more difficult to fix.

I've never heard of a regulation that would stop placing the board below a bath/bathroom.

M cebee

if i remember right the 2 general rules cover the environment in which the board is installed and damage from faults in other services
if it wasn't allowed under bath/shower it would prob be mentioned specifically in the rule on locations not allowed

firlodge

muffler wrote: »

The house owner is responsible for compliance with building regulations. None of us like it but that's the way it is.

If you feel there has been a clear breach of the regs then you can of course contact your local building control dept. but from personal experience you may well be told the same thing - you are responsible or the person who built it is responsible

Hi
If a qualified person (Engineer, Architect etc with PI) has been involved (which today in Ireland has to be or else you wont' get a mortgage or a sizable loan for renovations) then you are covered as you claim off their insurance.
I am one of those people so I know all about it! - but so far so good!

2011

firlodge wrote: »

Hi
If a qualified person (Engineer, Architect etc with PI) has been involved (which today in Ireland has to be or else you wont' get a mortgage or a sizable loan for renovations) then you are covered as you claim off their insurance.
I am one of those people so I know all about it! - but so far so good!

I am one of "those people" too. Covered for what?

Bruthal

It does`t look like there is any claim to be made here anyway.

Bruthal

2011 wrote: »

Many homes would have a radiator or some sort of piping passing over the distribution board.

It probably a little more risk of water coming down from the bath, I seen a few houses where the side of the bath was not sealed great, and signs of water can be seen on ceilings below. But a lot of houses have the slight possibility of water going into the DB no matter where it is alright. But its very low risk.

sinnerboy

My own unfortunate experience of a bathroom leak is that water builds up on top of the plasterboard up to 50mm deep ! It finds the weak spot - your light fitting. Imagine going for you cornflakes to find your light fitting is raining!

If you ever find this happen to you then use a screwdriver or similar to puncture holes and "drain" your floor before it eventually collapses in a soggy mess.

There was no damage to any of my electrics afterwards btw.

OP - with respect the scene you are imaging is straight out of one of the "Final Destination" franchise of movies. There is no regulation breach and you are not in danger.

spankmemunkey

robbie7730 wrote: »

It may be hard to believe, but it would be extremely unlikely anyone in the bath would be electrocuted in that scenario. Fresh water is actually a very poor conductor in electrical terms, contrary to the belief of the masses.


It does, but where is it going to arc to? At 230v it needs a fairly high current flow to be interrupted (circuit opened), for it to arc any more than a few mm.


Sounds like cowboy work alright. But imo, there is little danger of deaths in the bath.

It still should be sorted out though.

I dont know why this was moved to the electrical thread as its a planning issue as ive said before and as said to me by RECI there are no regulations broken by placing a board in the hall, although external influences should be considered when placing a bath directly above it.
Why is it that if your in a bath and a hair dryer is thrown in with you your dead yet if your lying in a bath and it leaks onto a board below you should be fine???? why arent light switches allowed in a bathroom? why is the IP rating of a light fitting in bathroom different? why all these rules and then oh okay you can physically fit a fuse board close than you can a light switch??

The issue is probably more with the positioning of the bath, I got a response from my local council and was told more or less that it shouldnt have been signed off on, Its a self regulatory thing the fire chief signed off on the electrical plans for safety and the builders engineer signed off on the work.

Ive asked the council engineer to let me know what my options ow are.

The bath is also on a cascading wall so if the shower is used the water will run down that wall and if the seal is broken down behind the bath.

spankmemunkey

2011 wrote: »

This does not break any of the applicable ETCI wiring regulations (ET:101).

I very much doubt that RECI or anyone else will be able to show any specific wiring regulations that are broken, all they can do is say something vague which is ultimately meaningless.

Many homes would have a radiator or some sort of piping passing over the distribution board.

You dont sit naked in your radiator so if that leaks grand something trips out and fuse blows, if my kids are sitting in th ebath if cables run side by side by a pipe grand its PVC PVC and should be covered again something might trip out but go sit in your bath when it sits above a fuse board and think about how safe that feels, believe me it doesnt.

Again the positioning of the FUSE BOARD does not break any wiring laws but its the positioning of the bath that i have a problem with baths move over the years due to getting in and out, they leaks and seals break and water will get to the fuse board eventually!

spankmemunkey

sinnerboy wrote: »

This thread is moved from Construction and Planning

Its not about electrics its about planning and the positioning of a bath!!!! dont see why you moved it!