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Question regarding wiring in bathroom

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  • 10-08-2017 6:38am
    #1
    darragh o meara
    Registered Users Posts: 3,229 ✭✭✭


    Hi. I'm currently doing up the en suite bathroom in my house and I want to add a second extractor fan to the vent in the wall ( original fan vents from ceiling )

    In regards to wiring the fan I don't have a problem as the junction box for the existing fan is right over where I plan to add the new fan just on the other side of the ceiling in the attic.

    My question is this: is there a regulation saying I cannot have exposed cabling in a bathroom? I have about a 6" run to get it to the ceiling or will I need to chase the wall and bring it up that way? Leaving the cable exposed wouldn't bother me unless there is some regulation that says it can't be done like that.


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    #2
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,595 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    A couple of points:

    1) From a legal perspective electrical work such as this can only be carried out by a Registered Electrical Contractor. This is the case because it is a bathroom and therefore considered high risk.

    2) Once the cabling has sufficient mechanical protection and is installed in a way that takes account of all ambient conditions this is acceptable.

    3) Recent changes to wiring regulations for bathrooms will most likely mean that this work will be more involved than simply adding a fan. All wiring within the bathroom will have to comply with current regulations, which will mean the lights, fans etc. within the room will require RCD protection on a dedicated circuit. My understanding is that lights that are ELV (extra low voltage, so <50 volts) such as 12 volt downlighters (and 12 volt fans) do not require RCD protection.

    4) Surface run cabling in a bathroom will look horrendous.

    5) Junction boxes should be avoided! Obviously a JB in the bathroom would be a very bad bad idea and depending on the zone it is in, not permitted.


    Regardless of what is permitted the best way to tackle this is by using a REC and having no surface cabling.


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    #3
    darragh o meara
    Registered Users Posts: 3,229 ✭✭✭darragh o meara


    2011 wrote: »
    A couple of points:

    1) From a legal perspective electrical work such as this can only be carried out by a Registered Electrical Contractor. This is the case because it is a bathroom and therefore considered high risk.

    2) Once the cabling has sufficient mechanical protection and is installed in a way that takes account of all ambient conditions this is acceptable.

    3) Recent changes to wiring regulations for bathrooms will most likely mean that this work will be more involved than simply adding a fan. All wiring within the bathroom will have to comply with current regulations, which will mean the lights, fans etc. within the room will require RCD protection on a dedicated circuit. My understanding is that lights that are ELV (extra low voltage, so <50 volts) such as 12 volt downlighters (and 12 volt fans) do not require RCD protection.

    4) Surface run cabling in a bathroom will look horrendous.

    5) Junction boxes should be avoided! Obviously a JB in the bathroom would be a very bad bad idea and depending on the zone it is in, not permitted.


    Regardless of what is permitted the best way to tackle this is by using a REC and having no surface cabling.

    Hi, thanks for your advice. I appreciate that this is generally a job for a REC and I would never take a genuine job from one, however in this case I am more than qualified to fit this myself albeit my skills are in industrial electrical installation so I wouldn't have much exposure to regulations for home installations. Plus there was always an intention that there would be a fan fitted there so hence the original electrician who wired the house left a junction box just over it in the attic which is linked to the existing fan. In this case it's simply a case of connect the wires.

    Btw the junction box is in the attic not in the bathroom.

    My main concern was that there was a reason that you rarely if ever see cabling in a bathroom and if that was as a result of some regulation. I intend to get that end of the bathroom tiled in the next few months so would be hiding the cable at that stage but for now I could live with the short run of about 6" that would be on display.


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    #4
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,595 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    So where would the 6" of cable be surface run in relation to the shower / bath and sink? Obviously the further away and higher the better.

    If the bathroom is going to be tiled anyway why not chase the cable in?
    The chase will be short and it will be hidden by the new tiles.

    Am I correct in saying that the 6" is from the top of the fan to the ceiling?
    If so you could use 20mm white plastic round conduit. It would look neater, you could also use a 20mm hole saw to drill a hole in the ceiling for the conduit to slide through.

    I have not doubt that you are qualified to do this, I was just highlighting that it is an illegal act for anyone other than an REC to do this work. Qualifications or competency don't come into it, in my view this was introduced as a revenue generating exercise under the pretence that it was somehow safety related.


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