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albacridhe

Good Morning,

I'm hoping for some advice on a bathroom electrical installation. I am not an electrician and wont be doing the electrical work...

My electrician has gone on holiday for a couple of weeks so I can't ask him my questions, in the meantime I'm trying to get as much of the building work done as I can before he comes to do his bits and just would like some rough advice on how much I could do without causing him or me a problem when he gets there (like covering up too much and having to re-do things)

The job is a shower/WC room. Existing electrics comprise of a single light in the centre of the ceiling and a single extract fan. There is a single switch on the outside of the room which operates both - not planning to change this. Its top floor so can access above the ceiling from the loft.

The proposed installation is for 3 recessed down-lights, a new extract and an LED mirror with shaving socket.

Where the mirror is going I have put up studs and will have plasterboard screwed on (not skimmed over) so we can take it of and I guess run a wire from the ceiling. - 1st question is on this: where would the power for the mirror/ shaver come from? When we spoke before he said it could come from the lighting ring - is that right?

2nd question - if the shaver/ mirror comes from the lighting ring does that mean we need to modify / change the light switch outside the room and chase out for new wires (if so then I will hold off on re-plastering that wall. We would want the LED mirror light/ shaver to work whether that switch is on or off.

Wont be touching the ceiling till he's back.

I appreciate you might not be able to give a full answer, since you cant see it (and my description might not be the best) just an educated guess will be better than mine.

Thanking you in advance.
 
Hi and welcome :)

Firstly why would you question the electricians decision to supply the mirror light and shaver supply from the lighting circuit. Secondly depending on the type of mirror fitting supplied you might not need to change the existing switching.
 
Does the LED mirror have a switch fitted to it or do you intend to switch it on from outside the room? If the latter then don't re-plaster the wall.
What does the shaver manufacturer instructions say about installing it? Does it differ from what the electrician is saying?
 
Hi Spoon/ Sintra

Thanks for the replies

First off I'm not "questioning" the Electricians decision, I think you have misunderstood my question here, I'm merely recalling what he said to me and relaying it in case I misheard or misunderstood - since I can't contact him right now. If, to you, it seems there's nothing wrong, in principle with going from the lighting circuit then I guess I recalled correctly, which would be great then he can drop down a from the ceiling inside the new wall.

I haven't purchased the mirror itself yet but the ones I'm looking at have their own switch or sensor, we wouldn't want to switch it on from the switch outside.
 
Sorry me again, just wondering if the mirror is fed from the lighting circuit, does that mean that the light switch would need to be in an "on" position for it to work or it would still turn on even if the lights are off. :dunce2:
 
Most lights have a 'perminant live' and a 'switch live' near/on the fitting. I'm sure your electrician has sorted this out. You should be able to switch the mirrow light on whenever you like. It would be stupid otherwise...
 
Sorry me again, just wondering if the mirror is fed from the lighting circuit, does that mean that the light switch would need to be in an "on" position for it to work or it would still turn on even if the lights are off. :dunce2:

A mirror light with in-built sensor will just require a permanent live feed, and you switch it on by waving your hand near the sensor. Operates independently of the main lights.

The last 2 of these I installed (different brands, different customers) were faulty, only yesterday the one I installed had a sensor switch that lasted a few seconds then went up in smoke. The previous one, due to a combination of poor design and rough handling, the sensor module and LED transformer had both come away from the housing inside. If you buy one of these, inspect it fully and carefully after delivery, within the timescale allowed before you can't complain - if possible, power it up.
 
Last edited:
Thanks SJD, you aren't the first to have a problem with these sensor lights, couple of people I know have warned me off, might have to just go for a normal mirror with lights above and a separate shaver socket!

Thanks for all the advice.
 

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