En Suite Shower room wiring

[eyeldham]

We are in the process of renovating our en suite shower room. I have done some research on good practice/regulations and wanted to know some speciifc questions.

We had a 100w electrical towel rail in the bathroom which I have discovered was wired to the lighting circuit..............deep intake of breath. I am replacing this with a centrally heated towel rail but which has an electrical element thermostatically controlled to heat the rail when the boiler doesn't run. It needs a feed obviously.

I was going to pick up the ring main for this which I assume is OK?

Does it need some sort of isolation switch?

Can it just be connected to a blanking plate which is in the shower room?

I am also going to replace/upgrade the existing extractor fan. This is currently manually switched via a pull cord. I want to wire to the light switch so that it comes on automatically.

Does this extractor need an isolating switch?

If so can that switch be within the room? We have other extractors in the house (toilet and utility and both have isolation switches in the same room - recently installed) but suggestions I have seen are that the switch should be outside the room - this would be a bit of an eyesore and more disruption.

Finally I am installing a wall mirror with shaver socket and light. It can run from the lighting circuit I assume?

Does it need an isolation switch?


Sorry for the 20 questions but read quite a lot of conflicting advice so wanted to put my specific circumstances out there for advice!

Ed

 

[cbw]

1.Ring main OK if RCD protected, I would fit a switched fused spur externally to shower room and a flex outlet plate internally.

2.Yes it does need an isolator switch, for ease a 3 pole pull cord would be ideal.

3.Yes fine on lighting circuit, isolation switch not required as built into unit, again RCD protection needed

Dont forget this is a special location and will need certificates and building control notification.

Would probably make sense to use a local Part P electrician.

 

[HandySparks]

We are in the process of renovating our en suite shower room. I have done some research on good practice/regulations and wanted to know some speciifc questions.

We had a 100w electrical towel rail in the bathroom which I have discovered was wired to the lighting circuit..............deep intake of breath. No need for deep intake of breath. A 100W heater only takes the same power as a 100W light bulb. It's quite common to find low power heaters in bathrooms on the light ing circuit.

I am replacing this with a centrally heated towel rail but which has an electrical element thermostatically controlled to heat the rail when the boiler doesn't run. It needs a feed obviously.

I was going to pick up the ring main for this which I assume is OK? Yes, but you need to make sure that it's RCD protected, either at the CU or locally.

Does it need some sort of isolation switch? Yes.

Can it just be connected to a blanking plate which is in the shower room? Probably, depending on location.

I am also going to replace/upgrade the existing extractor fan. This is currently manually switched via a pull cord. I want to wire to the light switch so that it comes on automatically.

Does this extractor need an isolating switch? It may, depending on the manufacturer's instructions. It may also need fusing.

If so can that switch be within the room? Probably, but the locations will be limited.

We have other extractors in the house (toilet and utility and both have isolation switches in the same room - recently installed) but suggestions I have seen are that the switch should be outside the room - this would be a bit of an eyesore and more disruption.

Finally I am installing a wall mirror with shaver socket and light. It can run from the lighting circuit I assume? Yes. Again the circuit needs RCD protection.

Does it need an isolation switch? Probably not.


Sorry for the 20 questions but read quite a lot of conflicting advice so wanted to put my specific circumstances out there for advice!

Ed

You don't say where you're located or whether you're an electrician (let's assume not), or who's going to do the work. If you're in England or Wales, this work will need notifying under Part P of the building regs.

Your best option would be to involve a local registered electrician at an early stage. He will be able to see the location and discuss your options. He will also be able to test the installation, as required by the wiring regs, and then notify the job to the local building control. If you say where you are, someone here may be local to you.


Edit: cbw, great minds think alike (or pretty close anyway).