Bathroom Sockets in UK

[steffen]

How can an electrical socket above the wash basin be made legal in the UK (Scotland)?

We were puzzled that there were no electrical sockets in our newly purchased house when we moved to the UK 5 years ago. So we simply installed two sockets and a standard electric mirror cabinet (which provides light and includes further sockets, albeit type F, since we brought that one along), both directly above the washing basin in a corner of the bathroom.

Of course, we placed a 30mA RCD and a 16A automatic circuit breaker, both rail-mounted in a small PVC consumer unit, that we placed at the back of the wardrobe of the adjacent bedroom. This was all done by my father, a guild-approved master electrician in Germany with several decades of experience (in Germany).

Now I want to sell the house, but the surveyor objected that electricity is not permitted in UK bathrooms. Really? I guess that the regulations between the UK and Germany just differ somehow, but I could not find the relevant UK regulations through Google. So what do I need to do get the sockets approved? What kind of approval/qualification should I look for when hiring a UK electrician to rectify and certify the installation?

 

[acat]

Bathrooms are treated as special locations in the UK as such no sockets within 3 metres of bath to keep it simple as for an electrician must be part P registered and belong to NICEIC NAPIT or ELECSA.

Part P does not actually apply in Scotland but I would still go for the aforementioned organisations


Hope that helps


Chris

 

[Guest123]

You wont get them approved....they are not permitted in that position, BS 7671 2008 Requirements for Electrical Installations refers.

The only place a socket outlet other than a shaver socket may be located in a bathroom is a minimum of 3 meters from the boundary of zone 1 (the edge of your bath).

At the time of your install though, they were not permitted at all!!!

 

[steffen]

Thanks for the information! Apparently the wiring regulations BS 7671 2008 are not freely available online, which is why I could not find it myself.

Looks like I have to remove the sockets and the power supply for the mirror cabinet when we move out.

Apparently I also have to remove the pre-existng outdoor socket that I had repaired as well, since it is not protected by an RCD. (I found this accidentally by Googling for BS 7671 2008 now.) When we moved in, there was just a live (!) blank wire at the side of the garage, so I just mounted a PVC outdoor socket around it.

I am quite surprised that electricity is not allowed in UK bathrooms. I am 35 and never knew otherwise than having electricity available everywhere. Well, I guess after 5 years of living here I should not be surprised by such things any more - after all, all modern stuff like double-glazed windows and mixer taps are also frowned upon here. Ah, I will miss Scotland. We really had 5 good years here.

 

[Des 56]

You can change the external socket for an RCd protected socket designed for external use
You can remove the Bathroom sockets and replace with a shaver unit

Regulations vary country to country but harmonisation is progressing

If the system you have is a safe and acceptable system in Germany,you may argue the case that Bs7671 is not the sole means of complying with legislation
Wiring can be installed to another acceptable european standard

 

[Risteard]

If the system you have is a safe and acceptable system in Germany,you may argue the case that Bs7671 is not the sole means of complying with legislation
Wiring can be installed to another acceptable european standard

You couldn't however mix and match elements of BS7671 with the elements of VDE regulations that suit you, which is precisely what has happened in this case.

You must comply completely with one standard or another.

 

[steffen]

You can change the external socket for an RCd protected socket designed for external use
You can remove the Bathroom sockets and replace with a shaver unit

Thanks for the tip! Placing a shaver unit might make it easier than filling up the holes of the current socket.

If the system you have is a safe and acceptable system in Germany,you may argue the case that Bs7671 is not the sole means of complying with legislation
Wiring can be installed to another acceptable european standard

That is very interesting. Yes, my father did this up to the German standards at that time (Bathroom RCD regulations were introduced in 1984). The electrical mirror cabinet is a run-of-the-mill one from a DIY store intended for bathrooms. However, I might get in trouble for its type F socket, which is surely not permitted. So I guess I still better remove it (my wife wants to take it along, but I hoped to get rid of that one ) and the sockets to be on the safe side.

 

[steffen]

You can remove the Bathroom sockets and replace with a shaver unit

No.
According to the fact sheets provided in the sticky post in this forum, I am not even allowed to fit a shaver socket, since the placement is in Zone 1 (i.e. less than 60cm horizontally from the the washing basin). So I just remove everything then.

 

[High Tower]

Terminate in wagos and cover with blanking plates

 

[steffen]

Thanks again for the advice, but I have not seen any wagos for sale at the local DIY stores and from my supply that I had brought along, only a single one is left. I am not an electrician myself (just endured a never-ending apprenticeship during each and every school holiday ).

Anyway, I wont need luster terminals either, since I can easily remove the short piece of cable between the bathroom socket and the consumer unit in the wardrobe on the other side of the bathroom wall. So I intend to terminate the radial cable from the mains with the RCD, just as it is fitted now.

My worries about covering the removed socket was more concerned with the optical appearance. Its a washable PVC wall with a marble print, and filling up the holes for the cable and the screws with silicon might look ugly.

 

[Des 56]

No.
According to the fact sheets provided in the sticky post in this forum, I am not even allowed to fit a shaver socket, since the placement is in Zone 1 (i.e. less than 60cm horizontally from the the washing basin). So I just remove everything then.

The zones in Bathroom or shower room is measured from the bath edge or shower tray

The wash basin may or may not be inside the zones,the zone measurement does not include wash basins

 

[steffen]

The zones in Bathroom or shower room is measured from the bath edge or shower tray

The wash basin may or may not be inside the zones,the zone measurement does not include wash basins

So that means I am fine???

The standard type G double socket is just about 3m away from the closest outer point of the round corner bathtub. There is no shower in that room (not even the bathtub has a shower, only a plain tap for filling the tub).

The hand wash basin is 40cm besides and 1m underneath the socket, and toilet and bidet are closer than 3m.

So I just get an electrician that is "part P registered and belong to NICEIC NAPIT or ELECSA" (quoted from acat above), to certify that all is in order? Good!

EDIT: Damn! The distance is 2.7m. So I just fix a shaver socket then.