Removing pull cord in bathroom and replacing with switch on outside wall

[Ivanm]

hi there
i have two bathrooms in our house one with a pull cord operating the lights and fan and the other with a switch on the outside wall operating the lights and fan, my question is can the pull cord be changed to a switch, the pull cord is very close to the wall where the switch would be placed, there is already an isolation switch on the wall.
any advice would be great
Ivan

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Pull cords offer more protection from electric shock in a bathroom. They are the only mains switch allowed in bathrooms.
Why do you need to change it?

You'd need to have the switch outside the bathroom.

 

[Ivanm]

Hi there
The pull switch is quite noisy and my other bathroom has a switch on the outside wall, so wanted to do something similar, the pull cord is very near the wall so I was thinking I could transfer the wires from the pull cord to the new switch on the outside wall

 

[Doghouse Riley]

I see

That's possible.

 

[Ivanm]

thanks for the confirmation

 

[He who knows]

They are the only mains switch allowed in bathrooms.

Not true in the UK.

Do we know where Ivan is?

 

[He who knows]

the pull cord is very near the wall so I was thinking I could transfer the wires from the pull cord to the new switch on the outside wall

Will they reach?

Which country are you in?

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Not true in the UK.

Do we know where Ivan is?

Well you can have shaver outlet.

But the regulations re power are to prevent a situatiom lile where "James Bond electricuted someone in a bath by chucking an electric fire in it."

 

[He who knows]

If Ivan is in the UK, and he had the wall switch inside the bathroom, do you know what zone it would be in?

What have electric fires got to do with light switches?

 

[Doghouse Riley]

If Ivan is in the UK, and he had the wall switch inside the bathroom, do you know what zone it would be in?

What have electric fires got to do with light switches?

Nothing, I used the example as a joke to demonstrate the dangers of electricity in a bathroom. My original point was that pull switches in bathrooms are safer than wall switches, they are typically used for lights and in bathrooms were used for high mounted small wall heaters. In typical bathtooms the light switch is mounted on the wall outside the bathroom, which is what I suggested.

 

[He who knows]

They are indeed typically used, but it would have to be a very poky bathroom for a wall switch to not be allowed.

If Ivan would rather have his outside than in then that's fine, but if he would rather have it inside if he can then we need to know how far it would be from the bath/shower.

Plus the wires from the existing pull switch will almost certainly not reach a switch on the wall, so there's the issue of joins to consider, and the issue of whether the circuit is RCD protected if he wants to bury the wires in the wall.

 

[Ivanm]

Thanks everyone I am in the uk and the switch has been put on an outside wall and all working,
What would your recommendations be for a quite extractor fan if there is such a thing
Thanks

 

[He who knows]

Any fan which works well is going to be noisy. Although a wall one ought not to be very audible when the door is closed.

Why do you want a quiet one? Can I guess...

a pull cord operating the lights and fan

Someone uses the room at night and the fan disturbs people?

You do know that you don't have to have the fan linked to the lights?

 

[Ivanm]

Hi thanks for the reply as you suggest we could just turn it off but as it vents into the loft would that not cause a problem

 

[He who knows]

Dear god - I sincerely hope it doesn't vent directly into the loft. Into a duct running through the loft to the outside is fine, but directly into the loft space is very much not fine, as the warm damp air from the bathroom will condense up there, and your roof timbers could well rot.

If it does vent directly into the loft then turning it off and leaving it off until you've got it ducted to the outside is what you should do.

If there's a duct through the loft, why would turning the fan off when you don't need it on cause a problem?

 

[Ivanm]

The house is only 5 years old and it vents into the roof space, which apparently does meet building regs or so I am told, in terms of turning it off I thought like you that it would cause condensation

 

[Ivanm]

all is well just had a look in the loft and the pipe to the vent in the roof has fallen off so just need to get up and replace, then i can ether leave the fan off or find a quite one if indeed they exsist

 

[He who knows]

The house is only 5 years old and it vents into the roof space, which apparently does meet building regs or so I am told

It absolutely does not.

in terms of turning it off I thought like you that it would cause condensation

It's having it running which causes condensation up there, not turning it off.

Think about it - your loft is unheated, and in winter it is cold up there. What happens when warm steamy air meets something cold?

My original comment was re not having the fan running simply because you'd turned the lights on and weren't bathing/showering.

 

[He who knows]

all is well just had a look in the loft and the pipe to the vent in the roof has fallen off so just need to get up and replace, then i can ether leave the fan off or find a quite one if indeed they exsist

You don't need the pipe there to be able to turn the fan off, you need it there to be able to turn it on.

Ceiling fans can easily cause noise problems, as the ceiling acts like a sounding board. Ones in the wall are better. You might find it quieter if you can fix one to the joists using vibration-deadening mounts.

But if you only use the fan when bathing/showering, will it any longer be a problem?

 

[He who knows]

The house is only 5 years old and it vents into the roof space, which apparently does meet building regs or so I am told

But it doesn't (as in by design, supposed to) vent into the roof space. It's only doing that at the moment because the vent pipe has come adrift. It is supposed to vent to the outside, and that does of course comply with the regs.

Is there a condensation trap in the vent pipe?