Changing Your Bathroom Light And The Law
Changing the bathroom light in your home may be subject to the rules of the local authority and Part P legislation. Electrical work has to be carried out under the rules of BS 7671 or “The Regs” as most people will know it. The wiring regulations are now part of the building regulations and as such, are enforceable in law.
The Part P legislation requires electrical works in certain parts of your house to be carried out by an appoved electrician or to be notified to the local authority before the work commences.
If you are merely replacing a fitting that work does not need approval but where the wiring has to be altered or modified in any way the rules for notification will apply.
Why must this work be notified?
Simply for safety, the bathroom is an extremely hazardous place where electricity is concerned. A DIY botched job will present a danger to the occupier and also to any future occupier, with the present climate of “Where there is blame, there is a claim” any mishaps can cost you dear.
How Do You Notify The Work?
The simplest way is to employ a registered electrician who will carry out the work and then notify the relevant authorities that it has been done and to the correct standard. When you do employ an electrician make sure he is registered with an appropriate body to carry out domestic electrical work and ensure he or she issues you with a certificate stating the work done and the test results of that work.
Apart from the electrical safety of the actual wiring to your bathroom light there are other aspects which must be taken into account, the most important of which is the bonding of the circuit to any other circuit in the bathroom, an electrical heater for instance, and to any metalwork such as pipes and radiators.
The bathroom light may be fairly straightforward to swap out with another fitting. It may have just the one cable with a live, neutral and earth (cpc) but on many occasions there may also be wiring for an extractor fan and a loop in/loop out circuit. With this many cables it can be very confusing for someone who is not an electrician.
Our recommendation for anyone considering changing their bathroom liht is to employ an approved electrician and get it done right first time.
