Recessing a light pull switch into plaster coving
- Thread starter Alexnh
- Start date
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So... can it be a wall switch?
Two pull switches next to each other never look good.
A holesaw on the coving would work, as long as the pilot is long enough.
Be aware that occasionally cables can be routed behind coving.
Two pull switches next to each other never look good.
A holesaw on the coving would work, as long as the pilot is long enough.
Be aware that occasionally cables can be routed behind coving.
Do you need separate switches for the light and the fan or could they come on together?
Could you move the switch(es) further in to the room so the strings aren’t in the path of the door?
Could you move the switch(es) further in to the room so the strings aren’t in the path of the door?
Put the switch in the wall, in the bathroom.
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It could be a wall switch but it could be a bit confusing for visitors as to which switch was which. Not a huge issue I guess they'd work it out pretty quick. If I do use the hole saw i might need to get a longer pilot.
Not necessarily but my preference is to have them come on separately to avoid the fan noise when the shower is not being used. A humidity sensing fan might be a way around this.
A waterproof switch? Is it in the right zone/far enough away from the shower which is on the other side of that stud wall.
Wall switch is permitted in a bathroom provided it's at least 60cm from the edge of the bath or shower.
No.
It isn't.
I thought electricians were loathe to put wall switches in bathrooms despite the permission in the regs.
I don't follow you re the humidistat fan, but I don't know much about them. I couldn't leave it on all the time or switched on with the light but it would only start if it was damp enough?
I don't follow you re the humidistat fan, but I don't know much about them. I couldn't leave it on all the time or switched on with the light but it would only start if it was damp enough?
I would say there is some truth in that - many will not do it even when they are allowed to.
I have a pull cord light switch where you would expect to find one inside the bathroom door, a fan that is permanently wired and works through a humidistat with another pull cord in the corner where the WC is to start the fan manually if required. When showering, the fan comes on automatically until a certain humidity is reached when it switches off. I also have the option of pulling the fan cord to switch the fan on and then once again straight away to turn it off but it will run on the fan timer for a set period before it switches off. The pull switch for the fan has a neon 'power on' light to let you know it’s status. Both the humidistat and the timer are adjustable.
On the OP's two pull switches, couldn’t the pull cords be threaded through a couple of eyes screwed into the wall to keep the cords in the sort of position they would be in if the switches were where the coving is?
On the OP's two pull switches, couldn’t the pull cords be threaded through a couple of eyes screwed into the wall to keep the cords in the sort of position they would be in if the switches were where the coving is?
They require constant adjustment and rarely work as intended.
Humidity changes all the time due to weather and other factors, and depending on the setting of the fan it may never switch off or never switch on.
Extracting air from a room doesn't necessarily lower the humidity, it depends entirely on the air entering the room to replace what's extracted.
Using a shower will increase the humidity substantially, a bath less so, and other activities probably not at all.
There is only a shower in this bathroom, no bath, and removing moisture when it is being used is the primary reason for running the fan, odour control being the other less common need.
I will have a look at other means of triggering the fan automatically when the shower is used, e.g. flow or water temperature sensors, then probably reject them due to cost and hassle of fitting them!
I will have a look at other means of triggering the fan automatically when the shower is used, e.g. flow or water temperature sensors, then probably reject them due to cost and hassle of fitting them!
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You shouldn't recess surface mount switches. You'll only make life awkward for the next person and it will probably need to be smashed out with a hammer. And have observations about it during periodic inspection.
Nonsense. Both the switch plate and cover remain readily accessible because they're accessed from the face/below. Yes, the wall side/inner side of the mount is a little below the surface of the coving but so what? Nothing prevents you accessing or indeed removing any part of the switch, inspecting it or replacing it in the future. Don't see where the need to smash anything with a hammer comes into it, an invention on your part I think.
Not sure what 'periodic inspections' you are talking about, it's my home, nobody is coming round to inspect it unless I pay them to do it! If I or an electrician want to have a look at the switch we would simply unscrew it and inspect it because, well, see above.
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You're the one talking nonsense. I'm highly qualified. You are not.
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