boiler in shower room

[Gaz TFA]

oi oi,
We have just bought a new place. And we're currently talking about which rooms are gonna be what, theres a small room that used to be a kitchen, it isn't big enough for a bedroom but it's upstairs so we thought shower room. However, the combi boiler is in a cupboard in the room, is this safe or even legal to have this as a shower room?

cheers big ears

 

[ogoshi]

If it has a balanced flue or a fanned flue then yes its safe+legal(but have a service+safety check first).
If its an open flue then no,not safe or legal for a bathroom.(but i dont know of any open flued combis,but there might be some out there somewhere.)
hope this helps.

 

[Gaz TFA]

thanks ogoshi,
the chimney comes up from the top of the unit and goes through a panel in the wall to outside, so iguess this is alright, right?

cheers again ';..;'

 

[Ant]

What about the electrical connections to the boiler - could these may be a problem if it is a shower room? Maybe not but it is worth checking out first.

 

[Gaz TFA]

WELL, the boiler itself is in a cupboard and the electrics are fairly new, the room in question (that is gonna be the shower room) used to be a kitchen so the electrics shoud be fine in these surroundings shouldnt they ?

 

[breezer]

The regulations used to say something like " you can NOT have any electrcal outlet in a bathroom / shower room............." there are exceptions. shaver socket as it is a transformer and as such is "isolated" from the mains and pull cord switches. It used to be that you could have a switch at least one metre away from the bath (which you can't do in most bathrooms )

I should remove / blank off any sockets to be on the safe side.

the odd thing was that you could not have a socket in the bathroom as it prevented anyone unpluging any thing while they were wet, then some one invented the cheap extension lead.

To be on the safe side i would as i mentioned remove / blank off any sockets

also you now have to bond everthing to earth (basically that means connecting a 6mm earth wire to it and running it back to the main incoming earth.)

But lets see what others say.

 

[sifu]

The data badge or manual of the boiler may have either an IP or drip rating (IP is newer) indicating the level of protection against ingress of dirt or water. This is defined here

http://www.plasa.org/standards/faq/faq.asp?FAQID=1012830314

The IEE Regs (BS 7671) defines 4 zones (0 to 3) within a bathroom. As a rough guide, if your boiler, including it's fused spur, is >=3m from the edge of a bath, shower or basin, or >=3.6m from a demountable shower head (i.e. outside zone 3) then it is OK. Within this I think the appliance must be rated IPX4 or above depending on distance. If the boiler is >=0.6m from the edge of a bath, shower or basin, or >=1.2m from a demountable shower head, but within Zone 3 (i.e. Zone 2) then it must be installed within a cupboard, screwed shut and I think rated IPX5 (protection against jets of water). 3m above bath is also ok. Anywhere else is not permitted.
If you need to build a compartment to bring up to regs then most boilers need high and low level ventillation.
I'm not 100% certain about these regs as they are fairly difficult to interpret, so the best bet is to make sure the boiler can't be touched from the shower and is enclosed in a cupboard if it is within Zone 3, or contact an electrician.

 

[masona]

breezer's

The regulations used to say something like " you can NOT have any electrcal outlet in a bathroom / shower room............."

One thing I always wanted to know is,how come spanish or others country get away with socket & wall light switch in the bathroom with condensation on the wall when using a hairdryer !!!! Never heard of anyone having a electric shock yet !!!

 

[breezer]

dont think if it happened it would make the head lines, perhaps it is because we are more strict regarding our regs than they are.

 

[MANDATE]

You may like to know that 'Wickes' Leaflet No 83 on Basic Electrics covers bathrooms and rooms containing shower cubicles.
It also gives details of the zones and shows diagrams to help you get a better understaning.