Hollywood Mirror - Wiring...

Good evening all.

I have installed a Hollywood type mirror in my bedroom for my wife at a vanity table.

It is wall mounted and requires power for the bulbs and ambient backlight.

There is a socket directly below the location of the mirror which comes directly off the ring main. I installed that myself.

The mirror was supplied with cable and no plug... just bare wire ends.

Initially I tried feeding a spur mains cable up behind the wall; however with lathe and plaster behind the plasterboard it just would not go up. I subsequently cut a channel up the wall whilst removing the lathe plaster during the process.

I have crudely connected the mains cable spur from the socket below to the mirror flex with wago connectors and mounted the mirror on the wall.

I still have to repair the wall.

I want to neaten the whole thing up.

I am looking for suggestions.

When wall mounted as per the pictures... there is not much room behind the mirror i.e. not enough to put a socket and plug behind the mirror and maintain a flush fit to the wall. Whilst not 100% on this... I think it will be the case and will confirm when I remove it from the wall.

I wish to be able to remove the mirror if required. At present I have to switch off the power at the consumer unit as I have to break the connection at the Wago connectors and therefore exposing mains wiring. I want the removal to be easier than having to do this.

Is my only option to put a mains socket further up the wall as a spur from the double socket below?

Also if the wall is to be repaired with plaster would it be recommended to put some sort of channel into the wall to house the wires before plastering?

Thanks in advance.

Gordon

 

PLEASE stop, what you have done so far is incredibly dangerous!

You absolutely cannot just connect what is likely to be 0.5mm² CSA flex directly to a ring final circuit which is likely protected by a 32a MCB.

Your spur from the socket below needs to terminate into a SFCU (Switched Fused Connection Unit) with a 3amp (max) fuse in it and the flex connects into this. This will give greater protection to the cables and appliance.

Although it is difficult to see without an in focus picture of the socket it looks to me as though that socket is already a spur as it is only supplied by a single 2.5mm² T+E - I might be wrong, an in focus shot of the socket would help though.

I would suggest gaining a thorough understanding of protective devices and good electrical circuit design or get a professional to assist.

 

You could, of course, install a "Recessed Socket Outlet" behind the mirror, if one were available to conform with BS 1363, and use a fused plug to connect the light fitting to it.

(Such recessed socket outlets are available in other countries to suit their wiring practices.)

The only one which seems to be available for the UK market is https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syncbox-Direct-Recessed-covered-solution-WHITE/dp/B012DRCGFE but the "gap" for the Media Cables is unnecessary in your case and the price seems to be somewhat ridiculous.

 

Hello.

Thanks for replying and pointing out the error of my ways.

You may or may not believe but I knew in myself it was not right and needed correcting... hence my post... I was not happy with how it was left.

The double socket below is a spur via a junction box - see image attached - that is how its wired.

So it seems I cannot take a spur from the socket below as that is already classed as a spur via a junction box from the ring main.

So what is my option then to power this mirror?

 

a simple and safe way would be to put a piece of conduit in the wall from the hole behind the mirror to just above the socket, then replaster and then feed the mirror light cable through the conduit, put a plug on the cable and plug it in. not ideal but relatively quick and easy.
could we have some pics of the back of the light in case there is a space for a socket/ fcu/cable outlet.
are the walls stud walls? if so consider replacing the existing socket box with one of thesehttps://www.toolstation.com/appleby-dry-lining-boxes/p86800 and fit a fcu in the single space and wire the mirror from the fcu ie
https://www.toolstation.com/click-mode-13a-fused-spur/p89865 and change the fuse to a 3A
fit a single box at the top of the conduit and if you want to neaten it up put a blank plate over the box with the cable to the mirror coming from the edge of the blank plate(most blank plates have thick enough edges to allow for a small cut out to be made to let a cable out.)
easy to do difficult to easily put into words

 

You have two options...

Add the spur to the ring so you can then spur from it

or

Convert the spur to a FCU and then run your double socket and a second SFCU from it to fuse down the supply for the appliance.