Shower Switch

[andycoull]

Have refitted the bathroom and changed the side that the door opens inwards to. instead of swinging from the left as you go in it now swings from the right. The problem is that the pull cord switch is now behind the door when its open.

I have tried to get access to the light switch from above but it would mean lifting carpets and floorboards etc so I thought that I could cut a thin trough in the ceiling and run the electrics along the roof to the correct side of the door and then repair the ceiling with polyfilla or similar.

Does this make sense ??

 

[bathjobby]

Depends how far you want to move the switch and which way the existing cables run i.e. ok to cut cables back to new position (if the cables are running from that direction) but if thats not the case and the existing cables aren't long enough to reach new position, then you have a problem; all connections need to be accessible.

 

[andycoull]

It needs to move the width of the door and I hoping that there is enough cable (sods law and all) but I wont know until I have cut the roof !!

what would be the other options ??

 

[bathjobby]

Carpets and floor boards I guess. What are the chances that the wiring is running from / past the new position ! not very high I suppose, but if your feeling lucky cut a hole big enough to get your hand in adjacent to where you want the new light swith and see what you have. You can always repair the hole (put a piece of wood into the hole so it bridges across it, then screw the piece of ceiling you removed to the wood and repair the edges with plaster / artex, whatever you have).

 

[Diyisfun]

Have you considered putting the light switch outside?

 

[bathjobby]

Isn't that 'moving' it too, only further away !

 

[andycoull]

i need to measure it out exactly, but the room above is a bedroom 18ft x 12 ft and I think that the switch would be slap bang in the middle.

I guess the proper way to do this is to clear the furniture from the bedroom, lift the carpet, lift the boards, move the switch, relay the boards & carpet, move the furniture back in and repair the roof where the old was - is my lack of enthusiasm showing through ??

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Life's a b*tch, isn't it...

 

[Steve]

If the light switch has a long, easy movement with a nice click, and you can pull it easily from the side, and appearance is not important, get a hook eye, screw it into the wall on the correct side of the door, above the door, and loop the switch string through it. Easy. My grandad did this, as the lightswitch is about 2 foot from the wall for some strange reason.

 

[BenStiller]

its not ideal, but you can always run it in trunking and seal it with sillicon

 

[pdcelec]

Install it to BS 7671 and if in doubt consult a qualified electrician.

 

[andycoull]

thanks to all. gonna try to do the job tonight.

Missus is wary of lifting bedroom carpet as she thinks that it wont go down properly again. This circumvents all logical discussions about everything really. So the plan is 1) remove the current pull cord switch and check if there is enough cable to just move it across. If Mars and Jupiter are correctly aligned this will work superbly. If not it's up with carpet and floorboards etc......

Thanks Again

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Missus is wary of lifting bedroom carpet as she thinks that it wont go down properly again.

She's probably right...

 

[jtaunton]

Missus is wary of lifting bedroom carpet as she thinks that it wont go down properly again.

She's probably right...

And, if experience has taught me anything, even if you relay it perfectly she will then spend all day, every day, complaining that she can see a ridge in it and won't be happy until you have bought a new carpet and paid someone to lay it......

 

[securespark]

My missus is always going on about paying someone to lay something in the bedroom, but I don't think she mentioned carpet........