Re-locating a ceiling pull cord switch

[bp]

A quick question about fitting a ceiling pull cord switch (the type fitted in bathrooms)

There is one in my bathroom, but I want to move it, along the wall a bit (1m).

When deciding the new location do I need to fix the plastic part to a joist in the ceilin or just to the plaster. Does it need to be attached to a joist for strength is what I am wondering. Are the any kind of (legal requirments in fitting this)

I cant tell by looking at the one that is already there if it is attached to a joist or not.

To add I live in a 100 yr old house and I guess the ceiliing is not boards (most likely the lathe and plaster)

Many Thanks

Bhupesh

[Lobster]

Don't know about a legal requirement, but whereas you'd probably get away with suspending, say, a light fitting direct from a lath-and-plaster ceiling, you really wouldn't do so if there's a pull-cord involved, due to the considerable extra load it will be under.

Can't you access the space above the ceiling and see? Presumably you'll need to do so to move the cables?

If you want to position the switch somewhere where there isn't a joist above, then simply fix a noggin (short, perpendicular length of timber) between two adjacent joists, and screw the switch to the ceiling from below so the screws drive into the noggin, which takes the load.

david

[ARWadworth]

Another alternative for plasterboard ceilings is to use a circular dry lining box so that you do not have to look at a bulky switch.

Adam

[Harry Bloomfield]

bp submitted this idea :

Their is no legal requirement, however common sense dictates it must be firmly fixed. Fixing to a joist is one way, if there is a suitably located one - failing that, you could simply lay a wide flat piece of wood on top, to spread the load. A section of 12mm ply with a hole through for the cables would suffice.

[George (dicegeorge)]

i thought we're not allowed to do any wiring in bathrooms or kitchens or john prescott will come round and punch us...

how many sailors does it take to change a lightbulb?

[David Hansen]

On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:14:31 GMT someone who may be Harry Bloomfield wrote this:-

Common sense and the Wiring Regulations (the good workmanship provisions catch it nicely for a start). Following these has been a legal requirement in Scotland for a long time and this was extended to the south a few years ago.