Installing electronics in wall cavity - Regulations?

[Fredde87]

Hey guys,

This is at very early planning stages, but I am looking into the feasibility of installing a smart bathroom mirror TV.

What I am looking at is installing a monitor/TV behind a two way mirror.

It would be further than 60cm away from the bathroom tap so I believe it counts as being outside of zone 2.

My thought is to cut out a square in the wall (tiles+plasterboard), recess a 15" monitor and then install a two way mirror on top of it, sealing the edges (flush with the existing tiles).

Signal and power would actually come out on the other side of the stud wall (which is the living room). So it would not actually be fed from the bathroom itself.

Technically I guess monitor would actually be installed in the wall cavity as the two way mirror would act as the wall for the bathroom.

Obviously ventilation is a concern, so I am looking at a monitor that is 12V fed and has a external power supply to generate as little heat as possible from the monitor itself.
I'd obviously have to do some testing before hand to see how much heat the monitor generates. But I am hoping the majority of the heat will be from the power supply which will be located in the living room.

As I have a smart home I am planning for the monitor to only be powered on when someone is in the bathroom, so the monitor won't be on 24/7. I will probably use a PIR sensor so that it is switched on based on movement and only stay on for a certain amount of time.

Worst case if ventilation is in a issue, then I can add some air extraction from the living room side of the wall into the stud wall.

My question is really with all this in mind, are there any regulations I should be aware of in regards to installing electronics in the wall cavity?

 

[Midwest]

Why not just purchase a product (tv) designed for that environment?

 

[MisterE]

If you create the opening in the wall then close the cavity all round, it would no longer be a cavity but a cupboard (or like a serving hatch but with one side permanently closed by the mirror.
(I'm resisting asking why you would want such a setup )
Are you thinking of using a "de-misting" setup for the two way mirror?

I'll leave the more knowledgeable to answer the regulation issues.

 

[telectrix]

2 way mirrors-bathroom... pervs R us

 

[Fredde87]

If you create the opening in the wall then close the cavity all round, it would no longer be a cavity but a cupboard (or like a serving hatch but with one side permanently closed by the mirror.
(I'm resisting asking why you would want such a setup )
Are you thinking of using a "de-misting" setup for the two way mirror?

I'll leave the more knowledgeable to answer the regulation issues.

I did consider having it as a hatch but the problem then is it wont be watertight and not suitable for the bathroom.
Would it really be classed as a cupboard/hatch even if the mirror is flush with the tiles and sealed with silicon?

The reasoning for it is because I want to connect a Raspberry Pi to it and us it as a smart mirror to show my calendar appointments, train departure board, news feed, stock updates etc. It is more a hobby than a necessity though!

I did think about fitting heating pads to the mirror at the same time. But I don't know if the heat they generate will be bad for the monitor and also I believe they have to be fed from the lighting circuit by law so I would require a qualified electrician to come and pull new cables etc. Wouldn't be a easy cable pull either...

2 way mirrors-bathroom... pervs R us

Funnily enough they didn't actual name the store that

 

[Midwest]

How much money you got to spend?

 

[mhar]

I have just put one in (for a customer). Looks like a mirror at the end of the bath. It has a 12V supply so I put an sfcu the non bathroom side of the wall and beside this we put an internal ledge for the psu with an access hatch. Plenty of ventilation to stop the psu getting warm

 

[MisterE]

"I did consider having it as a hatch but the problem then is it wont be watertight and not suitable for the bathroom."

I was thinking that the access would be from the lounge side, not the bathroom side.

 

[Midwest]

Just a quick Google search reveals several companies that make such suitable products. I would purchase one of these, designed to be installed in bathrooms, rather than making one up yourself; although I also see some web sites demonstrating how to DIY one yourself.

Bathroom TV: 19 - 42 Inch Waterproof Televisions & Speakers - https://www.bathroomtv.co.uk/
Mirrorvue Smart Touch Mirror. - http://www.evervuetv.com/smartmirror.html

 

[littlespark]

Your biggest issue is going to be the condensation. Temperature difference between bathroom and living room side. You might get the glass misting up. (install a double glazed unit perhaps?)

Bathroom zones don't come into it, in my opinion. Cables behind a sealed mirror, or behind the plasterboard walls, same thing.
Can't touch it with wet hands, can't be a problem.

As others have said, there are products on the market that do this, but I can see you want to do it the DIY route. Why not, if you've got a spare TV/monitor and are handy with joinery work.

 

[Midwest]

Your biggest issue is going to be the condensation. Temperature difference between bathroom and living room side. You might get the glass misting up. (install a double glazed unit perhaps?)
.

The products I linked have demisting glass screens

 

[Fredde87]

"I did consider having it as a hatch but the problem then is it wont be watertight and not suitable for the bathroom."

I was thinking that the access would be from the lounge side, not the bathroom side.

Sorry, yeah that makes more sense. That is a option I did think about, only issue is that it probably won't look great in the living room. But I guess I could hang something in front of it.

Just a quick Google search reveals several companies that make such suitable products. I would purchase one of these, designed to be installed in bathrooms, rather than making one up yourself; although I also see some web sites demonstrating how to DIY one yourself.

Thanks, I've seen existing solutions and use them at work but part of the fun is doing it yourself on a cheap budget

Your biggest issue is going to be the condensation. Temperature difference between bathroom and living room side. You might get the glass misting up. (install a double glazed unit perhaps?)

I did think about this too. But condensation forms on the hot/moist side right? So condensation should only ever form on the bathroom mirror's side that faces the bathroom as thats where the hot moist air is?

Bathroom zones don't come into it, in my opinion. Cables behind a sealed mirror, or behind the plasterboard walls, same thing.
Can't touch it with wet hands, can't be a problem.

Yeah I agree that it shouldn't come into it. I am just playing it safe in case the insurance company thinks otherwise

 

[littlespark]

I remember a nightclub in Dundee where they had TV's installed behind a glass trough type urinal. Each with a different sports channel on.
You could stand and p*ss on your least favourite team

 

[Fredde87]

I remember a nightclub in Dundee where they had TV's installed behind a glass trough type urinal. Each with a different sports channel on.
You could stand and p*ss on your least favourite team

Haha I could, but I would be peeing in the sink then!

But that could be the next project, LCD screen built into the toilet bowl!

 

[Paul Ellis]

Due to the amount of light that is typically in a bathroom, how well would you be able to see the screen through the batter-lit 2 way mirror?