Power socket in bathroom

jaguar999 · Jan 27, 2022

Hi All,
Need advise on something.
I have seen a diagrem somewhere showing that we cant have any electrical socket near the washbasin/tub etc. However when visiting my friend's house, which is a new build, I saw that the electric tap for the wash basin had a sicket just below the washbasin. Althought that area was enclosed in a fitted cabinet.
Question: is is ok to have sockets inside a fitted cupboard and within the "no sockets" zone in the bathroom?

Spoon · Jan 27, 2022

The zones are for distances from baths and showers.

As you see, depending on the distance, there is no zone for a washbasin. Also it is within a cupboard.
Personally I'm not a fan of sticking a socket there. I would have used a switched fused spur and hardwire it in that. Stops idiots plugging other stuff into it.

telectrix · Jan 27, 2022

3m from zone 1. if in an enclosed cupboard, then the 3m rule can be ignored.

buzzlightyear · Jan 27, 2022

jaguar999 said:
Ieed advise on something.
I have seen a diagrem somewhere showing that we cant have any electrical socket near the washbasin/tub etc. However when visiting my friend's house, which is a new build, I saw that the electric tap for the wash basin had a sicket just below the washbasin. Althought that area was enclosed in a fitted cabinet.
Question: is is ok to have sockets inside a fitted cupboard and within the "no sockets" zone in the bathroom?

i this post from hello hello .

Aaron b · Jan 27, 2022

I thought the enclosed clause was if it was only accessible using a tool.

timhoward · Jan 27, 2022

Aaron b said:
I thought the enclosed clause was if it was only accessible using a tool.

Firstly, I want to shake you by the hand as you have unwittingly solved a long standing mystery for me.
Until this evening, I have never managed to see what that * at the bottom of the page was referenced by. I knew the rule from the text earlier, but couldn't ever find any corresponding *'s.
I had clean glasses for once, and was sitting in the best lit chair in the house, and bingo! The two tiny specks leapt out for the first time ever. And by heck they are small! One less mystery in the world.

Ok, now that's out of the way. The tool thing is only relevant if the area in question is in zone 0, promoting it to zone 1.
There are no zones specifically relating to a wash basin (don't be confused by the hundreds of diagrams on the web showing a zone around a basin, they are all wrong!).
e.g. THIS IS WRONG:

So forget that bit completely.

Normally sockets are permitted 3m from zone 1, but the cupboard counts as a fixed partition (see 701.32.1 General) so is out of zones even if the room is small that the wash basin is within 3m of zone 1.

Aaron b · Jan 27, 2022

timhoward said:
Firstly, I want to shake you by the hand as you have unwittingly solved a long standing mystery for me.
Until this evening, I have never managed to see what that * at the bottom of the page was referenced by. I knew the rule from the text earlier, but couldn't ever find any corresponding *'s.
I had clean glasses for once, and was sitting in the best lit chair in the house, and bingo! The two tiny specks leapt out for the first time ever. And by heck they are small! One less mystery in the world.

View attachment 94375

Ok, now that's out of the way. The tool thing is only relevant if the area in question is in zone 0, promoting it to zone 1.
There are no zones specifically relating to a wash basin (don't be confused by the hundreds of diagrams on the web showing a zone around a basin, they are all wrong!).
e.g. THIS IS WRONG:
View attachment 94377
So forget that bit completely.

Normally sockets are permitted 3m from zone 1, but the cupboard counts as a fixed partition (see 701.32.1 General) so is out of zones even if the room is small that the wash basin is within 3m of zone 1.

Thanks, I was lacking the enthusiasm to pick up the regs tonight. It's not just out of zones but out of location according to that paragraph. I do wonder if that was the intent. It's logical for a boiler in a cupboard but a bit odd of a socket.