A bathroom renovation can be one of the ways to transform your house and add a lot of value without breaking the bank account. Our electricians have come up with some electrical things to consider and check before starting your renovation that will be helpful and save you some money.
1. Do your bathroom lighting cables have earths?
On some older houses with old wiring there tends to be no earthing throughout the lighting circuits which unfortunately means that your light fittings cannot be metal due to the risk of electrical shock. This means the fittings must be plastic or non conductive materials, and if you are planning on changing your dated single plastic light fitting in your bathroom to new modern metal down lights, this won't be possible without having your lighting rewired.
2. Are you adding or changing an electric shower ?
If you are planning on having an electric power shower in your bathroom when previously all you had was a mains pressure shower, then this is something that can possibly become quite expensive. To do this, you will need a whole new cable from you fuseboard to your bathroom. Similarly, if you are changing your electric shower to a new shower you must check if the new shower you install isn't a lot more powerful than your old shower. This is because this can also mean you will need a new cable installed for the shower, as the old shower is not large enough to take the load of the new more powerful shower.
3. Are you supplying the lights?
Chances are, the electrician who is doing the work on your bathroom will be the one supplying the materials, but just incase they aren't and you've decided to go and buy light fittings for your bathroom one thing you need to make sure of is the fittings. The fittings need to be at least IP45, but ideally IP65, rated. This means that the light fittings that you are installing will be waterproof enough to install in your bathroom and shower and will not become faulty due to water damage.
4. Do you have a bathroom fan?
One major issue in bathrooms especially if they are quite small, is the build up of steam. One of the best ways to get rid of steam is having a strong bathroom fan, and if its something you don't currently have fitted in your bathroom then its going to be something you're going to want to install in your new bathroom. This is integral to stop any water damage occurring and costing you money down the line.
5. Have you thought about extras?
Wishing you have added that extra mirror light or vanity unit after you've finished your bathroom renovation can be devastating. Make sure you think about everything you do throughout your day in the bathroom to ensure you haven't missed anything like shaver points to charge your toothbrush or underfloor heating for those cold winter mornings when you're tip toeing on the cold floor tiles.
We hope you've found everything we've mentioned in this post useful and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch with us and we would be happy to answer any queries you have.