Bathroom lighting in Dorset

What does new bathroom lighting cost in Dorset?

Our guide range in Dorset is £350–£1,200 including VAT.

Guide prices for Dorset including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.

Which towns do we cover in Dorset?

• Bournemouth
• Poole
• Weymouth
• Christchurch
• Ferndown
• Dorchester
• Wimborne Minster

Most of Dorset has hard water. We plan easy-clean glass, rimless toilets and finishes that do not show limescale. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Bathroom lighting in Bournemouth is wired to BS 7671 with RCD protection, tested, and certified when it is finished.

What the job includes

• Testing and an electrical certificate for the work on completion
• A ceiling pull-cord or a switch outside the room, with separate switching for mirror and feature lights
• Cable runs to each fitting, from the loft above or through the ceiling
• A lighting plan: number and position of downlights, mirror lighting, switches and any shaver socket
• RCD protection on the lighting circuit, checked at the consumer unit and added where it is missing
• Fire-rated downlights or fire hoods where the ceiling has to keep its fire resistance

Decisions to make first

Downlight positions

Evenly spaced downlights give flat, general light. Placing one over the shower and one over the basin puts the light where you actually use it.

Feature lighting

LED strips in niches, under a wall-hung vanity or along a plinth give enough light for night-time without full glare.

Colour temperature

Warm white, around 3000 K, feels softer; cool white, around 4000 K, is crisper for shaving and make-up. Mixing the two in one room looks uneven.

Switching

A pull-cord inside, a switch outside the door or a motion sensor. Dimmers need LED fittings that are compatible with them.

Rules that apply in England

BS 7671 sets the rules for bathroom electrics across the UK. Every circuit in a room with a bath or shower needs 30 mA RCD protection. Zone 0 is inside the bath or shower tray and needs IPX7 fittings; zone 1 is above it up to 2.25 m and needs at least IPX4, or IPX5 where water jets are used; zone 2 extends 0.6 m out from zone 1, where IPX4 is recommended. Sockets other than shaver supply units must be at least 3 m from the zone 1 boundary.

In England, Part P makes a new circuit, a consumer unit replacement and any addition or alteration to circuits in a room with a bath or shower notifiable. The work must be done by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme or notified to building control. Replacing a light fitting like for like is not usually notifiable, but it still has to meet BS 7671.