Bathroom lighting on Merseyside

What does new bathroom lighting cost on Merseyside?

Our guide range on Merseyside is £350–£1,150 including VAT. Prices on Merseyside run at about 6% below the UK guide, based on North West England labour rates.

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

Which towns do we cover on Merseyside?

• Liverpool
• Birkenhead
• St Helens
• Southport
• Wallasey
• Bootle
• Bebington
• Huyton
• Kirkby
• Prescot
• Heswall
• Maghull
• Newton-le-Willows
• Golborne
• Formby
• Litherland
• Speke
• Garston
• Halewood
• Moreton
• Haydock
• Hunts Cross
• Allerton

Water across much of Merseyside is soft. That leaves you free to choose matt black, brushed brass or clear glass without worrying much about limescale. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If your Liverpool bathroom has one central light, adding downlights and a mirror light is usually the change you notice most.

What the job includes

• A lighting plan: number and position of downlights, mirror lighting, switches and any shaver socket
• Testing and an electrical certificate for the work on completion
• IP-rated fittings chosen for each zone, with IP65 downlights over the bath or shower
• Cable runs to each fitting, from the loft above or through the ceiling
• Fire-rated downlights or fire hoods where the ceiling has to keep its fire resistance
• A ceiling pull-cord or a switch outside the room, with separate switching for mirror and feature lights

Decisions to make first

Feature lighting

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

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.

Integrated or replaceable LED

Integrated LED downlights are slimmer and fully sealed. Fittings with replaceable lamps let you change brightness or colour later.

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.

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.