Bathroom lighting in South Glamorgan

What does new bathroom lighting cost in South Glamorgan?

Our guide range in South Glamorgan is £350–£1,100 including VAT. Prices in South Glamorgan run at about 7% below the UK guide, based on Wales labour rates.

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

Which towns do we cover in South Glamorgan?

• Cardiff
• Barry
• Penarth
• Llantwit Major

Supplies across most of South Glamorgan are moderately hard. Easy-clean glass and good-quality brassware are money well spent. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Landlords in Cardiff get an electrical certificate for new bathroom lighting, which belongs with the property's safety records.

What the job includes

• Testing and an electrical certificate for the work on completion
• 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
• Cable runs to each fitting, from the loft above or through the ceiling
• RCD protection on the lighting circuit, checked at the consumer unit and added where it is missing
• A lighting plan: number and position of downlights, mirror lighting, switches and any shaver socket

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.

Mirror lighting

An illuminated mirror or mirror cabinet lights the face from the front, which a ceiling light cannot do. Many include a demister pad and a shaver socket.

Switching

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

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 Wales

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.

Wales has its own Part P with a wider notifiable list than England, so more bathroom lighting work has to be notified. A registered electrician notifies it and gives you a certificate.