Proper Position of Bathroom Light Switch?

[aprilgail]

Inside for sure! Outside is just weird- I have one friend who has a very old house and theirs is outside the bathroom and it is just odd to me- and I certainly would not want it outside if there are siblings in the family, that is just asking for trouble. Ours is right inside the door, no issue finding it.

 

[ronandannette]

On a positive note, if my bathroom light switch was on the outside it would remind me of being on a cruise ship - they’re always on the outside.

Switch and plug placement is largely determined by building code, which can have several levels of jurisdiction; here for example it’s federal/provincial/local. The codes generally never contravene one another but for any differences, local supersedes the first two levels of authority. This would account for why different Canadian cities seem to have different “norms”. At work today I’m going to confirm what code requirements (if any) determine where the bathroom light switches go.

 

[smiths02]

When we built our house we weren't asked about that. All of ours are inside. Actually all the closets are too with exception to one of the closets that isn't a true walk-in and doesn't have a light.

Wonder if there is a building code at all related to it for new builds? Just thinking out loud maybe that would solve the argument right then and there lol.

I don't know anything about building code, but what I read was something to do with how showers are situated. I guess it makes sense for my in-laws that one bathroom is on the inside and one is on the outside based on bathroom configuration.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Google it and see if you get the same thing I did.

If you want to provide the link, go for it. Otherwise, given that I currently live in a home with 220 and bathroom switches inside the bathroom, I am pretty confident that i KNOW it is legal and allowed in super safety conscious Germany.

 

[tvguy]

If you want to provide the link, go for it. Otherwise, given that I currently live in a home with 220 and bathroom switches inside the bathroom, I am pretty confident that i KNOW it is legal and allowed in super safety conscious Germany.

There isn't a link. Just type "should light switches be inside or outside bathrooms" in Google and it will come up at the very top

 

[PollyannaMom]

My previous house had 1 switch in each room that didn't seem to do anything. After a few months I figured them out. They were wired to wall outlets so you could plug in lamps and control them with the switch. Only 1 of each of the switched outlets were done that way with the one on top being switched while the bottom one was always powered.

We have one of those in our living room and it drove me nuts until the year I put the Christmas tree near it and used it to my advantage! (Before I figured it out, I was just annoyed that my radio wouldn't work there!)

A friend on mine has both - a switch outside the bathroom for the ceiling light, and a switch inside the bathroom for the mirror light (...I think. I still mix them up sometimes!)

 

[Southernmiss]

What would putting switches on the outside wall do for future resale of the home? I'd have to think that would be a potential turn off for buyers.

 

[msjprincess]

Inside. I've never seen a light outside. Like others have said I could see people turning off the light while someone is in there. If I was a guest in someone's house I would probably be searching the bathroom walls in the dark looking for a switch. I would never think to look outside. LOL

 

[luvsJack]

If they don't like where they put it, they can always change it. I mean the wires will be there, just got to switch it to the other side of the wall. Dad never moved their's that was in a bad spot because it would have meant putting the wiring on a whole different wall but if it just means going from one side (out side the room) the other (inside the room) its not that big of a deal.

 

[NHdisneylover]

There isn't a link. Just type "should light switches be inside or outside bathrooms" in Google and it will come up at the very top

So you can't post the link to what was pulled up in your search? when I cut and pasted that into google it did pull up a Quora link first:

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-bathrooms-light-switch-usually-located-outside-the-bathroom

Not that quora is a particularly iron clad source. There are some random people there whose answers indicate that in the UK bathroom switches are on the outside and say it is becuase the UK is on 220---but they are just that, random people, saying what the believe to be the case with no qualification.
Again, I currently live in a home with 220 and switches inside the bathroom (and also outlets). If you want to keep believing that it's illegal worldwide and nothing modern electrical systems can handle safely, go right ahead. Meanwhile, I will keep living in my fully inspected home which has light switches and outlets inside the bathroom over here in some alternate reality.

 

[DLgal]

I have always, always wondered why double sinks are a thing. If it’s just for separating counter space couldn’t you just..get a longer counter with a single sink?

Well, usually it's to account for a man shaving and their partner being able to use the second sink to brush teeth, wash face, or also shave at the same time. We have had double sinks in 3 homes, and a single sink once. Having the single sink was annoying when my husband and I were trying to both get ready in the morning at the same time and he needed to shave. I would go and use our second bathroom.

 

[NHdisneylover]

We decided to forgo the second sink in our master bath in favour of a double shower---we found we spent more time waiting for a chance to get in the shower than for a chance to use the sink.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We decided to forgo the second sink in our master bath in favour of a double shower---we found we spent more time waiting for a chance to get in the shower than for a chance to use the sink.

That's solved by two showerheads in a shower with enough room for two people (maybe not huge huge shower but def. enough room for two)

We actually custom raised my husband's showerhead because of his height and then left mine at standard height.

ETA: By double shower do you mean two seperate showers OR do you mean two showerheads inside 1 shower? I may have misunderstood your comment lol.

 

[BLAZEY]

Well, let’s see how many Canadians I can remember from these boards. @ronandannette
@BLAZEY @Frozen Canuck @CdnCarrie @rodeo65 @Teresa Pitman @NFLDERS @mombrontrent @lisaviolet (I think you’re Canadian) whats your norm? Switches inside or outside the bathroom?

Please, add anyone I have forgotten or am unaware of. I know there’s another one, but I’m pretty sure she got banned for life.

If we need answers, we go to the source.

As an aside, @mombrontrent i wish I could figure out your name. I always remember it as mom to Brent and of course can never find it LOL

We have 3 bathrooms, the 2 upstairs the switch is inside the bathroom. The bathroom downstairs the light switch is outside. Our house was built in 1977. The house I grew up in built in 1985 all 3 bathrooms have the switch inside the bathroom.

 

[Skellingtonj]

I have lived in several homes and have never, ever seen bathroom light switches on the outside wall. That seems so bizarre.

Inside wall all the way.

Same. And the “I don’t want to feel around for the switch” argument is lame. It’s always in the same spot.

 

[NHdisneylover]

That's solved by two showerheads in a shower with enough room for two people (maybe not huge huge shower but def. enough room for two)

We actually custom raised my husband's showerhead because of his height and then left mine at standard height.

ETA: By double shower do you mean two seperate showers OR do you mean two showerheads inside 1 shower? I may have misunderstood your comment lol.

Yep, you pretty well desctibe our shower. it's about 1 meter by 2.5 meters with a door in the middle of the long glass walll (which divies it from the rest of the bathroom---otherwise the other three walls are all also bathrom walls and fully tiled) and a shower head on either short end---both have adjustable height poles but one is still moundeted higher than the other becuase DH is a full foot taller than me. we had triangular shleves built into each back corner--one high enough to set toiletries on and one to put a foot on for shaving, etc and mounted soap, shampoo and conditioner dispensers in the middle of the back wall. I absolutely love it.

 

[kimblebee]

My cousin sent me a link to the one room school. It is the second "Dorothy" school, the one in Paddockwood. That's if your care.
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~cansk/school/d.html

Thanks for that link, it was interesting. My grandma was a teacher in a single room schoolhouse in Manitoba. Then she met my grandpa, got married, and became a totally dependant housewife.

We have 3 bathrooms, the 2 upstairs the switch is inside the bathroom. The bathroom downstairs the light switch is outside. Our house was built in 1977. The house I grew up in built in 1985 all 3 bathrooms have the switch inside the bathroom.

Ugh, another shot to the heart LOL

I hope @ronandannette comes back and posts what the codes are for bathroom lights. I’m really thinking now that Manitoba has a different code than everyone else.

Again, you guys, you’re worried about nothing when it comes to having the light outside the door. It is not a normal occurance to turn the light out on people. Sure, it may happen once or twice but that’s it. Or, maybe we just knew it wasn’t approved of, so we didn’t do it.

 

[wvjules]

Inside. Outside makes no sense to me.

Regarding closets: DBF's closet (in the MBR) has the light switch on the outside. My closet (in the second bedroom) has the light switch on the inside. I think the MBR one is on the outside mainly because it has the MBR's hallway light switch with it. We have about a 5 foot hallway from the bedroom to the bathroom in our master suite.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yep, you pretty well desctibe our shower. it's about 1 meter by 2.5 meters with a door in the middle of the long glass walll (which divies it from the rest of the bathroom---otherwise the other three walls are all also bathrom walls and fully tiled) and a shower head on either short end---both have adjustable height poles but one is still moundeted higher than the other becuase DH is a full foot taller than me. we had triangular shleves built into each back corner--one high enough to set toiletries on and one to put a foot on for shaving, etc and mounted soap, shampoo and conditioner dispensers in the middle of the back wall. I absolutely love it.

That sounds very similar to our shower! We do have a glass door in the middle of the shower to enter and exit out of with the other walls inside the shower also being tiled. I don't think the poles themselves are adjustable though.

They did build in a tile triangle foot part. I use that for shaving and my toiletries. There is a built-in that my husband uses where his showerhead is. I will admit though shaving my legs can be a tad tight when my husband is in there too so there are times I just wait til he's out so I can do that part; that's the only time I find it not easy to have two people inside it at the same time.

 

[NHdisneylover]

That sounds very similar to our shower! We do have a glass door in the middle of the shower to enter and exit out of with the other walls inside the shower also being tiled. I don't think the poles themselves are adjustable though.

They did build in a tile triangle foot part. I use that for shaving and my toiletries. There is a built-in that my husband uses where his showerhead is. I will admit though shaving my legs can be a tad tight when my husband is in there too so there are times I just wait til he's out so I can do that part; that's the only time I find it not easy to have two people inside it at the same time.

Sounds like we have very similar set ups! Ours is bigger than two normal showers---so no crowding at all when we are both in, shaving etc. It is roomier than the single shower stall I used to have, by far.