Bathtub question

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jmo103

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I am doing an addition involving a new master bath. We are putting a light fixture above a jacuzzi tub and as I started to install a box near the tub for a switch, it felt... strange/wrong. Am I confusing rules, or does the switch need to be 6' from the edge of the tub?

thank you
 
jmo103 said:
I am doing an addition involving a new master bath. We are putting a light fixture above a jacuzzi tub and as I started to install a box near the tub for a switch, it felt... strange/wrong. Am I confusing rules, or does the switch need to be 6' from the edge of the tub?

thank you
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IMHO the applicable rules are those for bathtubs and showers, namely that the device(s) need to be outside the footprint of the tub or shower.
The fact that the tub has bubble jets (whatever brand; Jacuzzi (TM) is a trade name) does not make it susceptible to the rules for hot tubs or hydrotherapy tubs.
 
You need to differentiate between a hot tub and a hydromassage tub, sounds like you're asking about a hydromassage tub. For that this would apply:

680.71 Protection. Hydromassage bathtubs and their asso-
ciated electrical components shall be on an individual
branch circuit(s) and protected by a readily accessible
ground-fault circuit interrupter. All 125-volt, single-phase
receptacles not exceeding 30 amperes and located within
1.83 m (6 ft) measured horizontally of the inside walls of a
hydromassage tub shall be protected by a ground-fault cir-
cuit interrupter.
680.72 Other Electrical Equipment. Luminaires, switches,
receptacles, and other electrical equipment located in the same
room, and not directly associated with a hydromassage bath-
tub, shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of
Chapters 1 through 4 in this Code covering the installation of
that equipment in bathrooms.
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So, in theory, somebody could be in the tub, submerged in water, and reach over to the wall and operate a switch located 6" outside the footprint of the tub, and it would be perfectly acceptable?

if so, as a follow up: NEC being the minimum, if this installation was in your own home, would you protect that switch with a dead front gfci or something?
 
jmo103 said:
So, in theory, somebody could be in the tub, submerged in water, and reach over to the wall and operate a switch located 6" outside the footprint of the tub, and it would be perfectly acceptable?

if so, as a follow up: NEC being the minimum, if this installation was in your own home, would you protect that switch with a dead front gfci or something?
Click to expand...
No. What part of the switch handle is a shock hazard?
 
There are still questions that need to be addressed. What type of fixture. How high is it above the threshold of the tub etc. The hydromassage tub and a standard tub have exactly the same rules for lighting.

Check out 410.10(B)

The switch is not an issue if it is outside the footprint of the tub.

404.4(C) Switches in Tub or Shower Spaces. Switches shall not beinstalled within tubs or shower spaces unless installed as part of
a listed tub or shower assembly.
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If a tub with a "deck" around it, even just a narrow one, like you have with "drop in" style tubs the wall above that "deck" isn't necessarily within the tub space.

That said might still be bad design to have it there, maybe not so much from functionality or usability point of view but for the decorator designer it is:happyyes:
 
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