Stevenfyeager
Senior Member
- Location
- United States, Indiana
- Occupation
- electrical contractor
Hi, is it allowable to install a surface mounted light fixture or hanging light fixture over a bathtub if the ceiling is 9 feet high? Thank you.
hanging a light fixture over a bathtub ?
- Thread starter Stevenfyeager
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician (retired)
A chain hung or pendant fixture needs to be 8' above the rim of the tub.
Last edited:
JDB3
Senior Member
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
room (type error) "rim"
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician (retired)
Spell check.:rant: Fixed.
Stevenfyeager
Senior Member
- Location
- United States, Indiana
- Occupation
- electrical contractor
With only a 9 ft ceiling, I guess my customer is out of luck.
marmathsen
Senior Member
- Location
- Seattle, Washington ...ish
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
I really wish they would stop featuring chandeliers over tubs and in clothes closets on design websites and TV shows. I am constantly having hard conversations about that not being a safe or legal installation in spite of it being shown in a fancy magazine, etc. Drives me crazy.
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drcampbell
Senior Member
- Location
- The Motor City, Michigan USA
- Occupation
- Registered Professional Engineer
That, and bathrooms with more square footage than my entire house.
marmathsen
Senior Member
- Location
- Seattle, Washington ...ish
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
They could always install a CANDLE chandelier
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Stevenfyeager
Senior Member
- Location
- United States, Indiana
- Occupation
- electrical contractor
So the only light fixture I can offer is a recessed light, correct?
winnie
Senior Member
- Location
- Springfield, MA, USA
- Occupation
- Electric motor research
As I read 410.10(D) you _might_ be able to get away with a recessed or flush fixture mounted on the ceiling, combined with some sort of totally non-electrical light dispersing decoration (fiber optic, mirrors, etc) hanging below and not attached to the fixture.
But I've not tried this at home...
-Jon
But I've not tried this at home...
-Jon
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician (retired)
No, you can use a fixture that is not of the chain or pendant type within the tub zone when it is listed for damp locations. If it were subject to shower spray then it needs to be listed for wet locations.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
There is not an issue with a surface mounted fixture as long as it is rated damp location and as Trevor stated, if subject to spray, it would need to be wet location.
Since a surface mount is over a tub with a 9' ceiling that would make the fixture installed in the tub area.
Since a surface mount is over a tub with a 9' ceiling that would make the fixture installed in the tub area.
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician (retired)
You need to make two determinations, is it within the so called 8'X3' tub zone and if so is it subject to shower spray. If it's outside of the tub zone then you can install any fixture type including a chandelier or paddle fan. If it's within the tub zone but not subject to shower spray then it needs to be damp location rated. If in the tub zone and subject to shower spray then wet location rated.
Stevenfyeager
Senior Member
- Location
- United States, Indiana
- Occupation
- electrical contractor
Thanks, that makes perfect sense. I appreciate it.
You can get ceiling fittings that have a lower profile than one foot.
A quick and dirty search brought up this. I feel sure you can get similar there.
https://www.qvsdirect.com/lunar-28w...=2d635bec71e5c8fa42fb1cc41fddabd7&fo_s=gplauk
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
Bes-- the measurement is from the rim of the tub in this case. There is no fixture that will be more than 8' above the rim. Even a recessed can-- which is perfectly compliant as most are at least damp location rated and with the right trim they are wet location rated.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
If the bath in the magazine has a 12 foot ceiling it may very well be code compliant. Now your client wants to have something just like that picture but only has an 8 or 9 foot ceiling:blink:
Clothes closet a different animal. But then I don't know where to draw the line on some of those you see on TV shows and in magazines as being a clothes closet when the space is possibly larger then my living room and/or just isn't your typical clothes closet arrangement to begin with. The fixture location/types in clothes closets in NEC presumes storage spaces and proximity of combustibles to a luminaire. Many of those are designed that this really isn't an issue - yet NEC doesn't recognize that, but it still is a space intended to store clothes.
In many ways a clothing store is nothing but a huge clothes closet as well.
marmathsen
Senior Member
- Location
- Seattle, Washington ...ish
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
See attached...
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Stevenfyeager
Senior Member
- Location
- United States, Indiana
- Occupation
- electrical contractor
So a surface mounted light can be lower than 8 feet above the tub rim ?See attached...
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kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Yes, was earlier mentioned though it must be damp rated or if subject to shower spray must be wet rated.
What is prohibited in the zone altogether is pendants, paddle fans, track lights.
- Status