recessed light in shower

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journeyman0217

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Tennessee
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Electrician
hi all,
I am wiring a bathroom where the shower stall has a pitched ceiling. homeowner wants to get a light in there because it will be too dark. i didnt measure the actual height of the ceiling but its roughly 5'8 at its lowest and raises to about 7'. it is an odd shaped ceiling for a shower. I tried to reference the code on what they would actually consider the ceiling to be (wet or damp location) and all it talks about is any parts of cord connected lights, chain, or ceiling fans. it does mention 8' as a height to keep those specific parts of lights above but mentions nothing about recessed lights. i'm assuming the ceiling would be considered a wet location and because of its height I would think water can definitely be splashed up there. I'm still not sure though if I put a recessed light with a wet rated LED trim is even allowed? I can't find any code article that would confirm that. Can anyone help me out? is a wet rated recessed fixture allowed in a ceiling this low? Any other ideas on how I can get light is this shower stall???
 
I second that.

A wet location rates LED trim. Note: if the trim you use is metal then you will need to gfci protect the light. If it’s plastic then eazypeazy lemon squeezy.


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blkmagik21 said:
I second that.

A wet location rates LED trim. Note: if the trim you use is metal then you will need to gfci protect the light. If it’s plastic then eazypeazy lemon squeezy.


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AND, the trim should also come with a gasket:thumbsup:
 
blkmagik21 said:
I second that.

A wet location rates LED trim. Note: if the trim you use is metal then you will need to gfci protect the light. If it’s plastic then eazypeazy lemon squeezy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Where is this in the code, I have never seen that a metal fixture must be gfci protected.
 
My guess it is one of those old tales passed on. Maybe some inspector tagged it and from then on everyone thought of it as code.
 
journeyman0217 said:
hi all,
I am wiring a bathroom where the shower stall has a pitched ceiling. homeowner wants to get a light in there because it will be too dark. i didnt measure the actual height of the ceiling but its roughly 5'8 at its lowest and raises to about 7'. it is an odd shaped ceiling for a shower. I tried to reference the code on what they would actually consider the ceiling to be (wet or damp location) and all it talks about is any parts of cord connected lights, chain, or ceiling fans. it does mention 8' as a height to keep those specific parts of lights above but mentions nothing about recessed lights. i'm assuming the ceiling would be considered a wet location and because of its height I would think water can definitely be splashed up there. I'm still not sure though if I put a recessed light with a wet rated LED trim is even allowed? I can't find any code article that would confirm that. Can anyone help me out? is a wet rated recessed fixture allowed in a ceiling this low? Any other ideas on how I can get light is this shower stall???
Click to expand...

It's only a wet location if the recessed fixture is subject to shower spray. That is typically judged on an individual basis according to the layout of the shower. For example if there is only a rain head that aims straight down the water is not going to go up to the ceiling and it's possible that you may only need a fixture rated for damp locations. When in doubt install a wet location fixture and you're covering all the bases.

The NEC does not require GFCI protection for a light or a fan in a shower, that would be part of the manufacturers instructions.
 
infinity said:
The NEC does not require GFCI protection for a light or a fan in a shower, that would be part of the manufacturers instructions.
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Was that ever an NEC code requirement or was it like what Dennis mentioned where an inspector deemed it a requirement and then it just stuck as a Code requirement ?

I remember a CEU class where it was stated that it was required. Did the CMP’s pull one of those “let’s change the language” deals again and pull the wool over EC’ eyes ?
 
goldstar said:
Was that ever an NEC code requirement or was it like what Dennis mentioned where an inspector deemed it a requirement and then it just stuck as a Code requirement ?

I remember a CEU class where it was stated that it was required. Did the CMP’s pull one of those “let’s change the language” deals again and pull the wool over EC’ eyes ?
Click to expand...

I don't think that this was ever an NEC requirement aside from what is required from the manufacturer. Having said that it you can find a fan that does not require GFCI protection from the manufacturers listing then you are not required to protect it. Do they actually exist, they may not. Same applies to the light. I have seen bath fans that require it but have yet to find a light that requires it although they may exist.
 
thanks for all the responses! So it seems that i will go with a wet rated trim to be safe. i havent seen anything in the code that would require gfi protection. I believe the code should elaborate more on what can actually be installed in these areas??
 
journeyman0217 said:
thanks for all the responses! So it seems that i will go with a wet rated trim to be safe. I haven't seen anything in the code that would require gfi protection. I believe the code should elaborate more on what can actually be installed in these areas??
Click to expand...

The code cannot list every fixture. If there is no mention of Gfci then you don't need it unless the fixture or fan states that it does. I have never seen a fan that did not require gfci when installed over the shower.
 
journeyman0217 said:
thanks for all the responses! So it seems that i will go with a wet rated trim to be safe. i havent seen anything in the code that would require gfi protection. I believe the code should elaborate more on what can actually be installed in these areas??
Click to expand...
It is hard to write code that covers every possible situation that may arise.

What we do currently have is definitions for wet and damp locations - those will dictate what kind of fixture and trim can be used.

GFCI protection - there is no requirement for GFCI protection in the code as it related to this application- period. There may be instructions with certain equipment that call for it though. The typical exhaust fans and fans with lights are pretty common to have such instructions. General purpose recess cans typically do not have such instructions.

IMO GFCI is not required for your install unless your can has such instructions, and whether or not it is a wet location is somewhat a judgement call for the AHJ.

What kind of material is the ceiling finish? if drywall - it won't hold up very well if it is indeed subject to water spray. That may not matter to an EI, but a reality check says someone either didn't think this out or doesn't expect it to get wet. Water resistant drywall is not intended for applications that regularly get wet, it is just more durable for locations that are more likely to get wet at times.
 
kwired said:
It is hard to write code that covers every possible situation that may arise.

What we do currently have is definitions for wet and damp locations - those will dictate what kind of fixture and trim can be used.

GFCI protection - there is no requirement for GFCI protection in the code as it related to this application- period. There may be instructions with certain equipment that call for it though. The typical exhaust fans and fans with lights are pretty common to have such instructions. General purpose recess cans typically do not have such instructions.

IMO GFCI is not required for your install unless your can has such instructions, and whether or not it is a wet location is somewhat a judgement call for the AHJ.

What kind of material is the ceiling finish? if drywall - it won't hold up very well if it is indeed subject to water spray. That may not matter to an EI, but a reality check says someone either didn't think this out or doesn't expect it to get wet. Water resistant drywall is not intended for applications that regularly get wet, it is just more durable for locations that are more likely to get wet at times.
Click to expand...


Understood...I will try to reach out to the AHJ and get his opinion. thanks for all the help everyone!
 
infinity said:
Just curious is there a reason why you may not want to install a wet location fixture?
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No, that is what I planned on doing. Being that this job is getting inspected I just want to make sure the inspector doesn't have a different interpretation of the code. Before I posted he original question my main concern was if it had to be gfi protected or not because the fixture would be low enough where you could actually touch it while showering. I know it doesn't mention anything in the code saying it has to be but I think if it were my house I would feel a lot better if it were gfi protected.
 
journeyman0217 said:
No, that is what I planned on doing. Being that this job is getting inspected I just want to make sure the inspector doesn't have a different interpretation of the code. Before I posted he original question my main concern was if it had to be gfi protected or not because the fixture would be low enough where you could actually touch it while showering. I know it doesn't mention anything in the code saying it has to be but I think if it were my house I would feel a lot better if it were gfi protected.
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Yeah, everything in my bathrooms is gfci protected so far.. better safe than sorry.. after all, code is minimum standards, so going over the code is just extra money for piece of mind sometimes...
 
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