Is it safe to have electrical wiring behind the drywall of your shower?

Answer 1

On wiring a house it is common practice to have other circuits in the wall cavity passing by the built in shower stall. Electrical outlets that face outward from the shower stall wall that service another room is also common practice. There is no danger from electrical shock as the shower is isolated from the wires by wall board and usually ceramic tiles that make up the shower stall or in some cases a fiberglass shower enclosure.

Do you mean inside the shower area, or outside the shower area?

It is never safe to have any electrical outlets:

• inside a shower cubicle
• next to a bath
• next to a sink
• next to a hand wash basin
• in any other kind of wet area

There are very strict wiring codes and regulations about where you can place a socket outlet. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR INSTRUCTIONS HERE

BECAUSE YOU NOT ALREADY SURE YOU CAN DO THIS JOB

SAFELY

YOU MUST CALL IN A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN

TO DO IT FOR YOU.

ANSWER

If your question should be read as "Is it safe to have electrical outlets on the other side of a wall to a shower area, such as in a dry room like a bedroom, etc., normally the answer would be Yes, but it is best to check with a licensed electrician to be sure. Always be sure to switch off the breakers at the main panel before you attempt to do any work on any mains power circuit.

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This is something I wondered when I gutted my fiberglass shower enclosure and noticed that there was an electrical box behind one of the walls servicing a hall light switch and yet another box on the back wall behind the shower enclosure serving the light fixture and exhaust fan to the master bath. It doesn't feel right to have electrical so close to water. In my townhouse they only used gypsum board behind the fiberglass enclosure with no plastic vapor barrier. So, I have to think about how to remodel the shower with these two electrical boxes in the mix.

Answer 2

On wiring a house it is common practice to have other circuits in the wall cavity passing by the built in shower stall. Electrical outlets that face outward from the shower stall wall that service another room is also common practice. There is no danger from electrical shock as the shower is isolated from the wires by wall board and usually ceramic tiles that make up the shower stall or in some cases a fiberglass shower enclosure.

Answer 3

If that bothers you, just put the wiring in conduit. - More to the point is why are you putting drywall in a shower . Haven't you heard of all the types of concrete/ fibre board available now that are FAR superior to drywall in damp conditions .

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There are no code regulations that state that electrical wiring can not be run in the wall cavity behind a shower stall. There are many occasions where another adjacent room will share a common wall with a bathroom. The shower will be built to be waterproof and this is enough to keep the wiring from being exposed to moisture.