John asks this question, which concerns switch and socket heights in a community hall, and some confusion over which is right. It has been answered by SELECT (Theme – Regulations and Legislation):
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Question: I’m currently installing the wiring system for a small new build community hall. The drawing states that the light switches and sockets are to be installed to the height stated in the current IEE Wiring Regulations (BS 7671:2008 (2011), which is 450mm to the bottom of the sockets and1200mm to the bottom of the light switch.
When the architect was on site, he said that these heights are wrong and should be 400mm for sockets and 1100mm for switches.
Could you please tell me whether the regulation for these heights has been amended, as I keep up to date but may have missed this one?
Answer: The Scottish Building Standards (SBS) provide guidance on switch and socket heights for work carried out, which relates to work carried out in Scotland in the SBS standard 4.8 (2007). This refers to the 400mm and 1100mm heights in question.
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