14 replies to this topic

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Okay, this might seem like a weird one, but there's a backstory: I have a bathroom in my office at school (for those who don't know, I'm an elementary school nurse) which kids use regularly. Most of the time, they have difficulty finding the light switch. It's not located someplace strange, in fact it's right outside the door. But time after time, kids walk into the dark bathroom and then I hear "Where's the light?" I find this really odd — aren't most bathroom light switches on the outside? Certainly they have been in most of the places I have lived.

 

So where is your bathroom light switch located?

[He who posts]

Outside bathroom light switched. Are we Neandertals or some shit now.

[KiWi]

This is a strange one. It's strange that you find this a strange question.

The bathroom to your nurses office is different because it's 1. for children 2. in a nurses office 3. basically a janitors closet to the room you're standing in (I imagine).

Where a normal bathroom quite often is attached to a hallway (where the public walks, or at least people in your house) so some joe-blow can come by and turn off the light while you're trying to take a dump.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Like I said, I've never lived in a house in which the bathroom light wasn't outside the door. And yes, that means people can turn off the light on you.

As for my office, it was not built as a nurse's office. And none of the bathrooms make any special accommodation for the fact that the users are primarily children. My school was built in the '50s -- they didn't think like that then. They're just typical public bathrooms.

[*Anastasia]

The house I spent my early childhood in had the switch outside the main door, which struck not only me but my mother and everyone who ever visited as strange. The problem was amplified by the fact the bathroom had no windows, and many times, guests would go into the bathroom, close the door, and find themselves in complete darkness, much to their concern and confusion.

However, strange as it seemed, it was perhaps the least strange part of that bathroom. As stated, the bathroom had no window, despite being on an outside wall; its main 'door' off the dining room (ugh) was a wooden board which could only be properly closed by sliding closed the locking bolt latch on the inside. The secondary door was off the main floor bedroom, which was so small we just used it as a closet, which was good, because that door didn't lock at all. And again, the only switch was in the dining room, so if one did decide to enter throuh the bedroom, they'd have to go into one door, out the other, turn the switch on, then go back in and close and lock the main door anyway. So stupid.

In my current house, my main bathroom's switch is inside the door, as is the case in almost every house I've been in. My basement bathroom's switch, however, is once again outside, though this time it's out of necessity: the way the walls are angled, there's no room inside the wall for a switch box inside the bathroom anywhere but far away from the door.

[He who posts]

I have trespassed on my own some ~ghosthouse~, at that time still owned by a drug dealer that was in jail for years. The bathroom door had a lock that could only be locked and unlocked from outside.

 

 

Overall the experience was underwhelming and not as great as my fellow students projected it. Didn't exactly help that I didn't believe in ghosts to begin with.

[King Biscuit]

I've never lived in a house with an outside lightswitch.

Granted, every house I've ever lived is was built after the 70's so...

[rotty]

In smaller bathrooms inside of a residence, the light switch is often installed outside of the bathroom to reduce the chance of getting zapped/killed by someone standing in a puddle of water and operating the switch. Blame it on the building codes in your county.

[*Anastasia]

In smaller bathrooms inside of a residence, the light switch is often installed outside of the bathroom to reduce the chance of getting zapped/killed by someone standing in a puddle of water and operating the switch. Blame it on the building codes in your county.

I can guarantee you that in my case, at least, building codes have nothing to do with it. If we can have normal electrical outlets installed beneath the sink's water spout, ain't no one giving a fuuuuuck about lightswitches.

Late Edit: Also, the house I described above was older than my province, so I'm not even sure there were building codes when it was built. My current house, with the main bathroom's switch inside, is much newer: and that bathroom also has about 15 sq ft of floor space; if any bathroom would have such a mandated switch location, this would be it.

[Thrash]

Why the fuck would the switch be on the outside???

 

The only chance of getting shocked from the switch is if you use a metal plate for the light switch cover, that's a big no-no in a "wet" area.

[He who posts]

Fuses in this house are a mystery. A bedroom is randomly linked to a none bedroom. So one of the top ones is linked to the outside shed building.

[*Anastasia]

Fuses in this house are a mystery. A bedroom is randomly linked to a none bedroom. So one of the top ones is linked to the outside shed building.

Sounds like my house. A number of rooms have individual walls linked to other rooms, which likewise have one or two of their own walls linked to other rooms. Some outlets have their own dedicated fuses. Others don't even work. On the plus side, they at least all have ground (earth) holes, which is a step up from every other house I've lived in. Nothing like having to saw the end off an extension cord to plug something with a ground prong in to a non-grounded outlet.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Weird. I have lived in or spent significant amounts of time in 11 homes in my lifetime. In all but one the bathroom light switch was outside the door. Apparently this is just a bizarre coincidence!

[slimshadyinc]

I can't even remember if I've ever seen a bathroom with the light switch on the outside, that's just weird to me. There always on the inside and almost always to the left.

[Redezra]

Well, at the place I live at with my brother, we had a bathroom with a light switch on the outside. After a solid year of complaining to my parents (who own the property), we got it moved inside. And we redid the whole bathroom too. With a spa.