# Forum Home Renovation Lighting  Light switches behind doors issue

## leverage

Hi guys, 
I have an interesting one.   
Before I moved into my house the prior prior owners had crinkle sliding doors to for each of the 3 bedrooms and bathroom.  The subsequent owners removed these doors and placed new normal doors on.  Now the light switches for each room (and bathroom) are behind the doors.  Now im wondering what the best way to solve this issue is as its a PITA.  
 I had a brainwave the other day and it was to install a sensor light into each room and keep it on through the day and turn off at night if someone is sleeping in the room (its only myself and gf living in the house).  So no power draw whilst the switch is on but dont have to search behind the doors all the time.  
The house is rendered brick and I didnt really think chasing it back down appropriate side for each room would be economical, i could be wrong though.  I thought this would save us some money also because we tend to leave lights so they would be off mostly unless we are in the rooms.  When we go to sleep we simply turn them off at the wall which isnt a hassle cos the door would be closed already. 
Can someone offer me some help please?  I was just going to buy a sensor and a nice gantry style light and use these. 
My 2nd question is, if I procure downlights for the rest of the house (say 30 odd), what is the general charge out for a sparky to install them?

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## chrisp

Two questions:  Can you rehang the doors so they swing from the other side?What are the internal walls (or the walls that the doors are in) made of?

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## applied

We have sensors and switches in the childrens rooms and study not cheepies but clipsal bus ones when I sit in the study nice and still they go off after about 20 minuites unless you make a significant movement so not a great idea for any room where you are likely to be still for any length of time.  
But atleast the kids can't leave the light on.  
Also expect to pay $80+ ( mine were 112 plus tax trade)  per sensor for ones that run constantly with movement and not cycle on and off between timeout like security lights.  
You would most likely only have to chase above the door frame in the plaster then sneak down behind the architrave and either but the switch upto or put it on the frame Bit of plaster repair and your done.   
2) a sparky should be charging in the region of about $80 hour atleast if there legal, about 15-20 minuites per light plus cable and materials plus downlights are power hungry so if youve got fuses there gonna have to be changed over to a breaker plus if there's no earth that will have to be run to each room and to the switchboard.  
If your walls are nice and soft it's possible to drill down guts of the wall with a long masonry bit to the door frame even.   
If all else fails you could just retro fit with clipsal impress push button switches with remote and double side sticky the remote to the wall.

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## leverage

we could rehang but they would obstruct the rooms quite a bit and basically 180 degrees to open all the way. The internal walls are rendered blocks, the render is quite bad in that it comes loose very easyily when drilled into etc.  The current light switches are chased into the wall i believe.  We could re-route them and use a bit of duct to conceal the cables but i think that would look pretty tacky.

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## applied

Could you just put a blank plate over the old ones or plaster then carefully remove the archatraves extend the cables across up over and down then carefully put them back on, a couple of new switches and bam your done.  Has been done before plenty of times in old houses you should have fair gap behind them if not hammer meet chisel.

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## leverage

not sure i understand that completely.  When i say behind the doors i mean when you open the door they are roughly 20 cm in from where the door handle touches the wall when its fully open if that makes sense.  I dont think it would be possible to relocate them unless you removed the existing, blanked and redered that hole, pulled the cables back up through the ceiling and then cut a section of brick out in the new location and render that back up. Or am i missing something?   
Is there any type of sensor light that can just be mounted in place of the existing light using the existing switch and basically just turns on when you walk in the room, if its off then it shouldnt be drawing and load and keeping the power bills down??

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## applied

A window.

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## leverage

on a serious note, what are my options?

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## iconnect

I think the easiest but by no means the cheapest solution would be to install a few of these Search Results - Clipsal.com
Another option could be the remote kits from a ceiling fan using just the light switch output and then mount the remote on the other wall or to keep things very simple just use an old style pull switch from the ceiling mounted near the doorway. Search Results - Clipsal.com

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## leverage

sweet, thanks mate, that remote might be the go.  How would it work installing it, just remove old switch and put this one on.  Im wondering if I put downlights in the bedrooms if it would be possible to control how many would be on with this? 
Is there no sensors similar to outdoor ones that could be used indoors? So if light is switched on at wall and someone walks in it turns on for a predetermined setting then at night you can just turn them off at the wall?  Could it just be installed like a sensor light would be outside, so if I'm putting downlights in, wire it before the transformers into the switch cable in the roof?  
The remotes would work in the rooms but we have same problem in the bathroom also.

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## Adamant

hi , if you can get to the switch wires in the ceiling you could join them and use ceiling mounted pull switches near the correct side of the door opening . the type where you pull the string to turn on the light .

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## leverage

hey, 
yeah like the ones in the link above.  Sort of going for a modern feel to the house, that would be last resort i think.

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## m6sports

I had the same problem. 
So when i replaced the bedroom Ceiling fans i got some remote controls 
and just left the switch behind the door

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