My Complete DIY Rewire

[bernardgreen]

with the cables embedded in plaster chaffing is pretty unlikely.

Only true if the back box is fixed securely and cannot move relative to the plaster holding the cable

The time when the sharp edge of the hole is most likely to cut into the insulation is when the face plate is being fitted to the box and the conductors are being squeezed between face plate and the surfaces of the box.

This may not be an instant cut as far as the copper but the pressure will often continue to exist and eventually the sharp edge does reach the copper. Can take years.

 

[EFLImpudence]

No grommets then.

I have some on order but I'm not overly concerned about them.
Not required by regs and with the cables embedded in plaster chaffing is pretty unlikely.

 

[messimagician]

This is interesting, who are you going to get in to do the testing of the circuits ? I was lead to believe LABC only inspect and do NOT test.

What's concerned me is that you have already said how dangerous the house is wired with diagonal cable runs and yet your cutting through walls while power is on still. This is not the right way unless your certain there is no cables behind where your cutting[/b]

 

[sparkwright]

All looks like a pig's ear to me.

 

[PreferNotToDieOrBurn]

All looks like a pig's ear to me.

Do you have any suggestions for improvements? I'd be very grateful!

 

[messimagician]

Well i'd start with getting the basics right and get grommets on the back boxes if it were me, you will find a wealth of information on this site as well people who work as an electrician by trade, don't just dismiss what people say

Who is going to test your circuits , who have you contacted ? I'm interested to know

 

[PreferNotToDieOrBurn]

Well i'd start with getting the basics right and get grommets on the back boxes if it were me, you will find a wealth of information on this site as well people who work as an electrician by trade, don't just dismiss what people say

Who is going to test your circuits , who have you contacted ? I'm interested to know

Noted, I'll go back and stick grommets on the backboxes I've already done when they arrive.

I know a qualified electrician who has looked over my kitchen circuit and installed the shower circuit, I know he is a reasonably guy and will be happy to provide a periodic inspection certificate after testing my work. I'm also going to be doing some testing as I go along. The final hookup to a CU will be done by the leccy.

 

[EFLImpudence]

You seem to have overlooked the second reply to your original question.

The final step will be to have a professional electrician install a new consumer unit and test my work.

In all of your planning you have forgotten that this will be your first step, not the last.

Electricians who are members of the Competent Person Scheme are permitted to notify works that they have done themselves. They just cannot do the final connect and test, unless they lie on all of the documentation.

You have two choices under the current LAW.

1. Find yourself a registered electrician. There is a website with them all on
http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk
Find one who will let you do most of the grunt work, but what cables etc you install will need to be under his direction. He/she could then carry out the final testing, certification and notification to the local authority.

2. Raise a building notice with your local authority and state that you are doing your own electrics. The LABC will want to inspect the work at various stages and will expect you to be able to design, install and test the work to BS7671. So yopu'll need to bone up on that - that document has all of the answers re max sizes for radial and ring circuits. and everything else - its a fascinating read.

There's more info on your options at //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:part_p:DIY-Electrical-Work-and-the-Law[/QUOTE]

 

[PreferNotToDieOrBurn]

You seem to have overlooked the second reply to your original question.

No I responded to this - I'm installing the new cables whilst the old system is still live. Then taking out the old cabling once the new is connected.

 

[sparkwright]

All looks like a pig's ear to me.

Do you have any suggestions for improvements? I'd be very grateful!

Yes I do.

I've already given some, but some weren't acknowledged.

Use oval conduit where the cables are going to get plastered. This will help if it's found some of your wires are too short or whatever. Also invaluable if a cable ever gets drilled through. You have a better chance of making a repair without massive damage. This is years of experience talking. The stuff costs pennies.

Use grommets whether you need them or not. Far superior job, professional standards.

Don't cut out so much plasterboard on a dot and dab wall. It looks like there are few dabs in the way, and a decent enough void to fish cables behind. Cutting masive slots like that ruins the strength of the board. Hopefully you won't suffer cracks after you decorate.

Don't put twists in the cable like that. Straighten them out before you run them into the box.

Let's have a look behind one of your sockets - this will tell us a lot.

 

[securespark]

For a lighting 6A radial using 1.5 mm² you will see it's around 44 meters.

It looks like I've got over 44m, presumably simply sticking in 2.5mm should do the trick?

It's crazy to try and cram everything onto one circuit. Never mind the potential load: what is it BTW?

Split the circuits. That way you will comply with another regulation as well as the EFLI one.

 

[JohnW2]

It's crazy to try and cram everything onto one circuit. Never mind the potential load: what is it BTW? Split the circuits. That way you will comply with another regulation as well as the EFLI one.

He's not cramming everything onto one circuit and he is splitting his lighting into two circuits - and (surprising though it may be) he has provided some explanation as to why at least one of those circuits is apparently so long ...

More than 44m for a lighting circuit sounds an awful lot, particularly given that you are presumably going to have two or more lighting circuits. Is it a very large house?

It's only a 100sqm house however the layout is long, and the cables need to go up before they can come down which adds a lot of length to the runs (I've designed it with two lighting circuits)

Kind Regards, John

 

[jason61c]

Glad you're going with grommets. Its easy to cut the cable on the backbox when doing second fix just by moving it about/stripping. I'd also use oval conduit and try and poke it in slightly. I've seen a few shallow backboxes made for oval conduit so there might be some deeper doubles etc now?

 

[PreferNotToDieOrBurn]

Glad you're going with grommets.

I'm not trying to cut corners or to do a bad job, honestly, so if you think I'm not putting enough importance on something then I sincerely appreciate people pointing it out.

 

[Taylortwocities]

The problem is that you do not appreciate what is important. Its the Donald Rumsfield situation of the "unknown unknowns". You cannot look out for them as you do not know what they are.

Experience and training provides much of this knowledge, you aren't going to get that from an Internet forum, and we aren't going to spend our time squinting at pictures of part of a circuit installation to check you havent done something correctly.

You need a competent electrician to oversee and check your work while it is being carried out.