Conservatory Wiring

[kippaxking]

I am wiring my conservatory and need to now how to route my cables around by now internal patio door. When wiring a irregular shaped room do you follow the apex to within 150mm or can you go straight across? Regulation 522-06-06 in BS 7671 is unclear, is it better to follow the roof as there is less chance of someone in the future drilling into the cables?

[trevorord06]

All cables should be ran either horizontally or vertically never diagonally. If this causes headaches with potentially nailing through the new wiring then maybe you should consider installing your cables in earthed metal conduit. Remember though, if you are not sure of what you are doing then a qualified spark should be consulted. This should also be considered owing to the recent changes in domestic building regs(ie Part P) which makes it a legal requirement that all alterations to existing installations are tested and certtified in the same way that a new installation would be to ensure its safety

[totallyspies]

owing to the recent changes in domestic building regs(ie Part P) which makes it a legal requirement that all alterations to existing installations are tested and certtified in the same way that a new installation would be to ensure its safety[/quote]

Er, no, thats totally wrong. The recent changes dont make it a legal requirement at all. In fact, requirement P2 reguarding testing and cetification has been removed altogether.



Amendment of Part P (electrical safety)
20. In Part P of Schedule 1[27]—



(a) for paragraph P1 substitute—



" Design and installation
P1 Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury.";



(b) omit paragraph P2; and


Heres the link to the full document.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20060652.htm


Where did you get your information?

[kippaxking]

With your reference to Part P you are not correct as Part P clearly states that as long as you are extending an existing circuit (not in a special location) and providing that the existing protection is adequate (ring main is less than 90m² and has RCD protection) then work doesn't require notification.

All cables should be ran either horizontally or vertically never diagonally

While I agree this is good practice the guidance actually states (C5-43 of NICEIC manual):

1. Rules for protection of cables against penetration

(iv) be installed in a zone:
(a) within 150 mm from the top of the wall or partition, or
(b) within 150 mm of an angle formed by two adjoining walls or partitions, or
(c) either horizontally or vertically, to the point, accessory or switchgear on the surface of the wall or partition, to which the cable is connected
*
. Where the
location of the accessory, point or switchgear can be determined from the
reverse side, a zone formed on one side of a wall or partition of 100 mm
thickness or less extends to the reverse side.

With referenece to (a), as you can see if the cable is with 150mm of the top wall it is OK whether or not with is run horizontal, vertical or diagonal.

and I am dam sure that you do not need armored cable to wire a conversvatory.

There must be a spark out there who has overcome this problem as it must be very common.

I have done a lot electrical work in the past and am fully in support of Part P but have never seen this problem!

[jondiy]

When I did my conservatory, I extended the ring from the back wall , as it was within the conservatory, ie the same back wall. I put had a double socket directly behind the one that was in the house, and then continued with the ring into a 5 amp fcu to feed the light.

With regards to the cabling, the fcu was mounted next to my new double socket, and I used mini trunking to go up the side wall and continued to follow along the wall , but following the angle of the conservatory roof, up towards the centre , ie it was still fixed to the wall, but all in the mini trunking. Once I reached the top of the conservatory (the wall side) , i fed the cable along and down to the centre of the room. Then back again and over to the switch (the switch 'drop'). My switch was located at the other side of the room, so again I followed the angle of the conservatory down the wall , only on the other side of the conservatory , but still on that same back wall , and then come down the vertical to my light switch.

Had I ran the cable in vertical or horizontal lines, my back wall would have looked hideous in this lovely new conservatory , and as it is now - the mini trunking blends in perfectly with the white upvc framework, so much so , that you hardly notice it!!

I assumed this would be ok, for reasons that the cabling was in mini trunking, and the mini trunking was always going to be visible and not plastered over! The house rings are all rcd protected, so obviously the conservatory wiring is also rcd protected , so if anybody was to sabotage the cable, the protection would be there.

[kippaxking]

jondiy

Thanks for the reply m8.

PS I am going to run the lights from the downstairs lighting circuit so they won't be RCD protected!