Hi Folks, I have some lighting cables that have been damaged by mice that I'm trying to replace. The run I wish to replace travels underneath and parallel to a 4 meter length of the central heating pipes. The current holes in the joists are 50mm below the bottom of the pipes, is this enough clearance to avoid the cables getting damaged by the 60 degrees Celsius from the hot pipes?
I want to replace the damaged cable run properly, not just bodge it and create problems in the future(although the current cable has been there since 1984 without damage from the heat of the pipe). I could either;
a) insulate beneath the pipes to isolate the cables from pipes, by fixing sheets of 18mm foil backed PIR board(I've got loads of this and it doesn't conduct any heat!) above the cables,
or
b) reroute the cable about 150mm away from the pipes further along the joist by drilling new holes in the joists. Although this is just inside the building regs 40% distance from the end of the joist I am worried about weakening the joist at this point due being close to a fairly heavy block internal wall running across the joists, built on top of the floor boards.
So, do you think it is a proper solution to fix insulation to protect the pipes, rather than reroute the cable? or should I stop worrying about he joist strength and add another hole? The joists do seem extraordinarily strong!
The lighting cable(1.5mm replacing 1mm) is already derated, but I suspect that I may also yet find bite marks in the 2.5mm ring main cables as well and have to also replace this, which I'm guessing is more susceptible to heat, so would you be more likely to reroute the ring main rather than insulate it?
thanks for any help!
I want to replace the damaged cable run properly, not just bodge it and create problems in the future(although the current cable has been there since 1984 without damage from the heat of the pipe). I could either;
a) insulate beneath the pipes to isolate the cables from pipes, by fixing sheets of 18mm foil backed PIR board(I've got loads of this and it doesn't conduct any heat!) above the cables,
or
b) reroute the cable about 150mm away from the pipes further along the joist by drilling new holes in the joists. Although this is just inside the building regs 40% distance from the end of the joist I am worried about weakening the joist at this point due being close to a fairly heavy block internal wall running across the joists, built on top of the floor boards.
So, do you think it is a proper solution to fix insulation to protect the pipes, rather than reroute the cable? or should I stop worrying about he joist strength and add another hole? The joists do seem extraordinarily strong!
The lighting cable(1.5mm replacing 1mm) is already derated, but I suspect that I may also yet find bite marks in the 2.5mm ring main cables as well and have to also replace this, which I'm guessing is more susceptible to heat, so would you be more likely to reroute the ring main rather than insulate it?
thanks for any help!