Has anyone noticed - during the daily Corona Virus updates from No 10, as they walk into the room where the three podiums are, the wide shot? It shows a series of brass faced 13amp sockets, set in the skirting and awfully close to the floor.
Now there's a novelty... Earth at the bottom.It used to be common to mount sockets in or on skirting boards, The part M guidelines say sockets should be higher in new properties but for rewires of existing properties it's ok to replace the sockets in the original locations.
I found a high-res picture at https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/71df...at&fit=max&s=bd72a9692d0363d7291966ea463493cc and they don't look all that close to the floor to me. It certainly looks like you would get a regular rewirable 13A plug in there without undue stress on the cable, though you may have problems with some moulded plugs with oversized strain reliefs.
I remember my paternal grandparents had the sockets mounted upside down, because with the size of their skirting boards sockets the right way up you wouldn't have enough room for the cables.
That’s normal for old buildings.
And permitted for existing sockets. Afaik
In the North West, Norweb were still refusing to connect for obscure reasons in the 80's.Back in the midst of time (late 60/early 70's),.....The local electricity board engineer inspected and refused to connect, unless the sockets were moved to above the skirtings.
I found a high-res picture at https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/71df...at&fit=max&s=bd72a9692d0363d7291966ea463493cc and they don't look all that close to the floor to me. It certainly looks like you would get a regular rewirable 13A plug in there without undue stress on the cable, though you may have problems with some moulded plugs with oversized strain reliefs.
I remember my paternal grandparents had the sockets mounted upside down, because with the size of their skirting boards sockets the right way up you wouldn't have enough room for the cables.
Not strictly true. The Wiring Regulations requires that the height be sufficient to prevent damage to the plug/flex from excess strain. They can't just go at existing heights if those heights are appallingly low.but for rewires of existing properties it's ok to replace the sockets in the original locations.
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