Burying cables

[moosehead]

Is it allowable to bury electric cables into a concrete floor?

Is there a minimum depth requirement - if so how much

Is any other protection required (iron/copper/steel conduit)?

Tks

 

[andy]

Is it allowable to bury electric cables into a concrete floor?

Is there a minimum depth requirement - if so how much

Is any other protection required (iron/copper/steel conduit)?

Tks

this is a UK forum. so it may be diferent in your country.

what do u plan on burying? T+E? flex? SWA?

if T+E or flex, itll be best to put in steel conduit. this also means that if it every needs replaced, it can be easily pulled thru

 

[moosehead]

Thanks Andrew,

My Fiji flag is just a giggle

Burying T&E off a kitchen ring.

 

[andy]

Thanks Andrew,

My Fiji flag is just a giggle

Burying T&E off a kitchen ring.

can you not wire from above, and have the cables thru the ceiling? gotta be easier than burying it

 

[moosehead]

I'd have to chase up a wall into the ceiling void through four joists and down another wall. The room above is a fully tiled bathroom.

As long as there are no regs against it I'll take out a cold chisel and bury it under the floor (putting down some limestone tiling as weel). Is there a min depth?

 

[plugwash]

not sure there are any specific rules on running under floors but directly burying T&E close to the surface is asking for trouble and you really don't want to be digging deep trenches in a concrete floor.

id say SWA is the best bet

 

[felix]

I don't like the floor idea either. You may be torn between laying it uncomfortably close to the surface or breaching your damp proof membrane.

 

[moosehead]

Maybe a silly question but what is SWA please?

 

[felix]

I believe it stands for steel wire armoured - and there are half a dozen people out there who'll put me right if I'm wrong! While we're on the subject of acronyms, I'd be interested in knowing what TT and TNS stand for.

 

[HDRW]

I believe it stands for steel wire armoured - and there are half a dozen people out there who'll put me right if I'm wrong!

Nope - you're right!

While we're on the subject of acronyms, I'd be interested in knowing what TT and TNS stand for.

It's French, believe it or not. T is "Terre" (Earth). N is "Neutrale" (no prizes for guessing that!) and S is "Sepere" (should have an accent on at least one of the "e"s) which means Seperate.

So TT is Earth to Earth (Hmmm... a hidden warning? ) meaning that the Earth cabling is connected to the actual planet (via a stake in the ground or similar). TNS means that the Earth and Neutral cables are seperate and are part of the incoming cable.

At least, that's what I've always understood. If I'm wrong, there will be a sudden flood of corrections...

Cheers,

Howard

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's French, believe it or not. T is "Terre" (Earth). N is "Neutrale" (no prizes for guessing that!) and S is "Sepere" (should have an accent on at least one of the "e"s) which means Seperate.

T - Terre
N - Neutre
S - Separé
C - Combiné

 

[felix]

Thanks HDRW. I'd have been guessing for a long time without ever thinking in French. You learn something new every day.

 

[HDRW]

N - Neutre
S - Separé

OK, so my memory of French spelling is merde!

C - Combiné

...and the original poster didn't ask about this one!

Why do we use the French words anyway - are our Regs compatible with the European ones?

Oh, and why has the "British Board of Agrément" got a French word in it?

Cheers,

Howard

 

[ban-all-sheds]

C - Combiné

...and the original poster didn't ask about this one!

Well he should have done!

Why do we use the French words anyway

My theory is that the terms were defined by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. The acronym for which is CENELEC, which stands for Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique, i.e. it has a French/Belgian origin, as do a number of European organisations, as it was those countries that kick-started the EEC into being.

are our Regs compatible with the European ones?

Well - they are structured in accordance with IEC standard 364. And now that we have Part P other European standards are on equal footing, and you may wire to them as a way of meeting P1.

Oh, and why has the "British Board of Agrément" got a French word in it?

I have no idea. There's also the Irish Agrément Board and Agrément South Africa. The word just means "approval" - I guess it's come to be associated with approvals in relation to building material etc specs. In France & Canada there are any number of Agrément boards and associations covering all manner of things.

 

[moosehead]

Thanks for the Socio-Political comment everyone.

I tihnk my best bet now is go chase up the wall through bathroom joists - observing Part P and all other building regs which I am now au fait with - and down to the single bl**dy socket my trouble wants on the other side of the kitchen.

As I started this work in July 2004 presumably I will not need BC to take a look at?

Final question is T&E cable date stamped? Otherwise how will the ODPM know so much work was done outside of Part P?