cabling for socket too short

[JohnD]

If you don't mind taking the floor up, you can probably run the ring all round the room, with double sockets every 2 metres, 450mm above the floor.

If there is one socket on each side of the room, you may well find the ring enters the room on one of them, then runs under the floor to the other socket before ringing round the house.

Of course, there will be a bit more plastering and redecorating with this approach.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Info on the rules for buried cables:

http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/C5-43.pdf

http://www.niceic.org.uk/downloads/concealedcables.pdf

http://www.iee.org/Publish/WireRegs...les_concealed_in_thin_walls_or_partitions.pdf

 

[plugwash]

or if you do wan't to run behind the skirting just get hold of some suitable cable which has a metal layer built in. 4mm split con or one of the screened fire resistant cables are probablly the easiest choices. pyro and SWA can also be used but SWA is a bit on the bulky side and people tell me pyro is tricky to terminate (i haven't tried it myself but to be brutally honest it doesn't appear to be much harder than swa).

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Sorry, plug - don't want to offend, but SWA and pyro are barmy ideas...

 

[plugwash]

i agree SWA is a bad idea mainly because of its bulk i really mentioned it just for completeness. (and its probabblly an easier choice than steel conduit)

as for pyro its nice and thin and apparently it lasts practically forever as its a completely inorganic construction but its one of the more expensive cable types and apparently hard to terminate (can't really comment on just how hard as i haven't tried myself).

 

[andy]

and apparently hard to terminate

depends. some people manage it no problem. other have difficulty with it. i find it just as easy as SWA

 

[JohnD]

But isn't the point that the cable should be protected from people banging nails into it? The copper outer of pyro won't put up much of a fight.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

522-06-06 A cable concealed in a wall or partition at a depth of less than 50 mm from
the surfaces of the wall or partition shall:

(i) incorporate an earthed metallic covering which complies with the requirements of these Regulations for a protective conductor of the circuit concerned, the cable complying with BS 5467, BS 6346, BS 6724, BS 7846, BS EN 60702-1 or BS 8436, or

(ii)....... or

(iii)...... or

(iv)......



BS EN 60702-1 is MICC.

No, it won't stop a nail, but it will ensure the nail is earthed before it hits another conductor, thus creating a fault, not a hazard.

 

[Bullhorn]

Ok. I should have mentioned that leading to my one double socket in the room I have one 2.5mm2 cable and on - what looks like - 4mm2 cable. Does this mean i'm on a 'ring main'? How does that change things?
I looked on another forum page which described ending the ring with a plaster box and a blanking plate.
Also, the cables I found under the floor of the room are running alongside and touching the central heating pipes. I don't think this is a good thing but is it anything particular to worry about?
Thanks once more folks.
Kind regards.
Greg

 

[Bullhorn]

I understand what you mean about people putting nails through skirting etc. Is it safe to bring them up from under the floor behind the skirting at that point only and burying them behind the plaster?

I am down to the floorboards at the moment and the room is being fully decorated so altering the walls isn't a problem to acheive the result. I'm not dead keen to lift all the boards though.

The house is old too. I'm not sure how my present work and what was done before fits into the scheme of the new building regulations. Thanks to ban-all-sheds for the links. I can't seem to find anything that says what happens if you have your work inspected and it's fine but it reveals previous work done from further back which is not compliant. I'd like to know if I would then be legally obliged to make it so.
And if there was any problem when the house was being sold and it required an inspection, how could they tell I had done any of the work AFTER Jan 2005?
Any discussion on this would be much appreciated.

Thanking you all again.
Greg