Conservatory wiring

[goldiegee]

I am having a conservatory built which will be wired up by a qualified electrician. However, I wish to put in some signal and speaker wiring for AV while I have the chance, and have a few questions

1) Is it legal for me to do this? I assume it is not covered by the current legislation.
2) If so, should I run the cables in the cavity or under the plasterboard? I still have a week before it will be impossible to do this.
3) Will the electrician run the power in the cavity, or around the walls?
4) On the house wall where I can't get to the cavity, should I run the cable vertically down and then around at floor level? Should I use a conduit behind the plasterboard?

Any tips would be welcome. I am putting in cabling for a flat TV on the wall and for a 5.1 surround system.

TIA

 

[Steve]

But why? Are you putting in wiring for an air conditioner too? Your TV will melt otherwise.

I dont see the point in a home cinema setup in a conservatory. Dont you have a lounge where you can put this gear?

 

[RF Lighting]

I am having a conservatory built which will be wired up by a qualified electrician. However, I wish to put in some signal and speaker wiring for AV while I have the chance, and have a few questions

1) Is it legal for me to do this? I assume it is not covered by the current legislation.

You are fine to do this yourself

2) If so, should I run the cables in the cavity or under the plasterboard? I still have a week before it will be impossible to do this.

You are not supposed to run cables in the cavity.

The cavity could be (and probably will be on a new conservatory) filled with thermal insulation, which reduces the cables current carrying capacity.

The cable can bridge the cavity and cause problems with damp.

The cable cannot be supported at appropriate intervals

No one will be expecting the cable to be there which could lead to it getting damaged in the future.

You should run the cable on the face of the internal wall. Additional protection is not required, but is IMO it is good practice to install it. I prefer oval conduit.

The gap between the blockwork and the plasterboard will be big enough to allow an oval conduit not chopped in.

3) Will the electrician run the power in the cavity, or around the walls?

see above

4) On the house wall where I can't get to the cavity, should I run the cable vertically down and then around at floor level? Should I use a conduit behind the plasterboard?

That should be OK for ELV wiring, but running concealed mains cables at floor level is not allowed due to the risk of damage when the skiting board is installed. You need to decide if this might be a problem for your wiring.

Any tips would be welcome. I am putting in cabling for a flat TV on the wall and for a 5.1 surround system.

TIA[/quote]

 

[goldiegee]

But why? Are you putting in wiring for an air conditioner too? Your TV will melt otherwise.

I dont see the point in a home cinema setup in a conservatory. Dont you have a lounge where you can put this gear?

Not in a north facing conservatory in Lancashire.

I do have a lounge, but want somewhere to escape the family and turn the volume up

RF Lighting - thanks for the advice, I will follow it, but at what height should I make the horizontal runs?

 

[Steve]

Point taken re. north facing.

Horizontal runs should be at the same height as electrical accessories, so they are in safe zones. Vertical and horizontal from sockets and switches is safe zones.