Cut into live mains cable with metal stanley knife..

[User1234567890]

Pulled out the cable, it was only about 40cm, so pretty easy to replace. The bit that got me is the one with the scraper, just a tiny nick, and I found another a few CM away and the live was exposed. Needs a rewire.

 

[Ollyfp]

But for the grace of God...
So many stories of close shaves!
I have an angle on this: Every 'little' accident or a close call serves as a visceral reminder to take more care in future; not only for the person involved, but for everyone they tell about it.
This thread has evolved in a good way. Thanks for sharing, and be careful!

 

[justigator]

DNO changed the service head, at their request, in my old house. Live, of course (no way to isolate without cutting power to the whole street). It was above head height. Mr DNO-man wore full overalls, full-face helmet, rubber boots, thick insulated gloves and stood on a wooden stepstool. I watched - from the opposite corner of the room. Not a job I would ever want to do.

 

[plugwash]

Live, of course (no way to isolate without cutting power to the whole street).

IIRC if the situation with the cutout is deemed unsuitable for live-working they will usually dig up the service cable and cut it to isolate the cutout.

 

[Laurieo]

Taking out a hot water cylinder with an immersion heater. Switched of and pulled fuse from spur .
Cut through wire and bang ,hole in cutters . The tenants had wired the immersion heater into the landlords hallway supply .

 

[IJWS15]

Long time ago worked in York Carriage Works, electrician came back from lunch and forgot the power was on and reached in to an electrical connection box with a spanner. Probably 1000V DC, he just had a nice burn on his hand from the spanner.
Any guesses to the brand of the spanner?

 

[Mottie]

I've mentioned this before but it suits this thread.

The worse bit of diy wiring I’ve ever seen was when we moved into a new council house with a garden in the early seventies. I was about 14 at the time. My dad went out and bought a secondhand 'home made' electric lawnmower from someone who lived in a block of flats. It was basically a cylinder push lawnmower that the bloke had mounted an electric motor on to, welded a couple of pulleys on it and connected them with a fan belt. However, the cable coming out of the motor (no switch, just connect up and go) went to a single socket outlet bolted to a piece of wood on the handle. Consequently, the extension lead had a three pin plug at either end! My dad was excitedly setting it up when he got it home and told me to plug it in indoors when I noticed that and told him it was dangerous. He told me not to be silly and touched the pins at his end and promptly got an electric shock. He still used it after that but plugged the lawnmower end of the cable in first!

 

[eveares]

It was all going so well! I've removed the old plaster in my hallway back to the brick in places, and filled all round the edges with foam, mortared the old brickwork and I was just trimming the excess foam off and bzzzzzzt, right up my arm. I feel OK, index finger is a bit hot, and no sign of anything else going on, but that was close!

Whoever wired this up (Wasn't me), has wedged the cable between the front door frame and the plaster/brickwork so only the very edge is visible. There's some kind of thick rubberised (might be tar) sheet and I thought this cable was that, and just trimmed it, as I have done a few times this week .I'm going to need to fix this length of cable before my plasterboard goes on. Should be OK with a simple low profile junction box and remove the damage and joint back together? Any recommendations for a flat as possible junction box, or other ways to rejoin the cable safely, long term, that are low profile, as in under 20mm if possible?

Was the cable in the electrical safe zone? If so, why did you cut in a safe zone where there are likley to be electrical cables?

 

[User1234567890]

Was the cable in the electrical safe zone? If so, why did you cut in a safe zone where there are likley to be electrical cables?

Not unless an electrical safe zone is stuffed between the upvc front door frame and the top layer of plaster? This is a 70+ year old house and the wiring is probably late 80s, so there are no zones that fit with today's regs, as far as I'm aware? Plug sockets are low to the floor, wiring is all the old colours, electricity meter is from the 70s, an old Feranti one that spins. As I said in the OP, the cable was just below the surface, mostly, with a very small amount, occasionally appearing for a few mm at a time, it had been painted many times over the years, had plaster on and more, so was well camouflaged, but the thing that got me, was that there was also a thick, bitumen type membrane in there, too, and I thought that I was trimming that.

 

[Notadecor8ter]

I've brushed live light switch a few weeks ago. Door went for a delivery and I forgot I hadn't isolated.

I've got a smart watch on, HB was upto 100BPM when I checked straight after when I stand at about 75 usually.