Cutting a Doorway Close to Elec and Gas Pipe, bad idea?

[Pepperpigsdad]

I want to cut a 700mm wide doorway where the orange box is.

https://ibb.co/j4YPwMn

It's in between the gas pipe and electric cable.

I will ask the DNO to move the electric board 90mm left to butt up against the consumer unit. That will give 120mm of space between the cut and the cable.

On the right side there is just 25mm gap between the cut and the pipe. Are there any regulations against this?

The blue box below is the suspended timber floor.

Here's another pic if it helps https://ibb.co/b16RmJ8

For safety if/when I do this I will screw a thick metal plate inbetween where I am cutting and the gas pipe /elec cable. That way if the drill slips I won't be absolute toast

The thing I worry about is if vibrations from the drilling loosen the gas pipes and therefore a gas leak. Is this a likely risk or very remote? The house is 50 years old.
Is there any steps to take to minimise the risk of a gas leak?

Thank you.

 

[Tigercubrider]

You can probably do it safely and use a smaller cutter than normal, working very slowly.
Maybe a good idea to screw a guide to the wall so the tool can be controlled with less risk of jumping out

 

[cdbe]

Unless the location of the opening is critical I would move the electrical board under the CU and shift the opening to the left.

 

[Pepperpigsdad]

You can probably do it safely and use a smaller cutter than normal, working very slowly.
Maybe a good idea to screw a guide to the wall so the tool can be controlled with less risk of jumping out

When you say smaller tool , what are you thinking of exactly?

 

[noseall]

I want to cut a 700mm wide doorway where the orange box is.

https://ibb.co/j4YPwMn

It's in between the gas pipe and electric cable.

I will ask the DNO to move the electric board 90mm left to butt up against the consumer unit. That will give 120mm of space between the cut and the cable.

.

Piece of cake.

Carefully peck away at the floor and expose the incoming electric service and have your electrician move the meter. We moved ours wholesale without having to mess with any cables. The only connections your sparky needs to mess with are the legal tails. As said, if you decide to locate it lower then you need not even break any floor up.

Just stitch drill from the garage side following the perps. Easy peasy. I'd go a course higher than normal with the concrete lintel so as to avoid messing about with the lintel bearing behind the gas meter.

 

[Pepperpigsdad]

Unless the location of the opening is critical I would move the electrical board under the CU and shift the opening to the left.

The DNO has already been out. I asked them to move the board under the CU. They say it cannot simply be moved because a cable cannot be in a doorway even if there is a suspended timber floor covering the cable. So they would need to dig a trench back to the driveway, cut cable put in a join to a new cable then refill everything. I am still waiting on the quote but I guess it will be £1K to £2K. More then I'm prepared to spend so looking at alternatives.

In my proposal I think I meet the above regulation because the cable will be slightly out of the doorway.

 

[Pepperpigsdad]

Piece of cake.

Carefully peck away at the floor and expose the incoming electric service and have your electrician move the meter. We moved ours wholesale without having to mess with any cables. The only connections your sparky needs to mess with are the legal tails. As said, if you decide to locate it lower then you need not even break any floor up.

Just stitch drill from the garage side following the perps. Easy peasy. I'd go a course higher than normal with the concrete lintel so as to avoid messing about with the lintel bearing behind the gas meter.

Not so easy Im afraid.

Electricians are not responsible for the meter and playing it by the rules really should touch that board.

Was the electrician not scared of touching that power cable without the proper training or equipment?

 

[noseall]

Was the electrician not scared of touching that power cable without the proper training or equipment?

What, the (twice) insulated one? Don't be daft.

 

[cdbe]

This is the problem, as Noseall will probably attest, when doing major works these supplies can end up all over the place, especially when the wall they were fixed to is gone, or that pipe sleeve in the floor slab is exposed etc often they end up tied up with a bit of rope till they can be "reinstated" in a more suitable position.

If it's just a quick access route from house to garage then a 600mm wide door isn't a bad as you might imagine.

 

[noseall]

This is the problem, as Noseall will probably attest, when doing major works these supplies can end up all over the place

We've done things with services that'd make your hair stand on end.

Duct tape anyone...

Oops1

• noseall
• 30 Apr 2022

Oops2

• noseall
• 30 Apr 2022

 

[Pepperpigsdad]

We've done things with services that'd make your hair stand on end.

Duct tape anyone...

Oops1

• noseall
• 30 Apr 2022

Oops2

• noseall
• 30 Apr 2022

Scary stuff there.

Do you know the approx bend radius of the electrical cable ?

If I wanted to bend it 90 degrees with only 80mm of space would that be possible do you think?

 

[noseall]

Scary stuff there.

Do you know the approx bend radius of the electrical cable ?

If I wanted to bend it 90 degrees with only 80mm of space would that be possible do you think?

You could tie it in knots.

 

[noseall]

Scary stuff there.

Not really. Gas is low pressure and fairly easy to deal with. If it had been a clean through break we'd have just crimped it off. As it was partial, we taped it and the customer had full use of the service.

 

[bernardgreen]

Do you know the approx bend radius of the electrical cable ?

Minimum bend radius at installation is generally considered to be at least 6 times the diameter of the cable.

Cable that has been installed for a few years may have hardened and thus may require a larger bend radius.

The advice the DNO gave you is sensible. The cable has to be protected from accidental damage such as a nail through the floor. The fuse at the substation will be at least 200 Amp, probably 400 Amp and may be even larger.

The arc in a shorted cable fed from a 200 Amp fuse will be creating about 50 kW of heat as the cable burns.

 

[noseall]

Minimum bend radius at installation is generally considered to be at least 6 times the diameter of the cable.

What the fudge does that mean? The power company boys that put the cables in, twist and bend them to suit at will. I've seen it. I've never read such a load of bollards.