Electric cables in the wall.

[jawilba]

As part of some home renovations I'm going to be putting the electrical cables in the wall.

Some building work is going through building control but when I queried the electrics they said i was fine to move cables and boxes as long as I'm not adding to or extending the circuit.

Having looked into this i just want to check if i install the existing cables in safety zones I dont need to protect them in conduit if fuse box has rcd protection.

If I do need added protection what is the best way to do this.

Thanks

 

[Simon35]

As part of some home renovations I'm going to be putting the electrical cables in the wall.

Some building work is going through building control but when I queried the electrics they said i was fine to move cables and boxes as long as I'm not adding to or extending the circuit.

Having looked into this i just want to check if i install the existing cables in safety zones I dont need to protect them in conduit if fuse box has rcd protection.

If I do need added protection what is the best way to do this.

Thanks

If the cables are in safe zones and they are protected by an RCD then all is well generally.

If you did need mechanical protection, that means industrial conduit, not diy stuff. Basically something you wouldn't be able to drive a nail through.

 

[ajohn]

Extending in real terms means adding more sockets for instance. As far as I am aware everything else is ok but say cable length was extended resistances need checking.

There are tables of lengths that avoid the need for calculation but they make assumptions about the supply so really those should be checked as well.

Protection is needed when there isn't an rcd. I don't think ordinary metal conduit gets round that if it was buried. I think it needs something more substantial. A conduit, swa or even bare t&e can be seen so a bit different.

 

[ajohn]

The only thing that I can add to that is supply characteristics. When I measured our Ze it was way too high. It's probably the most common supply problem that will be found on lead sheathed mains supplies. Ok providing an rcd is used. The actual live and neutral numbers will normally be ok. So while they shouldn't diyr's could use tables of cable length as a guide.

 

[jawilba]

I'm not planning on adding any extra sockets or cabling. I'm just going to put the cables in wall behind some protective channeling. I understand this won't provide much protection from drills or nails. Just doing this to keep things tidy and avoid damage when filling/ plastering.

Just wanted to check that I was understanding the regs correctly and that as long as the I put cables in safe zone I dont need further barrier protection if rcd protected.

Maybe I'm overthinking it but like to do things right.

 

[Simon35]

I'm not planning on adding any extra sockets or cabling. I'm just going to put the cables in wall behind some protective channeling. I understand this won't provide much protection from drills or nails. Just doing this to keep things tidy and avoid damage when filling/ plastering.

Just wanted to check that I was understanding the regs correctly and that as long as the I put cables in safe zone I dont need further barrier protection if rcd protected.

Maybe I'm overthinking it but like to do things right.

Crack on, you're fine.

 

[jawilba]

Exactly what I've done.

Thanks for your help.