Horizontal safe zone with 'dry lining' back boxes

[JohnW2]

Nope, I meant out at an acute angle at the top, or bottom, of the dry lining box you had.

In that case, I'd be grateful for a bit more explanation of what you're thinking of.

I don't think I've ever seen a dry lining box with "20mm knockouts" in either top or bottom, but they do invariably have rectangular 'knockouts' in top and bottom. However, because of the constraints of the 'sides of the hole', I cannot see how a cable exiting 'at an acute angle' could do anything other than move vertically away from the box (with or without some horizontal movement) and, as I wrote, I can't see how it could get 'behind the box' (assuming there is some space there) without having a 'tight bend' (producing a >90° change in direction).

What am I missing?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

However, because of the constraints of the 'sides of the hole', I cannot see how a cable exiting 'at an acute angle' could do anything other than move vertically away from the box (with or without some horizontal movement) and, as I wrote,

Then, enlarge the slot/hole, to allow the cable a better angle of exit.

 

[JohnW2]

Then, enlarge the slot/hole, to allow the cable a better angle of exit.

No matter how big one makes the hole, the cable would have to exit pointing at least slightly 'away from the box' (upwards or downwards), and therefore would have to turn through at least 90° to get 'behind the box', wouldn't it?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

No matter how big one makes the hole, the cable would have to exit pointing at least slightly 'away from the box' (upwards or downwards), and therefore would have to turn through at least 90° to get 'behind the box', wouldn't it?

I cannot fathom, why you are insisting on trying to take it behind the box? All the cable needs to do, is exit the top, or bottom of the box, at an acute angle, to avoid a tight bend to get it to follow tight to the upper side of the box, then continue horizontally to where-ever you need it to go. Any excursion, beyond the 'safe-zone', will be very slight, if at all.

 

[JohnW2]

I cannot fathom, why you are insisting on trying to take it behind the box?

Because, for those who are very pedantic, that seems to be the only way to avoid the cable being (very slightly) 'outside of zones' when it goes around the 'corner of the box between top and side.

All the cable needs to do, is exit the top, or bottom of the box, at an acute angle, to avoid a tight bend to get it to follow tight to the upper side of the box, then continue horizontally to where-ever you need it to go.

See above.

Any excursion, beyond the 'safe-zone', will be very slight, if at all.

Quite so, that's why I regard it as pretty pedantic. However, there will always be some who say "non-compliance with regs is non-compliance with regs, no matter how slight the non-compliance"

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Quite so, that's why I regard it as pretty pedantic. However, there will always be some who say "non-compliance with regs is non-compliance with regs, no matter how slight the non-compliance"

Yet, how could they possibly find it, without chopping out the wall, to see?

 

[JohnW2]

Yet, how could they possibly find it, without chopping out the wall, to see?

As I've written more than once, if they see a cable exiting through the top of the box, the other end of which is connected to a horizontally-aligned accessory, they can strongly suspect that the (trivial and 'pedantic') issue I've mentioned may well be present (probably inevitable' unless the cable has sharp bends and goes behind the box).

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

As I've written more than once, if they see a cable exiting through the top of the box, the other end of which is connected to a horizontally-aligned accessory, they can strongly suspect that the (trivial and 'pedantic') issue I've mentioned may well be present (probably inevitable' unless the cable has sharp bends and goes behind the box).

I'll bet you panic, if the speedo shows 30.4 in a 30 limit too

 

[JohnW2]

I'll bet you panic, if the speedo shows 30.4 in a 30 limit too

Good grief - you're definitely preaching to the wrong person there!

I'm certainly not 'panicking' about any of this total trivia and I wouldn't lose a moment's sleep if I knew that some of the cables in my house were a centimetre or three outside of the defined 'zones'.

As for car speed, my mind seems to think in units/steps of 5 or 10 mph - so unless the indicated speed appeared to be above 35 or 40 mph, I probably wouldn't even 'notice'/'register'; that it was above 30 mph

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Good grief - you're definitely preaching to the wrong person there!

I'm certainly not 'panicking' about any of this total trivia and I wouldn't lose a moment's sleep if I knew that some of the cables in my house were a centimetre or three outside of the defined 'zones'.

Well then, cross bridges, when you come to them..

 

[JohnW2]

Well then, cross bridges, when you come to them..

They aren't bridges which I'm likely to ever come across
[ as in many other fields/aspects of life, that is true at in terms of "what I do", which is not necessarily the same as "what I say/advise"! "What I do" is very much a case of 'common sense guided by knowledge of the regs', rather pedantic/strict blind adherence to every word of the regs ]

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

[ as in many other fields/aspects of life, that is true at in terms of "what I do", which is not necessarily the same as "what I say/advise"! "What I do" is very much a case of 'common sense guided by knowledge of the regs', rather pedantic/strict blind adherence to every word of the regs ]

So, you are desperately seeking a means to not infringe a Regulation, by even by a few mm, which will not really matter, but then say you don't worry about strictly following Regulations, when you can safely overrule using basic common sense?

I'm outa here!

 

[JohnW2]

So, you are desperately seeking a means to not infringe a Regulation, by even by a few mm, which will not really matter, but then say you don't worry about strictly following Regulations, when you can safely overrule using basic common sense?

NO, I am not "desperately seeking" anything - since, as I say, I personally see absolutely no need.

Rather (actually, following a comment I received from a colleague) I asked the original question on behalf of those who are obsessed with the need for strict blind compliance with every word of the regs.

I'm outa here!

Probably wise

 

[morqthana]

Any excursion, beyond the 'safe-zone', will be very slight, if at all.

Does anybody make sockets, switches, etc with oversized wall plates?

 

[JohnW2]

Does anybody make sockets, switches, etc with oversized wall plates?

I don't know the answer to that, but I seem to recall that there were once 'surrounds' one could get, which extended about 15mm beyond the edges of the faceplate. I have no idea whether they still exist, but I wonder whether people would consider them to 'extend the zones'?