House rewire - should pendants be supported?

[pja123]

I'm having my house rewired at the moment and i noticed in the main bedroom while the floorboards were up - that the wire feeding the dining room main light (downstairs) runs parallel with the joists until it reaches the centre of the room before exiting through a hole into the ceiling below.

It seems to me that nothing but the dining room ceiling (plasterboard) would be supporting the light fixture, also if the light fixture was a heavy unit, surely this would be pulling/straining the wire too - is this common practice?

 

[sparkwright]

It is preferable for a light fitting to be fixed to a joist or a noggin placed between two joists. This was always the norm for many years.

Unfortunately however, some electricians nowadays rely on plasterboard fixings which although handy are not as reliable.

If you have the chance, fix the light to a joist or fit a wooden noggin.

 

[pja123]

Thanks mate, i'll go check the rest of the wiring for my own peace of mind - i'll have a chat with him in the morning, i just assumed he'd account for this given his credentials (part p), experience etc.

Perhaps i'm jumping the gun, but this does seem slightly poor form on his part to me?

 

[londonboy]

Lots of people use plasterboard fixings (usually spirals), theres nothing wrong with this, plumbers hang radiators using them.

If you ask him to fix them to timber you could end up with a hole in the ceiling where the old light fitting was, beside the new one

 

[Adam_151]

plumbers hang radiators using them.

They shouldn't do... they often don't stay hung

 

[Monkeh]

These are quite capable of supporting a light.

 

[electronicsuk]

If you're hanging anything from a standard flex pendant that's heavy enough to pull out plasterboard fixings then you'll likely damage the flex too. There's no reason the fixings are not up to the job. What isn't acceptable is so-called electricians who think it's OK to screw straight into plasterboard without any fixings, which I've certainly seen done.

 

[Monkeh]

What isn't acceptable is so-called electricians who think it's OK to screw straight into plasterboard without any fixings, which I've certainly seen done.

Funnily enough, I've seen the opposite of that. Wall plugs into a noggin.

 

[kevindgas]

Wall plugs into a noggin.

thats to take up the slack from using an oversized pilot drill surely you should know that LOL

 

[Monkeh]

Wall plugs into a noggin.

thats to take up the slack from using an oversized pilot drill surely you should know that LOL

Two things: Why pilot, and what idiot used the wrong drill?

 

[ColJack]

plumbers may well hang rads with them, but in that case the load is mainly a shear force.
a light would pull the redi-driver out of the plasterboard rather that try to drag it sideways through it..


is this still at rough in stage or has he hung the fixtures?
it may be that he is intending to put in a board before finishing off and poking the end through the hole just ensures that it's in the right place.

it could also be that he intends to use a circular fast fix box and fit the ceiling rose to that..

 

[pja123]

He's put the light fitting on already, most of the chases have been plastered up etc i'd definitely say finishing/2nd fix phase - i.e just a wire hanging down from the dining room ceiling with a bulb in it etc. The cable running to the pendant viewed from upstairs runs directly down the centre of the two joists and isn't fixed at all, straight down a hole into the dining room below.

Strikes me as odd you wouldn't support the fixture given its potential weight and also to take the strain off the cable and ceiling/plasterboard etc.

Incidentally, should all the main cable runs (along the landing, branching off into each room etc) be cable tied and trunked together? Looks quite messy under there to me.

He was off on another job today, so i'll catch him tomorrow hopefully.

 

[sparkwright]

Just a pendant is light enough to rely on plasterboard fixings, but if you want to replace this with a heavy fitting or a ceiling fan you may struggle getting a decent fixing.

When removing a fitting sometimes the 'redi-drive' fixing can be loosened from the ceiling - leaving a hole which won't accept a new fixing (bar a spring toggle fixing I suppose).

 

[sparkwright]

When fitting a noggin between two joists make sure it isn't too tight a fit, as hammering it in place can disturb the ceiling below.

 

[ColJack]

forgive my impertinence, but exactly how heavy are the lampshades you intend to hang from the pendant?

if you're installing a great big glass thing then you support it, but if the homeowner changes it after you're gone then it's down to the homeowner to ensure that it's fixed up securely.

what fixings has he used to secure the ceiling rose?

if you're willing to pay for the extra time it takes to dress the cables then yes, a sparky will do that for you, but as it's in a floor void, never to be seen again until the next rewire or the plumbers get in, then aesthetics are not a priority..

cable tying the various circuits together actually de-rates them as air cannot get all the way round the cables to dissipate any heat..