Junction box(es) above false ceiling

[ThePinkPanther]

Hi

We are having some work done at the moment, basically knocking through between two rooms to make a bigger room. Originally each of the rooms had two light fittings in ceiling (separate switch for each of the four lights).

In the new room (a kitchen) I have asked my builder for downlighters (6 on each side with separate switches for each side). The ceiling was higher on one side than the other so my builder has lowered it to match with a false ceiling. When the studwork was in, his electrician put the wires in place, and this has now been boarded and skimmed. Before it was covered I noticed that there were a couple of junction boxes in the void.

I mentioned this to my builder and asked 'I thought you weren't supposed to have junction boxes that were hidden like this'. He said 'you can access them from the room above by lifting floor boards'. This morning he told me that he mentioned my concerns to his electrician who '****ed himself' and apparently said that this was very common place.

Can anyone confirm whether or not what he has done sounds OK?

Thanks in advance.

 

[wingcoax]

If the jb's are accessible from the holes where the downlighters are fitted this perfectly ok.

 

[ThePinkPanther]

Thanks for the fast reply wingcoax.

No the junction boxes are not where the lights are going. They were towards the corner of the room by the door.

 

[Spark123]

Unless they are maintenance free types they ought to be accessible for inspection and testing, I wouldn't class under floorboards as accessible as you would never have a clue which floorboard to lift and there's nothing to stop you putting laminate flooring over it.
I take it the electrician is a member of a competent person scheme as adding lighting in a kitchen is a notifiable activity under part p of the building regulations.

 

[RF Lighting]

No it's not acceptable to have junction boxes like this. Not only is it against regs, but also it's a nightmare when something goes wrong. Even if maintanence free joints are used, it still makes things much more difficult.

By the sounds of it you are having some fairly extensive works done in these rooms, so to install joints is just lazy.

I buy maybe 2 joint boxes a year, and they are used as a last resort but still left accessible.

 

[RMS]

BS7671 requires joints of this nature to be accessible for testing, inspection and maintenance. So it boils down to how one would interpret 'accessible'.

Is under a floorboard with markings to indicate the location above the board and on the circuit details and information at the consumer unit (as required by BS7671) accessible?

No doubt to some it will and others it won't.

With detailed planing and possibly a bit more work you should be able to eliminate the use of joint boxes. Although in some cases the disturbance of decoration in other rooms is required to renew cables in their entirety.