Moving sockets up wall, but exsisting cable not long enough!

[D.I.Why?]

I have a 1930's house...my sockets are currently located in the skirting board (rather difficult to plug things in). I'm laying new flooring and skirting and I want to move the sockets a bit further up the wall at the same time. I've tried pulling the ring cable through a bit but there's not much slack/spare. How can I overcome this problem Is there someway of extending the cable slightly
I'm sure you guys will know.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[dingbat]

If the last time your house was rewired it was acceptable to mount the sockets on the skirting board then it was either:

A) So long ago that a rewire is long overdue (at least thirty years)

or

B) It was a total bodge job, by a former owner/DIYer

Without seeing the job I'd have to say it sounds like you need a professional on the spot to give an opinion. I'd guess that you have a four or six-way rewireable fuseboard, with inadequate earthing and bonding and not an RCD in sight.

 

[D.I.Why?]

I don't think it was rewired as long ago as that. I think the reason they're in the skirting is because that's where they've been in the past and previous owners didn't want to be left with socket sized holes in the feature skirting. Admittedly there is work to be done which was identified by the sparky I got to check the place over before I bought it last month. However the ringmain wasn't a problem, and if I add the task of moving 9 sockets up the wall to the other work I'm getting done... the quote goes up by 500 quid Not bad for essentially rewiring a plug

 

[Pensdown]

and if I add the task of moving 9 sockets up the wall to the other work I'm getting done... the quote goes up by 500 quid Not bad for essentially rewiring a plug

If only it was as easy as that! Is the new cable installation, chasing and testing being done by a magician?

 

[baldelectrician]

went to quote an identical job just over a year ago.
Told customer I would have to lift floor boards and extend both existing cables at each socket using a joint box, as you can't plaster over a joint box - it has to be accessable, easy to flip up a carpet and unscrew a board.


Called to ask how things went (remember it was 18 months ago when I had spare time- now i'm knocking work back with a stick) and was told " the other spark said that was OK (to joint cables behind skirting & plaster over)" and I was also wrong about the fan for the bathroom ;he said " that is fine to stop in the loft - it doesn't need to be vented to outside "

You either do things right or wrong.

 

[D.I.Why?]

If only it was as easy as that! Is the new cable installation, chasing and testing being done by a magician?

Look...I'm already supplying the materials... even if I wasn't and the cable was made of 18k gold and insulated with mink fur I wouldn't pay £500 for 3 hours work.
Thanks for the magician tip, however I'm pretty sure even he couldn't make my money disappear as quick as the electrician.

I'm on a hiding to nothing here...In a forum full of sparkys I don't really stand a chance...I doubt I'll be back.

 

[Adam_151]

Offer to do the chaseing, lifting boards and making good afterwards, maybe your electrician would prefer not to bashing holes in walls in the scorching sun

very much doubt 3 hours is enough to move a whole house worth of sockets up the wall (and certainly not if all the chasing has to be done as well)

 

[fireman22]

hello, going back to your original question to extend a ring circuit cable you need a 30A junction box and a piece of 2.5mm cable, job done. if you want it certified you will have to get a professional in, if you have a current certificate all should be ok

 

[Bright_Spark]

If only it was as easy as that! Is the new cable installation, chasing and testing being done by a magician?

Look...I'm already supplying the materials... even if I wasn't and the cable was made of 18k gold and insulated with mink fur I wouldn't pay £500 for 3 hours work.
Thanks for the magician tip, however I'm pretty sure even he couldn't make my money disappear as quick as the electrician.

I'm on a hiding to nothing here...In a forum full of sparkys I don't really stand a chance...I doubt I'll be back.

Unfortunately for the customer the cost of having a sparky is high because there isnt enough of us to go round. I can see where your coming from with not wanting to pay over the odds but we're in short supply, even shorter since part P came about.

take adam_151's advice, offer to do the chasing out etc. but when push comes to shove...you may 'know what your doing' and it may seem 'a simple job' but there is more to it than meets the eye - the testing requirements for example. they are there to ensure your safety. If you had yourself a DIY session and a few months down the line you had an electrical fire and your house went up in smoke and you didnt have a sparky in to do the work, thus you didnt have a certificate for the work, your insurance company may kick up a fuss when it came to claiming for all the damage.

you may think your on a hiding to nothing, and to a certain extent you are but, what people say on this forum is what i would call 'good advice' if you feel belittled or anything by any comments, please dont - the guys on here are giving their advice, and if they recommend you getting a sparky in to do the job, its usually because they have your safety in mind.

hope you come back to air your questions again. from my experiences ive found the forum very helpful, being somewhat inexperience compared to some members.

 

[D.I.Why?]

Unfortunately for the customer the cost of having a sparky is high because there isnt enough of us to go round. I can see where your coming from with not wanting to pay over the odds but we're in short supply, even shorter since part P came about.

So your in short supply...so your rushed off your feet and have more work than hours in the day. What's your point? Why on earth would the reduction in available electricians warrant a cost increase to the customer?
I'll tell you why...because by your own part admission the truth is, there ARE so few electricians, and to a man they must have thought all their birthdays had come at once when part P came about. (Your probably smiling quite a bit round about now) Because now we HAVE to use an electrician so you can charge whatever you want, in fact double your fees, what the hell...triple them! You won't lose a single punter. (This is the bit where your laughing out loud).

Have no fear, I will get the work done by someone who knows what they're doing, no more, no less. NICEIC...I doubt it.
Thanks for the advice fireman22, trust a smokey to put it plain and simple, I don't know why I didn't just ask the lads at work in the first place!!!

if you feel belittled or anything by any comments, please dont

See what I mean, honestly, give yourself a shake...belittled!?!...everyone has a field of expertise...your an electrician for gods sake. If your driven by a will to keep people safe walk a mile in my shoes mate!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Because now we HAVE to use an electrician

No you don't - you are perfectly at liberty to do the work yourself, there are no laws against it.

 

[Richard C]

Unfortunately for the customer the cost of having a sparky is high because there isnt enough of us to go round. I can see where your coming from with not wanting to pay over the odds but we're in short supply, even shorter since part P came about.

So your in short supply...so your rushed off your feet and have more work than hours in the day. What's your point? Why on earth would the reduction in available electricians warrant a cost increase to the customer?
I'll tell you why...because by your own part admission the truth is, there ARE so few electricians, and to a man they must have thought all their birthdays had come at once when part P came about. (Your probably smiling quite a bit round about now) Because now we HAVE to use an electrician so you can charge whatever you want, in fact double your fees, what the hell...triple them! You won't lose a single punter. (This is the bit where your laughing out loud).

Why so angry, I though you wanted advice! Yes part P is a real pain in the a*se & all because some MP’s daughter decided she wanted to start drilling holes in her kitchen wall but you can’t blame the sparks for that.

I’m completely renovating an old property & initially had big problems; I caught a so called Part P spark in the process of burying a connector block in the kitchen wall when extending the ring main. Having got rid of him, I eventually managed to find an excellent part P electrical contractor who has helped me no end, even to the point of inspecting, testing & certifying the work I am still able to do myself. I’m not a spark but have done a lot of electrical work in the past; there are rip off merchants in every trade, (a Corgi fitter who wanted £450 to run an LPG line to my new cooker) you just have to keep looking until you find a good one, they are out their!

 

[Adam_151]

Yes part P is a real pain in the a*se & all because some MP’s daughter...

*sigh*

1) The consultation document for Part P was issued in May 2002.
2) The results of the consultation were published in September 2002.
3) The first Part P amendment to the Building Regulations was made on 13th July 2004, and laid before Parliament on 22nd of July 2004.
4) Mary Wherry, Jenny Tonge's daughter, was killed on 31st July 2004.

decided she wanted to start drilling holes in her kitchen wall but you can’t blame the sparks for that.

Thats only true because it was a different trade (kitchen fitters, I think) that ran the cable out of zones

 

[Richard C]

4) Mary Wherry, Jenny Tonge's daughter, was killed on 31st July 2004.

So the story I had quoted at me was a blue kipper then; can't trust anyone these days!

 

[Screwed]

We let out our flat two years ago. To do this we needed all the sockets re-wired with an NICEIC certificate. We are now installing a new kitchen, when pulling the old one out I found they had plugged the oven into the normal kitchen ring main. These sockets were screwed to the underneath of the oven housing (about two inches from the floor at the back of the unit). I am now putting in new sockets, does this mean I will need a new certificate?? Can I get someone in to check everything? I'm pretty sure what was done before was not certifiable but I still received a certificate for it??