Strange Socket Wiring

[Bowness72]

Thanks dingbat, how far away are you ?
I attempted to get under the ground floor tonight but what I thought was an old trap door, turned out to be a matwell I think, so didn't get very far. Dont really want to start taking carpets up left right and centre when Im probably not going to be able to resolve anything. I have noticed tonight just looking at the wiring from the cellar that there are quite a few junction boxes, like you say, even just within a few feet of the fusebox. Most of the wires then disappear upstairs through some boxing out. I might be able to open it up (boxing out, not fusebox) quite easily though and maybe see which direction(s) they all head in. I will try to post a photo of the multiple old junction boxes as they head off away from the meter. I am starting to think it might be radial circuits to individual sockets.

 

[dingbat]

I am starting to think it might be radial circuits to individual sockets.

(Armley, by the way)

 

[RF Lighting]

(Armley, by the way)

Not that big castle on the hill?

Morley is completely the wrong side of town for me. All yours Dingbat

 

[dingbat]

Not that big castle on the hill?

That's the fella!

 

[Bowness72]

more pics for you lads







One of the photos is of my sockets as they are which I dont particularly like (trunking below socket). Whats are the rules regarding recessing sockets into skirting boards ?

 

[JohnD]

I love the pics!

I think your best option would be to start again and rip out all the old stuff. The time it would take you to trace and rectify old will be greater than to renew.

As for skirting sockets, this is bad practice. They tend to get knocked by furniture, hoovers and boots, so replacement of broken and cracked sockets is a common job in old houses. Modern practice is to mount them in the walls 450mm above the floor. You are not obliged to do this as it is an old house, but it is a good place to put them, and as people get more used to it in new buildings, they will think low sockets look odd. The greater height is also easier to get at, not just by the disabled, elderly and infirm, but also by tired DIYers with bad backs and creaky knees.

 

[securespark]

Like John!! (And me.... )

 

[securespark]

Like John!! (And me.... )

 

[securespark]

Like John!! (And me.... )

 

[JohnD]

I heard you the first time! No need to rub it in

 

[Bowness72]

Is there a rule that says I shouldn't recess sockets into timber skirting boards ? If I put them in the wall above it might look a bit stupid as some of the skirting boards are 15 inches high. Doesn't it look a bit odd when you install them at 450mm above floor level ?
The problem with ripping everything out and starting again is all the mess with chasing out etc. and making good afterwards (i.e. - old thick floorboards, laminate flooring, plaster, skirting boards, wallpaper, plaster coving, relaying carpets) after the sparky has gone.
All this when I have got a three year old boy and a two month old baby to look after while the missus is working shifts. Would take me years to finish.
Might also eat into valuable drinking time.

 

[JohnD]

Yes, I understand it's a messy job. But it will get more and more difficult as time goes by and you get more carpets and do more decorating. And it will get more and more urgent. You can do one room at a time if you like; or chase out all, get an electrician in, patch plaster all and give a splash of emulsion to cover up until next time you decorate.

Sorry. My advice has to be, bite the bullet.

Chasing and patching walls is dusty, but not difficult when you get the hand of it.

In the kitchen you can run the socket circuit horizontally, 150mm above the worktop, so no need to take up the floor. You can also chase horizontally between sockets in the other rooms, if you like. It means a bit more decorating but I think it;s a good approach, especially as you will be putting in plenty of sockets, I'm sure.

As for appearance, you will get used to it, and everyone in the country will soon have higher sockets. You can increase the spacing above the skirting borads if you think it looks better. If the walls are decorated in pale colours, sunken sockets are not obtrusive. You can also buy coloured sockets, or screwless faceplates that you can paint, if you really want to (I wouldn't).

 

[Bowness72]

I do like the idea of doing one room at a time whenever I redecorate although given what everybody has said so far Im not sure if an electrician would rewire one room and then be prepared to leave the rest as it is (last man in and all that) ?

 

[Adam_151]

I'm sure some kind of variation on that will be possible, for example something like

Put a new board next to the existing, feed tails through an isolator into henley blocks and to both boards, update main bonding, add new circuits to new board for room being re-decorated (you'll proabably end up with a lot of rooms on a 20A radial rather than a ring for a few rooms) and bypass the old circuit around that room, when you have finsihed you remove the old board completely

This is likely to cost more than doing it all in one go, and of course cables need to be fed back from the room being worked on to the CU location (so floorboards up along the route, etc)

A happy medium might be the following stages:

1) kitchen
2) rest of lower floor
3) upper floor (last cos you don't want to be decorating this and then lifting floorboards afterwards)

 

[JohnD]

I was thinking, if you did it yourself with BCO inspection, you could take as long as you like over it.

If you get an electrician, the only suggestion is to do all the chasing before he arrives, and cut any floorboards (screw down ready to be taken up again).

If you brush chases with PVA and water it stops them making dust while they are open. Patching plaster into chases and around boxes afterwards is not very difficult and you will probably be more painstaking, precise and neat because it is your own home.