Terminate spur cable, bury in wall?

[Jabhead]

Hi,

Some advice would be appreciated!

Currently trying to restore my fireplace and have had to remove a spur socket that was previously put in.

I think the spur is coming from a junction box under the floor - big job to move everything and pull up floors in newly decorated room.

I'm replastering inside the fireplace - would it be okay if I removed socket, cut cable, capped wires with connector/terminal blocks and then buried the cable behind the plaster into the wall? Or does it need to remain accessible?

Thanks.

 

[sparkwright]

You can't, because no one would know it's there and it may get drilled through.

How about turning it into a 13 amp socket?

 

[bernardgreen]

- big job to move everything and pull up floors in newly decorated room..

Big but the only safe way to proceed.

To have a live cable buried in a wall will no indication that there is a live cable there is a permanent danger. Any workman doing any work in the fireplace could be electrocuted if he or she drills into the cable.

If you are restoring the fire place to use as a fire place then that cable has to be disconnected as it may fail due to the heat from the fire. That failure would make it impossible to use sockets on that circuit as the fuse?MCB or RCD could not be reset until the failed cable was removed from the circcuit.

Also the junction box under the floor has to be accessible for maintainance or be reomved by replacing the cables that it joins with a new length of cable.

 

[JohnW2]

How about turning it into a 13 amp socket?

I presume that's exactly what it already was, and what the OP needs to remove

Unfortunately, I have to agree with others that there is no safe approach other than to disconnect the cable from its source (which the OP thinks is an underfloor JB). Once that is done, physically removing all of the cable is obviously of much less importance.

Kind Regards, John

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

Also the junction box under the floor has to be accessible for maintainance or be reomved by replacing the cables that it joins with a new length of cable.

...or joined using a maintenance free method such as soldering, crimping or (theoretically) these new-fangled so-called maintenance free connectors.

 

[Jabhead]

Thanks for all the advice.

I knew in my heart I would have to pull the floorboards up as that would be the only safe course of action. After you guys made that clear to me I just took the plunge and moved the furniture!

Luckily it was quite clear which floorboard had the JB underneath as it had clearly been pulled up before - pulled it up, opened box, disconnected spur cable and cut it off, capped both ends just to be safe and will bury the dead cable into the plaster. At least I can sleep easy now knowing I won't burn the house down!

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[EFLImpudence]

As in another thread -

The conductors of the now unused cable should be connected together at both ends.

This will show anyone coming across it in the future that it is obviously not live or connected to anything.

 

[JohnW2]

Also the junction box under the floor has to be accessible for maintainance ....

If installed today it would have to be - but, as you are aware, there is no requirement to restrospectively do anything about inaccessible JBs installed under previous regulations.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

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[JohnW2]

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