Wide Electrical Channeling

[Willmott85]

Evening all.

Does anyone know of a supplier that sells galvanised steel channeling at 160mm width, or thereabouts.

It is for covering a wide run of cables in a wall, prior to plastering.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JohnW2]

... Does anyone know of a supplier that sells galvanised steel channeling at 160mm width, or thereabouts. .... It is for covering a wide run of cables in a wall, prior to plastering.

Someone will hopefully be able to answer your specific question but, as a general comment, cables in a wall can simply be 'plastered over', without any need for any capping/'chanelling'/whatever.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Willmott85]

Someone will hopefully be able to answer your specific question but, as a general comment, cables in a wall can simply be 'plastered over', without any need for any capping/'chanelling'/whatever.

Kind Regards, John

Thanks John. Appreciate this is the case, but if I can get hold of some channeling, then i'd like to put in. I know it wont stop an avid DIY'er with a drill, but its at least a barrier that may make them think if they come across it when putting a picture up.

Not the end of the world if I cant get hold of any.

 

[sparkwright]

I don't know of any metal channelling that wide, but maybe you use something like some galvanised trunking lid or similar.

Not sure how well 'ordinary' plaster would grip to such a wide shiny surface though, although I dare say some of that gritty solution stuff would help.

Are you clipping the cables to the wall before fitting the channel? When you have more than four cables or so, it gets fiddly arranging them in channel (capping).

 

[JohnW2]

Thanks John. Appreciate this is the case, but if I can get hold of some channeling, then i'd like to put in. I know it wont stop an avid DIY'er with a drill, but its at least a barrier that may make them think if they come across it when putting a picture up.

That sort of 'capping' doesn't stop much - it's almost as easy to put a nail or a pin through it as it is to drill through it!

Do I take it that the cables are all in one of the prescribed 'safe zones' (which I prefer to regard as 'dangerous zones' ) ? - if not, and assuming the cables are less than 50mm below the wall surface, the situation would not be compliant with regulations even with such 'capping' (and, even if in 'safe zones' would need to be RCD-protected).

Kind Regards, John

 

[Willmott85]

That sort of 'capping' doesn't stop much - it's almost as easy to put a nail or a pin through it as it is to drill through it!

Do I take it that the cables are all in one of the prescribed 'safe zones' (which I prefer to regard as 'dangerous zones' ) ? - if not, and assuming the cables are less than 50mm below the wall surface, the situation would not be compliant with regulations even with such 'capping' (and, even if in 'safe zones' would need to be RCD-protected).

Kind Regards, John

Hi John,

The cables run vertically directly above the RCD to feed the whole house. The cabling was hidden behind some wooden paneling, which has since been removed, awaiting plasterboard and skimming.

 

[securespark]

If you wanted to cap it, you'd have to use more than one length of the widest one there is.
IIRC, that is 63mm.

But capping is not there to stop cable penetration.

If you want to prevent that, you're better off using earthed galv conduit. In fact, you should use that if your cables are not run in the prescribed areas.

 

[JohnW2]

Hi John, The cables run vertically directly above the RCD to feed the whole house. The cabling was hidden behind some wooden paneling, which has since been removed, awaiting plasterboard and skimming.

When you say "directly above the RCD", do you really mean the RCD, and are all the cables within the width of it (i.e. are all truly 'vertically above' the 'whatever', rather than being a little to the side of it) some part of the RCD/whatever.

A photo would definitely help us to advise.

Kind Regards, John

 

[333rocky333]

i have seen Cable Tray fitted on back to front before, to secure the cables back

 

[JohnW2]

i have seen Cable Tray fitted on back to front before, to secure the cables back ....

If one simply wanted something (which was going to be a good substrate for plastering) to hold the cables in place until they were plastered in, one could use plasterers' mesh, secured with a few screws/whatever. However, I'm still waiting to discover whether all the cables will actually be in a 'safe' zone ...

Kind Regards, John

 

[Willmott85]

When you say "directly above the RCD", do you really mean the RCD, and are all the cables within the width of it (i.e. are all truly 'vertically above' the 'whatever', rather than being a little to the side of it) some part of the RCD/whatever.

A photo would definitely help us to advise.

Kind Regards, John

Morning John,

Yes, all cables run vertically out of the consumer unit (housing the RCDs). The box is 450mm wide, and the cables are bunched to a width of 160mm, running to the ceiling.

 

[Willmott85]

If one simply wanted something (which was going to be a good substrate for plastering) to hold the cables in place until they were plastered in, one could use plasterers' mesh, secured with a few screws/whatever. However, I'm still waiting to discover whether all the cables will actually be in a 'safe' zone ...

View attachment 269836

Kind Regards, John

The cables are clipped down neat enough. The channeling is to cover the cables before plastering and add a bit of protection should someone choose to drill in this location. I do appreciate that its still possible to drill through this channeling, but it does act as a first line of defence.

 

[Willmott85]

If you wanted to cap it, you'd have to use more than one length of the widest one there is.
IIRC, that is 63mm.

But capping is not there to stop cable penetration.

If you want to prevent that, you're better off using earthed galv conduit. In fact, you should use that if your cables are not run in the prescribed areas.

If the cables weren't tightly bunched together I could run multiple widths of the 63mm. But as it is, the cables are neatly run with a total width of 160mm. Therefore i'd need to unclip and move the cables, which is extra faff. Of course, if no wider channeling is available then this is an alternative solution.

 

[Sureitsoff?]

i have seen Cable Tray fitted on back to front before, to secure the cables back

and you can almost certainly say thanks to Sods Law that anyone drilling into that would be certain to find one of the holes!

 

[scousespark]

If the cables weren't tightly bunched together I could run multiple widths of the 63mm. But as it is, the cables are neatly run with a total width of 160mm. Therefore i'd need to unclip and move the cables, which is extra faff. Of course, if no wider channeling is available then this is an alternative solution.

If you can box in the CU and the cables, you can leave the cables uncovered.