Would You Bother with Conduit?

[DIYWell]

So the original ceiling pull light switch in my garage has packed up.

By "garage", I mean junk room with a big up and over external door.

Plan will be to run T&E down to the white switch which operates an external light, replace the single switch with a double and reuse the existing 20mm back box..

Would you run in PVC conduit and go to metal box & switch? There's very little chance of impact damage and the switch it relatively high when compared with the garage floor level.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Depends on how good your cable clipping skills are. I’d use a length of 20mm conduit snd put the existing and the new switch cables in there.
Would look much nicer.

 

[DIYWell]

Depends on how good your cable clipping skills are. I’d use a length of 20mm conduit snd put the existing and the new switch cables in there.
Would look much nicer.

Well if I were using conduit, naturally I'd run both cables in it

 

[SUNRAY]

Well if I were using conduit, naturally I'd run both cables in it

Knowing some of the threads and pictures that have appeared in this forum, added to our experiences, we don't take anything for granted.

I did have a picture on a previous computer where someone added a conduit and cut a hole in the side of it to make space for the existing cable.

 

[ericmark]

Trunking or conduit can make it look neater, but plastic conduit will not protect against much more impact that the base cable. Hit either with a car and they will be damaged. Mineral insulated cables look great, however at a quick glance Ali-tube looks the same. If there is a risk of fire then I suppose metal conduit, mineral insulated and ali-tube would last longer than clipped direct twin and earth, but after the fire all would be ripped out and replaced except for mineral insulated, and that not a DIY job.

I have used plastic conduit in voids so cables can be pulled in latter, with loads of Yellow 77 to lubricate them, with singles plastic conduit works well, with twin and earth not easy pulling it around a bend. And so easy to burn cables if not lubricated.

 

[ebee]

I`d say it depends on the foreseeable intended use in that location. If because of it`s mounting height for example it is very unlikely to suffer impact and including sharp edges with a knife like effect then you might decide not warranted. If there is a perceived likelihood of folk wandering about in the area carrying lengths of , example, metal conduit or straps then anything below 6 or 7 metres from floor might be considered potentially vulnerable.
Basically I would at least use plastic (if not metal) conduit in any case, it looks neat too if done decently.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Plastic conduit is fine for a general purpose garage. The existing cable to the switch has been there for a long time without anything damaging it!