Boxed in cables at base of wall

[davy_owen_88]

Steel Conduit

Davy

 

[steve1811uk]

Didn't really want to use that. I would leave that stuff to the pro's. I planned to clip the cables to the brick and then protect them with some kind of barrier. I thought a right angled piece of steel screwed to the floor and running in front of the cables would be ideal. Now where can I find one of those?

 

[securespark]

Get your dimensions & then ring a blacksmith.

I find Luke Lister in Stockport very good for making stuff to order. Go & have a chat with him.

 

[steve1811uk]

Good thinking Securespark. There's actually a small blacksmiths place round the corner from me (I'm in Middleton). I'll make up a little sketch and ask them to make something up. It should be simple to make and hopefully not too expensive. Can anyone confirm that the mechanical protection doesn't have to be earthed. Steve.

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds like an awfully long winded way of doing things, and IMO still does not comply with the regs.


In ten years of sparking I have never had to mess about as you propose to carry out a simple job.

 

[davy_owen_88]

I agree with RF. You won't actually be enclosing the cable with your method which leaves it open to angled drilling or drilling from the other side of the wall.

Fit conduit or stick to the safe zones. I'll bet 10p a length of conduit will be cheaper than a blacksmith knocking up an angled cover. And sticking to the safe zones is free

Davy

 

[plugwash]

what about getting some 4mm split con, don't have to stick to the safe zones with that.

 

[steve1811uk]

OK, Seems like conduit is the right way to go. Experience counts for everything. I actually only need to go a distance of 2 metres in the conduit, the cable will then be surface clipped behind the kitchen base units and will then be run in the safe zones. So next question, how many conduits will I need for the 2.5mm ring, 6mm oven cable and 10mm earth bonding? I guess I also need to continue the conduit to take the cables down under the floor boards. Am I right in thinking that I will need a right angle conduit box for that (one for each conduit used)? Am I also right in thinking that the conduit doesn't need to be earthed? Also do I need to put any rubber at the end of the conduits to stop the cable from getting damaged (similar to grommets)? Thanks in advance. Steve.

 

[ColJack]

let me get this right then..

you have floor boards in the kitchen..
you are planning to tile over them?

why not just run the cables under the floor then vertically up the wall to where you want them.. thet are then in safe zones and need no protection... ( although i would still use capping if in the plaster or mini trunking if on the wall.. )

your tiling the floorboards will make it a pain to re-wire should the need ever arrise, but i'm going to assume it's a raised floor with a void under it if it's ground floor.. so you should be able to gain access via a different room and some crawling about...

 

[steve1811uk]

Sorry but the kitchen floor is solid, concrete I think. Actually the first 18 inches into the kitchen is floorboards on joists as is the hallway. I planned to take the cables from the porch (consumer unit) down the hallway clipped under the floor joists and then come back up just inside the kitchen. I then need to get the cables across the side wall of the kitchen so I can reach the back wall where I want to put the oven and most of the sockets. I really don't want to take the cables up to the ceiling along the ceiling and then back down again. If I can use conduit along the bottom of the wall then that would be great. Problem is that I don't have any experience of using conduit (see previous unanswered post above). I reckon I don't need any fittings, just a straight piece or two to get the cables across the wall. Where the cables come out of the conduit and go back down below the floorboards I can put a double socket on the wall above to define that as a safe zone. I'll then box in the conduit and tile over. Steve.

 

[steve1811uk]

Can anyone please answer my questions about using conduit? Thanks in advance, Steve.

 

[steve1811uk]

Decided not to bother with conduit or boxed in cables. I will use the safe zones at the edge and top of the wall for running the oven cable. The ring will run in the safe zone defined by the socket boxes. I'll then plasterboard (direct bond to the brick) over to give a good surface for tiling. That should also save me from having to chase out the brick for the backboxes. Thanks for all that helped. Steve.