Cable Routeing

[ptimpact]

I am fitting out what used to be a scullery/laundry room. Walls are mix of solid brick and solid flint. The two external walls (brick) will be battened, filled with polystyrene sheet and plaster-boarded. Another is rendered on top of the old outside wall of flint and will be skimmed and painted the other is an internal solid brick wall which will be boarded (dabbed) and skimmed.
I have power coming into the room at ceiling level and need a generous number (10 x 2 gang) sockets at near floor level. It is a solid floor.
The temptation is to take feed down to first socket and then along at floor or just above skirting level around and through all other sockets before rising back to feed and completing ring. Is this acceptable and what protection is required - or should I take a two cable in and out feed to each as I believe that anything else would create too many spurs.

 

[ColJack]

as long as the cable remains within the height of the sockets ( assuming they are all the same height ) then you can run horizontally round the room..
quite often done in kitchens and the like

I must warn you however that cables do not like polystyrene so keep them away fromeach other..

also, as you are running in a insulated wall, your cable capacities will be greatly reduced..

please check out the wiki for information of cable zones, and for info on Part-P of the building regulations..

 

[ptimpact]

Hi CJ and thanks.
If cable taped (Duct) to outside wall will this give sufficient protection against polystyrene sheet next to it and will contact with outside wall help to maintain temp within limits. If not, what isolation method can you suggest and as there will be 12 metres of the ring covered in this way, is an increase to 4mm essential to protect loading which I suspect will be at a typical average of less than 1Kw on the ring but could rise to about 6Kw for a few winter hours at a time.

 

[flameport]

If cable taped (Duct) to outside wall

No. The tape will fall off after a week, and who knows what effect the glue on the tape may have.
Either use capping or conduit.

As for polystyrene - do you actually mean that (as in the white expanded foam sheets)?
An insulation material such as Celotex or Kingspan is what you should be using, and these do not affect cables.

 

[ColJack]

out of curiosity, what on earth are you planning to put in there that requires 20 sockets at floor level?

depending on what it's for you may be better off putting skirting trunling round..

 

[oharaf]

It's for his Hornby Model railway and scaletrix!!!

Seriously how big is this room and what are you doing in there??

 

[conny]

10x2gang sockets for the following:

1/Fridge,
2/Freezer,
3/Washing machine,
4/Tumble Dryer,
5/Microwave,
6/Tele,
7/DVD Player,
8/Sky box,
9/Kettle,
10/Toaster,
11/Fan Heater,
12/Phone Base,
13/Computer,
14/Printer,
15/Monitor,
16/Modem,
17/Scalextric,
18/Model Trainset,
19/Extention for Garden
20/Spare

So, not an unreasonable number of outlets.

Oh, size.

BIG!!!

 

[ColJack]

I was going to reply and point out that it's going to need at least 3 circuits because of all the high current stuff when I realised it was conny's reply and not the OP's...