chasing in cables and the best route!

[andywarren]

im just about to rewire my groundfloor flat, sinking all cables and sockets in walls...the ceiling are not being touched,there are solid floors. so with a view to safety zones do i run cables below ceiling along walls and dow to each socket?..........would be grateful for advice today!.......andy

 

[Taylortwocities]

You will have a problem with complying with safe zones for wiring (see the WIKI for details).

I have only done two of these and they are a PITA. The best solution was to batten out the ceiling, run your cables in and then plasterboard over.
Advantage = nice new ceiling!

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

im just about to rewire my groundfloor flat, sinking all cables and sockets in walls...the ceiling are not being touched,there are solid floors. so with a view to safety zones do i run cables below ceiling along walls and dow to each socket?..........would be grateful for advice today!.......andy

To be honest this doesn't sound like it's been very well planned. I only say this because I hope you've looked into all the leagal consequences of this.


One thing you may not have thought of from a practical point of view is that you may go horizontally between sockets. You mustn't chase more than 1/6th of the wall depth though.

 

[AdamCH]

http://smdelectricalservices.co.uk/ESW/Files/Pocket_Guide_6_(Permitted_cable_route_zones).pdf

Along the top of the walls & down to the sockets? Guess they've included the zone at the top of the wall just for solid floors like this?

 

[londonboy]

As TaylorTwoCities has said, it is a case of battening and boarding the ceiling. It also saves a huge amount of chasing, so you will save time there.

Have you thought about Part P and how you will notify your rewire?

 

[Taylortwocities]

One further thought, you said

the ceiling are not being touched

Where are you planning to put lights? All on the walls? The battened out ceiling gives you an opportunity to have some ceiling lights too!

Also smoke alarms, you'll need those if you are doing a rewire.

 

[sparkwright]

I take it the old wiring isn't in an old conduit that can be safely re-used?

You can run cables horizontally 150 mm down from the ceiling, but a lot of chasing has to be done, you can't go very deep, and there is a great chance it could get drilled through.

You could clip the cables to the tops of the walls, and fit coving over them.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

so with a view to safety zones do i run cables below ceiling along walls and dow to each socket?

It seems odd that you would have to ask that if you knew everything else you needed to know and were competent to undertake a rewire.

Do you know everything else? Are you competent?

• For a circuit to supply a given load, how would you go about deciding what cable and protective device to use? (No, you can't just copy what's there because it's going to become your responsibility and what's there might be wrong.)
  
  
• Do you know which circuits can be ring finals and which cannot, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each are? (No, you can't just copy what's there because it's going to become your responsibility and what's there might be wrong.)
  
  
• How do you calculate maximum demand and how can diversity be used?
  
  
• Can you correctly identify all components and connections of a circuit by method of testing or otherwise? In doing so can you identify or recognise anything wrong or dangerous with the circuit? You cannot assume that what's currently installed is OK, and you need to check it before starting work.
  
  
• Do you understand how the way in which cables are installed affects how much current they can carry? (No, you can't just copy what's there because it's going to become your responsibility and what's there might be wrong.)
  
  
• Where cables need to be joined, how should this be done / not be done and in what circumstances are different methods acceptable?
  
  
• Can you identify extraneous conductive parts, and do you know the requirements for main and supplementary bonding of them?
  
  
• Which circuits should be RCD protected?
  
  
• What about the tests you should carry out after the installation? What sequence will you do them in and at what point will you energise the installation, and for each test do you know what is being measured, why it is important, how you would carry out the test, and with what equipment, and what sort of results you would expect to get if everything was OK?
  
  
• How do you propose to isolate the supply so that you can install the new CU?
  
  
• Do you believe you are qualified to issue an Electrical Installation Certificate for the rewire?
  
  
• Are you aware that you'll need to apply for Building Regulations approval in advance, and as part of that you'll have to say how you'll ensure that your work complies with P1?
  

Doing a complete rewire is not a trivial job, and almost certainly it involves knowing far more than you think it does.

Asking questions here can be a useful part of a learning process, but they are not a substitute for proper structured studying. The key term there is "learning process" - you cannot learn all the things you need to know just by asking questions here. It isn't structured enough - it won't provide you with a way to progress where each step builds on what you learned before.

You can't carry out a job of this magnitude by asking whatever random questions happen to occur to you. You've already shown that you have some fundamental knowledge missing - what if you get something wrong because you have no idea your knowledge is wrong? What if you miss something because you simply have no idea it even exists, and just don't realise you don't know it?

• //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics
  
  
• //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:books
  
  
• http://web.archive.org/web/20080213151445/http://www.kevinboone.com/electricity.html
  
  
• http://web.archive.org/web/20080213151445/http://www.kevinboone.com/domesticinstallations.html
  
  
• http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/1.1.htm[/list]I suggest you get stuck into the last link right away - it won't give you design ideas, and unfortunately it doesn't refer to the current edition of the Wiring Regulations, but it's free, and will still give you a good grounding which you can augment with more up to date publications.