Chasing in electric cable.

[extrememonkey]

Hello all,

Im in the middle of redecorating a bedroom in my new house - Wallpaper stripped, walls starting to be made good ready for lining paper etc etc etc.

I want to chase/bury? two double sockets that will be either side of the bed into the wall. Currently the sockets have been surfaced mounted and trunking used to hide/cover the wiring.

My question is what is the best way to do this?

I have never chased anything into a wall before - im guessing I will need to chisel out for the mounting boxes to be submerged into the wall, and then chase out for the electrical cable? The wall is the seperating wall between us and our neighbours and, as far as im aware, is just seperating blockwork with a cement based render over it.

Diagram of what is currently installed, not sure if the term spuring box is correct, but this is where the two sockets get there power from (this is sunk into the wall - Flush fitted)

Untitled

• extrememonkey
• 11 Aug 2008
• 1

 

[regsmyth]

The best thing to do would be to put the cables under the floor and bring them up behind the skirting board.
If you cant, then it's ok to run the cable horizontally between the sockets. Just bash out a channel to fit them into, use a bolster and lump hammer. Put the cables into a bit of plastic conduit to protect them from the plasterer.
However, you should check the installation is safe as it is.
As the moment you haven't said if the cables are part of a ring, or a radial, or whether the single box is a spur from a ring (in which case adding two additional sockets as shown) isn't acceptable.
Have a look behind each socket and tell us what you see.

 

[Synapse]

If the "Spurring Box" is an Fused Connection Unit with a 13amp fuse that would be acceptable.

The plastic conduit regsmyth was talking about: http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9290855

 

[BS3036]

For a horizontal chase you mustn't remove more than 1/6th of the building block thickness (plaster thickness doesn't count in this). That's only around 16mm for a 100mm block so use oval conduit. Tip: if you squeeze oval conduit at the end, it can be made round enough to fit into the 20mm hole in the side of the metal box.

For vertical chases you are alowed to remove up to 1/3rd of the thickness.[/url]

 

[extrememonkey]

For a horizontal chase you mustn't remove more than 1/6th of the building block thickness (plaster thickness doesn't count in this). That's only around 16mm for a 100mm block so use oval conduit. Tip: if you squeeze oval conduit at the end, it can be made round enough to fit into the 20mm hole in the side of the metal box.

For vertical chases you are alowed to remove up to 1/3rd of the thickness.[/url]

What about the mounting box??? Is THIS what I will need to use??? The depth is 25mm, so is this still ok???[/url]

 

[Synapse]

Yeah that's perfect.

However if you're using some sort of flat plate socket then sometimes it can be a bit of a squeeze, I usually go for the 35mm ones when installing flat plate accessories. However 25mm is fine for standard sockets.

You'll also need some rubber grommets to protect the cable from the sharp edges of the knock-outs.

 

[BS3036]

If you do use oval conduit and bring it through the hole into the box a short way, then you won't need the grommets. Otherwise you will. Similarly with round conduit and vertical chases you can use an adapter to join to the box and then you won't need grommets.

Real electricians wouldn't waste their time like this, and would often just use the capping mentioned above, but if you're doing the job for your own benefit, you might as well do a good job so that you could run in new wires at a future date without ruining the decoration.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Real electricians wouldn't do a good job so that you could run in new wires at a future date without ruining the decoration.

 

[BS3036]

Well BAS, you did misquote me somewhat - I was trying to be more gentle. I am becoming quite sympathetic to the reasons why professionals work in certain conveniently fast ways, my own extension work on the other hand, is going on and on forever while I practice my perfectionism.

But that is, or should be the point of DIY, the 'time is money' concept is less the driving factor. The more important aspect becomes 'I want to be proud of this'.