How best to bury/hide/remove this live cable?

[smp50]

My bathroom had a light (with shaver socket) over the sink. The room has now been re-arranged and there's no longer any particular use for power at that spot on the wall.

It's about 2m off the floor and 4 or 5 inches of t&e protrude from the plaster. The point where the cable comes out is right on the vertical line where tiles will now give way to painted wall, so it won't be in the middle of an empty space and is very unlikely to be drilled or nailed into...
I assume that from this outcrop it runs vertically and into the ceiling (ground floor extension, no access from above).

Because of the location I think it will be awkward and odd to put a new light there, and I suspect that simply burying it in the plaster is not the best idea. I thought of putting a new shaver socket on it, which would fit but it's in a bit of a useless place (red cross - http://i.imgur.com/7daXAHS.png).

What would you recommend? If I can't trace the cable back and remove the whole thing then what's the safest way to hide it? Must I dig out room for a backbox and then put a blanking plate on it?

Thanks,

 

[bernardgreen]

Trace it back and disconnect at the other end.

To do anything else, such as hiding it or putting a box with live cables that close to the bath is a serious hazard and potentially lethal.

 

[AndyPRK]

A bit if investigation at the ceiling light to see if power is taken from there and can be disconnected.

Otherwise as you say a small box with blanking plate.

Maybe architrave if they do a blanking cover

 

[JohnW2]

Maybe architrave if they do a blanking cover

They so - both single and double (height). It's a bit of a squeeze to get a multi-terminal connector block into one though - easier if chopped into single bits.

Kind Regards, John

 

[AndyPRK]

Maybe the earth to the box terminal if there is one.

And should be room for 2 blocks.

 

[AndyPRK]

Maybe the earth to the box terminal if there is one.

And should be room for 2 blocks.

 

[bernardgreen]

Otherwise as you say a small box with blanking plate.

That close to the bath it would need to be IP44 at least to prevent water getting into the box. Moisture in the box could create the "tingly wall" effect without producing enough earth leakage to trip the RCD That is assuming there is an RCD protecting that circuit. A tingle from touching the wall while in the bath may not be lethal electrically ( or it could be if the box isn't earthed ) it might lead to a fall and subsequent injury.

The risks are too high to not make the effort to trace and disconnect the cable.

 

[sparkwright]

As said, the best way is to work out from where the cable comes from.

It may well be connected to the light, the switch, or a fan switch.

If so, disconnect it from wherever.

However, there's a possibility it may come from an inaccessible junction box.

What is the ceiling made of?

If it's impossible to disconnect the cable, and there's a ceiling void, you could make a hole in the ceiling, pull up the cable, then terminate it in a junction box and 'lose' it in the ceiling void.

 

[smp50]

OK, thanks everyone. I found things to be very busy in the ceiling rose of the same room and believe I have identified the right cable, i.e. the only one which when disconnected left the light operational but the wall cable dead (ascertained with a multimeter across the live and neutral which was reading ~230V before and 0 after)

At each end I twisted the live and neutral together and coiled the earth around the outside, then taped it all up, and wrote on the cable sheath to describe the situation. In the ceiling I shoved it up into the void and in the wall I'll fold it back and fill over it. I wasn't able to pull the whole thing through and out, unfortunately.

This house has some unusual wiring and this adds to it, so I'll be leaving schematics (as best as I have been able to determine) and notes by the CU for the next owners.

Does that sound alright?

 

[bernardgreen]

It would be a bit better if the earth conductor was left connected to the earths in the junction box provided that in doing so there is no possibility of the other conductors in the cable making contact with the Lives or Neutrals in the junction box.

Some people would also connect the live and neutral conductors to earth

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Some people would also connect the live and neutral conductors to earth