Nail through ring main cable

[aptsys]

Thanks for all replies.



Think this only rated at 16A, does this matter? most folk seem to like 30/32A

My mistake, I didn't notice.

 

[crystal ball]

I don't think we know how old the OP's house is but, to be fair, one does not have to go all that far back in time to the days when all (certainly most) electricians probably were, by the above definition, 'clowns'!

Kind Regards, John

Also if the joist has been butchered with notches over the years drilling more holes is not ideal, TBF a plate should have been used

 

[JohnW2]

Also if the joist has been butchered with notches over the years drilling more holes is not ideal, TBF a plate should have been used

Oh yes, I agree. If there is a notch, or a hole that is in a position which would not currently be acceptable, I would personally usually use it (with a plate in the case of a notch or a hole near the surface), rather than mutilate the joist any further.

However, in previous discussions here at least some electricians have said that they would be reluctant to use 'old holes' which were not in currently acceptable locations, even if they were in 'electrically safe' positions, through fear that they might subsequently be accused of making the holes in recent times!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I don't think we know how old the OP's house is but, to be fair, one does not have to go all that far back in time to the days when all (certainly most) electricians probably were, by the above definition, 'clowns'!

How long ago was it acceptable to install cables in a way that risked damage to them?

 

[JohnW2]

How long ago was it acceptable to install cables in a way that risked damage to them?

Dunno - our 'regulation historians' may be able to tell us if/when it was compliant to run cables, unprotected, in joist notches - which may or may not correspond with what you would regard as "acceptable".

However, it is, in my experience, pretty unusual in any house of 'appreciable age' (a few decades) to find cables anywhere other than in notches on the tops of joists (without any protection) - whether that was 'acceptable' at the time it was installed or not.

Kind Regards, John

 

[crystal ball]

Dunno - our 'regulation historians' may be able to tell us if/when it was compliant to run cables, unprotected, in joist notches - which may or may not correspond with what you would regard as "acceptable".

However, it is, in my experience, pretty unusual in any house of 'appreciable age' (a few decades) to find cables anywhere other than in notches on the tops of joists (without any protection) - whether that was 'acceptable' at the time it was installed or not.

Kind Regards, John

I remember rewiring LA houses in 85 which had concrete joists with battens on top, we were issued with flattened steel capping to protect the cables , useless but the sentiment was there

 

[John D v2.0]

I remember rewiring LA houses in 85 which had concrete joists with battens on top, we were issued with flattened steel capping to protect the cables , useless but the sentiment was there

Did you earth the capping?

 

[crystal ball]

Did you earth the capping?

No but earthed everything else including SS sinks, by driving self tappers into them

 

[JohnW2]

I remember rewiring LA houses in 85 which had concrete joists with battens on top, we were issued with flattened steel capping to protect the cables , useless but the sentiment was there

Interesting - but I was not actually thinking/writing of 'that recent' - perhaps more like 60s/70s (or earlier).

In fact, although I've lifted the floorboards of many a house in my time, I'm not at all sure that I've ever done so in house originally built (and initially wired) after the 60s - so 'my experience' is probably limited by that.

Kind Regards, John

 

[crystal ball]

I think I can honestly state I have never seen properly protected cables in a notch in 40 years of sparking

 

[JohnW2]

I think I can honestly state I have never seen properly protected cables in a notch in 40 years of sparking

I can believe it.

My experience is very limited, but I've nevertheless seen an awful lot of cables in notches (often the same notches as pipes!) in my time, and I'm pretty sure that the only ones that have had any 'protection' have been those to which I have added the 'protection' myself during the last two or three decades.

Kind Regards, John