I have recently had some new tiles put up in the kitchen by a builder,I had eight double sockets in the kitchen and he asked did I really need them all.I said not really and he has now removed two and put the tiles over the top.My friend has come over today and I had said what he has done and he seemed surprised that there was no blanking plate.Im unsure of what to do next,could anyone shed any light on this one for me.Many thanks
Tiling over a Double plug socket
- Thread starter bubblygirl
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EdwardCurrent
Hello.
If I understand correctly, then you tiler has left you with concealed cables that are not where they are supposed to be, (within the zones that they should be, who is to know the cables are there in the future etc ?). Not a good situation, sorry.
There are also issues with the way the tiler did his connections, he may have used connector blocks etc.
At least with 'blanking' plates the cables would have been within presumed zones required.
Ed.
If I understand correctly, then you tiler has left you with concealed cables that are not where they are supposed to be, (within the zones that they should be, who is to know the cables are there in the future etc ?). Not a good situation, sorry.
There are also issues with the way the tiler did his connections, he may have used connector blocks etc.
At least with 'blanking' plates the cables would have been within presumed zones required.
Ed.
This makes him sound really lazy like he couldn't be bothered to cut round the sockets (might not be the case just how it sounds!)
I did a job (on a lighting circuit) in a take away... the owners had re-furbed it and tiled the walls, tiling over old sockets which were removed and the cables just joined in the old back box.... (I didn't know about it)
I don't want to worry you, but the place burn't down within a couple of weeks of it opening (roof and everything!!), they had 3 fire engines including the regional platform engine, luckily there wasn't anyone living in the flat above, but the adjoining flats had to be evacuated..
IT IS VERY BAD PRACTICE AND IS VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!
I don't want to worry you, but the place burn't down within a couple of weeks of it opening (roof and everything!!), they had 3 fire engines including the regional platform engine, luckily there wasn't anyone living in the flat above, but the adjoining flats had to be evacuated..
IT IS VERY BAD PRACTICE AND IS VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!
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To do it properly, he should have removed any cabling etc, and then rejoined the ring (assuming the sockets were on a ring), and perform the appropriate set of tests to check it's still continuous etc.
It sounds like what he's actually done is just joined the cables in the wall, and tiled over them - this is dangerous because there is now almost certainly nothing to indicate where the cables are, so when you come to put up a kitchen unit or whatever, you might happily drill in to the wall, and get a (potentially lethal) shock from a cable you weren't expecting to be there...
It sounds like what he's actually done is just joined the cables in the wall, and tiled over them - this is dangerous because there is now almost certainly nothing to indicate where the cables are, so when you come to put up a kitchen unit or whatever, you might happily drill in to the wall, and get a (potentially lethal) shock from a cable you weren't expecting to be there...
tell your tiler / kitchen fitter / builder to mind his own ****ing business..
bloody know it all big nose bastards..
if you have 8 double sockets, then that's how many it's been worked out you should have..
bloody know it all big nose bastards..
if you have 8 double sockets, then that's how many it's been worked out you should have..
Sheer laziness!
He didn't want the fiddly job of cutting round them so blanked them off. As stated this is highly dangerous. You may THINK you don't need all of them but if you buy more appliances or sell your house the next owner/occupier maywell decide they need more and start to add to the existing circuit, not knowing there are already cables buried in the wall with possibly dire consequenses. Get him back and either get him to re-instate them or remove the cabling altogether. Failing that he needs to terminate them correctly, (can't used JBs as they would be inaccessible), and fit blanking plates as suggested. If it was a company contact the manager and tell him what has happened.
He didn't want the fiddly job of cutting round them so blanked them off. As stated this is highly dangerous. You may THINK you don't need all of them but if you buy more appliances or sell your house the next owner/occupier maywell decide they need more and start to add to the existing circuit, not knowing there are already cables buried in the wall with possibly dire consequenses. Get him back and either get him to re-instate them or remove the cabling altogether. Failing that he needs to terminate them correctly, (can't used JBs as they would be inaccessible), and fit blanking plates as suggested. If it was a company contact the manager and tell him what has happened.
If he did anything to the wiring it was notifiable, and he had a legal obligation to make reasonable provision for safety.
I doubt he has done either, in which case not only has he committed a criminal offence carrying a tariff of 6 months in prison and a £5,000 fine, he's left you with something which could kill someone (and did kill someone a few years ago, leaving two small children, one of whom found her body, with no mother).
I doubt he has done either, in which case not only has he committed a criminal offence carrying a tariff of 6 months in prison and a £5,000 fine, he's left you with something which could kill someone (and did kill someone a few years ago, leaving two small children, one of whom found her body, with no mother).
Reminds me of a takeaway in my city. It looks as if the owners weren't happy with the downlights that were installed when the place was refurbished, so they've cut a slot out around the fitting, and run surface trunking over the ceiling from there to a few T5 fittings around the place. The fluorescent fittings are metal cased (highly unlikely to be class II by the looks of things), and appear to be wired in what looks a lot like bellwire.
He may have
Taken out a pair of sockets between existing sockets.
This makes the cabling if horizontal, in a safe zone.
Provided crimp joints to the cables within the existing back boxes that the sockets were taken out of
This makes the connection of cabling permanent and so no blanking plate required
He would have had to make a plate of some sort for the back box
Otherwise the tiles won't have anything behind them to glue to and the grouting would have nothing behind it.
He has changed an existing installation within a prescribed part P notifiable area (a kitchen) and he shouldn't be doing that.
Taken out a pair of sockets between existing sockets.
This makes the cabling if horizontal, in a safe zone.
Provided crimp joints to the cables within the existing back boxes that the sockets were taken out of
This makes the connection of cabling permanent and so no blanking plate required
He would have had to make a plate of some sort for the back box
Otherwise the tiles won't have anything behind them to glue to and the grouting would have nothing behind it.
He has changed an existing installation within a prescribed part P notifiable area (a kitchen) and he shouldn't be doing that.
A bit of the cardboard packaging from the tiles normally covers the 15A choc-blocks well
I must say, its not really the most pressing concern of mine when I decide I want a pizza on the way home from the pub
Maybe so, but I can't help noticing it while waiting for the pizza to cook!
Proper pizzas cooked in proper pizza ovens are so quick you shouldn't have time to notice...
it's about a 10 minute trip from dough to box if the oven is set right...
2 mins to build the pizza and cut it when it comes out and an 8 min trip through the oven..
2 mins to build the pizza and cut it when it comes out and an 8 min trip through the oven..
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