Aldrich wrote:

My kitchen ring main has a broken earth somewhere. There is a suspect region
where a spur feeds off the main ring to feed a single socket above the
skirting board. We think there must be a junction box hidden in the floor
(concrete), behind the skirting or buried in the wall that makes this
connection and maybe the fault is there.

I need to trace the spur wiring. I have tried using my Draper cable/metal
detector but it is not up to the job. I've seen a recommendation from Andy
Hall for the Zircon stud detector, but I think that is more aimed at
detecting voids. Would a Cable Avoidance Tool be my best bet?

A zircon is also a metal and voltage detector. It will probably do a
better job than your Draper. The other tracing tool you can use is the
telecoms type when you use a signal generator connected to the wire in
question and a tracing wand to follow it. The small ones don't have that
much range however, and the big ones (like those BT use for tracing
underground wires) cost a fortune!)

I may have to take the skirting off. What is the cleanest way of doing this?

Depends on how it is fixed! If screwed, unscrew it, otherwise a wide pry
bar and/or bolster chisel!

--
Cheers,

John.

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