Steve Walker wrote:

On Sat, 22 May 2010 13:43:26 +0100, Steve Firth wrote:

David Hansen wrote:

Running unprotected cables diagonally was not frowned upon until
IIRC sometime in the 1980s.

I noted recently on one of those DIY SOS programmes that the team
brought in to rectify a DIY bodger's work ran cables diagonally to
sockets. I wrote to the TV company concerned about the installation, but
predictably I received no reply.

I know there is one such cable in my house, but I can also understand why -
a vertical drop would bring the cable down directly on-top of the RSJs
supporting the floor between the house and the extension. It's wrong and if
I ever get round to re-wiring the extension I'll sort it (I did the rest of
the house when I moved in). In the meantime, as I know about it it's no
great problem.

There are places where I'm not sure that the horizontal/vertical rule
improves safety. In my kitchen when the electrician fitted the
extraction hood he ran the cable vertically from the switch until he
reached the height of the cooker hood then horizontally from that point
to the hood. Then the plasterer plastered over everything. There's now
nothing to show the run of cable behind the plaster and to me a diagonal
run from switch to hood might be more obvious than the current
installation. It's not mine to reason why in this case, someone else
done it, guv.

If there's an RSJ involved then it's even harder to locate the cable
using a cable finder.