On 05/09/2019 14:17, Andrew May wrote:
Any recommendations for good books on the practical aspects of domestic
wiring. the onsite guide is pretty good for all the mathematical and
regulatory stuff but am looking for something that covers the practical
installation.

Andrew

Mostly common sense, assuming you have actually done some
mains electrical work before.

Plus apart from the electrical considerations :-

In any property built before mid-80's, be mindful of the
possibility that there may be asbestos-cement sheeting
where you can't see it, before drilling big holes. Even if
there was some and it has been removed, did the remover just
smash it to bits and chuck in bin leaving loads of asbestos
dust sitting on top of a ceiling just waiting for someone to
disturb.

Also artex ceiling pre-mid-80's might contain asbestos.

Be aware of notching and drilling zones in *solid* joists :-
First 0.7 times span from the wall is out of bounds.

From 0.7 to 0.25 span you may notch up to one eigth ? depth
(definately NOT I-beams though)

From 0.25 to 0.4 span you can drill holes up to one eighth
joist depth but only in the centre of the joist. I-beams
should have knock-outs ??.

Always assume that all previous work was done by a numpty
so anticipate cooker cables lying in notches in joists etc
before you power up your circular saw or whatever and start
chopping through flooring.

I found a 4-way round connector in the ring main of my
house (built 1976) with two spurs each feeding a twin socket,
one of which was fed by the cable going down inside the
cavity.

The odd thing was, when I pulled down the kitchen ceiling and
discovered this, the ceiling was entirely the original 8x4
sheets of p'board, and the t&g flooring above was original
and intact.

QED, this was done by the builders in 1976 before the plaster
board was installed. First owner must have asked for an extra
power point after first fit had been done.