On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 23:18:33 -0000, "N"
wrote:

Well It is all sorted now. Basically, there was enough slack in the cable to
cut out the damaged portion and fit a 30/40 Amp junction box to join the two
sides of the cable. It was the old feed for the cooker which now just feeds
3 sockets as we have a gas cooker.

Do you mean a junction box with screw terminals? If so, they are not
supposed to be used in concealed places according to the Wiring
Regulations - there needs to be access for repair. I believe that
the theory is that screw terminals are considered to be liable to
coming loose over time. Hence the discussion about using crimps.
These are permitted for concealed joints.



I was suprised by this whole thing because I was drilling and screwing along
the joists as I have done to floorboards in the past. However, when the
board was lifted you could see that someone has previously cut a fair size
hole in the joist from its top i.e. u shaped and fed a few mains cables
through.

Is/was this normal practice? I always thought following the joists was quite
safe, I am begining to wonder if any of the other boards I have screwed down
over the years, about half the house, may have screws perilously close to
wiring. Although where possible I have always tried to look and work out the
routing of wiring piping etc. I just got carried away yesterday as it was
one of the last boards along the line of the joist.

What is/was normal practice?

Again the Wiring Regulations come into play. Cables are not
supposed to be installed in notches in joists. The requirement is
that they should be at least 50mm from either surface, so the
convention is to drill through the centre of the joist and thread the
cables. If there is a need to go nearer the surface, then the
cables must be covered with a substantial shield - typically a thick
steel plate which must then be earthed.

In any case, it is not a good idea to notch joists if at all possible
because it does weaken them.







Regards and thanks for the replies.


..andy

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