"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
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.

Not sure about the screw terminals as an electrician did it not me.

The wiring for the house was done in the early 70's would cut joists have
been OK then?

The wiring was tested when the new consumer unit with RCD and MCB's was
fitted 3 years ago and found to be sound - until I trashed it yesterday!