Dave Plowman (News) wrote:


Only a fool would run cables diagonally across a wall. I can't think of
any real reason ever to do it - apart from to 'save' cable.

Quite true; but penny-pinching fools do exist. A previous boss of mine
was surprised to find 2.5mmsq for the kitchen ring as he drilled a
largish hole for a tumble dryer vent; the cable ran diagonally. This was
a new build on a not-that-cheap estate. A bit of popping round a couple
of neighbours with a cable detector he'd bought (after the fact!)
established that the electrical contractor had decided the savings in
cable in this design of house was worthwhile - so while one of us doing
one job at home (or an honest local jobbing sparks doing a one-off)
wouldn't be tempted to cut corners [sic] this way, the economics look
different when you're planning wiring runs for tens of "carbon copy"
houses on a new estate. And for all I know the diagonal run may've been
regs-compliant anyway, if the cable were reliably held in place at a
depth of over 5cm...

Stefek