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I need to bring cables from upstairs to downstairs to the consumer unit.
Total around 10 T&E in various thicknesses.

The only relatively fool proof part of a wall is where the existing cables
come down and I don't want to remove these until the wiring is complete.

I therefore need to run them down a separate part of the wall - I have a 2
foot space between the kitchen door and the living room door that would be
ideal.. Sods law says that somebody will no doubt bang a nail in the wall
in the future, co I need to give the cables protection.

As I see it, I have the following options:

a) Feed the cables through metal conduits, then plaster over these. The
plaster will have to be a bit deeper than the existing half inch. The
cable from the shower would have to be placed out of conduit at the edge
of the wall.

b) Bury the cables in the plaster as normal, then cover with a sheet of
suitable metal for protection

and that's it! any other suggestions?

A simple method is to use metal capping rather than the standard PVC stuff -
this will provide **some** degree of protection. But you must earth the
capping if it is to be any use, as it provides no real mechanical
protection. A nail/screw drill hitting a cable will be earthed by having
passed through, and still being in contact with, the metal layer (with
luck!) thus triggering the protective devices, and hopefully acting as a
better route to earth than the eejit with the hammer/driver/drill ( delete
as applicable).

You should earth-bond your sheets / conduits anyway

Would there be any problems with running a T&E cable (1.00mm and 2.5mm) in
a 10 foot vertical drop without any support?

Maximum spacing for support for vertical PVC cables is between 0.4 and 0.55m
, depending on cable thickness....