In message ,
"Alan" wrote:



Thanks for the help. I don't really know what you mean with the explanation,
so I think I'll just ask an electrician to pop round and do it. Any idea on
how much it will cost?
Cheers.



Around here (Caerphilly/Cardiff), anything between £30 and £90 I'd say,
depending on size of company and call-out rates. That's if it is an easy
diagnose-and-fix. If there is indeed something else dodgy with your
wiring then you could be looking at substantially more if you want to
get it sorted.

For example, while wiring in "singles" isn't against the regulations,
those singles *should* be double-insulated (i.e. with a grey outer
sheath a bit like the red wire) and should probably also have their own
CPC (bare copper) too.

As for a guess at the wiring system, both competing theories are
possible, and IME you shouldn't think that one is more likely than the
other without thoroughly checking first. If you feel like it, taking the
switch plate off (with power off) might throw some light (ha ha) on the
matter.

If these wires are now dangling and you have the power back on, then it
is likely that at least some of them will be "live" (in the sense that
both "live" (phase) and "neutral" are "live" wires) so until the thing
is sorted it is probably best to have them all chocky-blocked up just in
case you have a tall and curious visitor =:-)

Hwyl!

M.

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Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
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