A mate asked me to help sort out a couple of leaks in his toilet, and a
dribbling overflow from the main header tank. But that's not the main
story. As there was no lighting in the roof void where the tank is so I
said I'd fit some.

The house is a 25 year old Barratt's timber framed type. With weird
wiring. The lighting is wired in singles - 1mm grey double sheathed cable
with a red or black inner. Earth just ordinary green/yellow. All just
draped across the joists for the shortest run. The lines looped to the
next in the switch box - and the neutrals looped to the next in the
ceiling rose. The earth seemed to run at random - but was looped at every
switch or ceiling rose I looked at.

I've never seen this before. Always either JBs or ceiling roses used for
the required connections. Any guesses as to why it was done this way?
Quite wasteful of cable, I'd have said. As most switches had two line runs
as it were, one switch return and two earth runs.

Would this really have either saved money in materials or time over
'conventional' in TW&E? Saving money was very important judging by the
build of the rest of the house. ;-)

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*And don't start a sentence with a conjunction *

Dave Plowman London SW
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