Light cicuit wiring in loft

[Simon Marchese]

Some while ago we put down insulation and floor-boarding in our loft. There were some lighting cables above the joists so we cut out holes for the cables where they crossed from one side of a joist to the other and let the wiring run across the boarding as we weren't using the space up there.

Now on inspection, squirrel or sqirrels have entered the loft again and started nibbling at the cables. Little blighters.

So, how best to protect the wiring given that I'm going to have to take up the boards and replace the wiring anyway? As far as I have researched, it is a bad thing to drill holes in or cut notches in the

2x4 joists in the loft.

I would be grateful for any ideas about how to get my wiring beneath the boards if possible.

Many thanks in advance.

[Kalico]

Well if the joists are already notched and not large enough to accommodate conduit you could try armoured cable.

Ideally, the cable should run through holes drilled in the centre of the joist but as the joists are not too thick you must be careful not to create a 'path' from a notch to a hole that could weaken the joist too much and be a potential break point.

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[Christian McArdle]

You can cross lay battens over the joists before the boarding goes down. Then you can run cables above the insulation, but below the boards.

Alternatively, use conduit and run the cables entirely above the boarding, except where you have a drop cable.

Christian.