Prettier leccy junction boxes

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

OK - so - after a rather hasty partial re-wire (why we did the kitchen i'll never know but at least it uncovered the seriously botched electrics) - we have one socket on a spur off the ring. The cable to it passes under two rooms floors - then comes down to a junction box (round bakelite one) on the wall - then frmo there down to the socket.

SWMBO would like something prettier - as everywhere else in the house is MK White logic plus switches/sockets etc - so she'd like something where there aren't holes in the sides that look ugly and it isn't painted over ;-) (previous owner not me!!)

Any suggestions? I could do with something like a 1G junction box in the shape of a standard patress or something similar to placate her wishes!!

Cheers dan.

[Bob Eager]

MK used to do a white rectangular (not square) surface box. Haven't seen them recently but you could try an electrical factor's.

You can get white round ones.

Or get a smallish round one and put it inside a blank box...!

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

Hmm I'll take a look - ta!

Yees - still ugly - she wants something "pretty" to not look out of place.

Cunning - like it :)

Thanks Dan.

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

Quick follow up:

box. Haven't seen

They still do them!

[John White]

You could use a single pattress and blanking plate with suitable terminal blocks.

John

[chris French]

In message , Dan delaMare-Lyon writes

A standard surface mount patress with a blank faceplate (MK logic plus if you want to match) and then use terminal blocks inside>

[Lobster]

If it's really a bakelite box then that implies it's pretty old, which begs the question what sort of cable is running into it? Sounds like there's a good chance it might be old rubber-insulated stuff rather than PVC, and if that's the case you *really* shouldn't be messing with it as it's likely to be unsafe... least of all if you're doing it for purely cosmetic reasons.

David

[John Rumm]

Is the cable surface mounted or buried in the wall?

It sounds like from your description as if all the JB is doing is joining two wires. If this is the case and the cable is buried in the wall you can do away with the JB altogether.

Simply use crimps[1] to join the wires, cocoon everything in heat shrink, and plaster over it.

[1] don't use a screw terminal block for the join if you are going to hide it by plastering over it.

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

OK - it looks like bakelite but is the 80's eq of it. When the re-wire was done it was re-used (not the rewire we just did I might add). The sparky checked it all and it's fine - just about as aesthetical pleasing as something Tracy Emin might create - thus the desire for something newer. Cabling is all

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

Surface mounted - but I may sink it now I've read your suggestion :)

Cheers John!

Thanks dan.

[meow2222]

I believe todays white mains plugs are stil made of bakelite, ditto the brown junction boxes.

NT

[Lobster]

AFAIK 'real' bakelite hasn't been used in earnest for donkey's years. Can't quickly find Google evidence to back that up, so happy to be proved wrong though!

David

[meow2222]

I had a quick google but didnt find anything.

NT

[meow2222]

I had a quick google but didnt find anything. Burning a bit of plug plastic might tell something, bakelite smells of urea when burnt.

NT

[John Rumm]

IIRC they are made from a urea formaldehyde theromoset of some description these days. (partly why they smell so unpleasant when you overheat them!)

[John Rumm]

That sounds more like the modern thermosets that Bakelite which was a phenolic.

[Richard Conway]

Bear in mind that if you do you will have to make sure the cable runs in permitted zones.

[meow2222]

"An exception to the overall decline [in bakelite manufacturing] is the use in small precision-shaped components where their specific properties are required, such as molded disc brake cylinders, saucepan handles, electrical plugs and switches, and electrical iron parts."

NT