replace electricity cable

[charlienospam]

Hi,

I was stripping some wallpaper and managed to cut into the leccy cable with my scraper above a light switch. The cable was part buried into the wall but the surface of it was flush and 'hidden' by the wallpaper (Luckily I'd switched the power off at the box..)

Am not planning on doing it myself because I have little leccy experience bar replacing plug sockets etc-just wondered to what depth a replacement cable should be buried into the wall?

thanks Charlie

[Andy Wade]

For a cable that rises (or falls) vertically from the switch and keeps within the width of the switch plate then there's no particular requirement. The same applies to horizontal cable runs and to cable runs generally to any electrical fittings. These are called "safe zones" where you can expect to find cables and should take due care.

Cable safe zones also exist within 150 mm of any corner (internal or external) and in a 150 mm wide strip below the ceiling (but not at floor level behind the skirting.

Diagonal runs are not permitted without either protection or burial to a depth of not less than 50 mm. But that was not the case prior to June

1987 and even now there are cowboy electricians that break the rules, so beware. A Zircon Triscanner Pro, or similar 'locator' is a useful investment.

All that said, you would usually expect a cable to be behind the skim coat of plaster and protected by some form of capping (metal or plastic), although neither of these precautions are mandated by wiring regulations.