wiring behind skirting boards

[markzoom]

Are there any practical reasons why wiring should not be run behind skirting boards? Mark

[Colin Wilson]

Nails.

[Andy Hall]

Fixings for the skirting board and that it is contrary to Wiring Regulations. The latter doesn't mean that you *can't* put wiring behind skirtings but when there is a wiring inspection (e.g as the place changes hands) then it will fail.... This would be tearful.

[:::Jerry::::]

behind

There should be an IQ test by law before people are allowed to contemplate carrying out DIY, the OP's question has such an obvious answer to it that the question shouldn't even need to be asked.... :~(

[markzoom]

Fortunately the place is in a free country that doesn't give a toss about wussy wiring regulations and that doesn't have raids by a wiring Gestapo. As for nails, one would think there'd be more chance of them hitting wiring in walls than in skirting boards (where pictures don't hang). Mark

[markzoom]

Ah... Fortunately I don't plan on hanging pictures on the skirting board and don't know anyone who does. The skirting board would be ply, fixed to top and bottom battens and moulding on the top (IOW no reason to put nails where the wires are). Cheers, Mark

[[news]]

is there always a wirinjg inspection when a domestic property changes hands ?

who does it and how can they tell if there's any wiring behind the skirting ?

genuine questions

RT

[:::Jerry::::]

What about someone you don't know about yet ?!...

are).

You can't, but who know who might at sometime...

Do the job correctly or not at all.

[John Rumm]

What if you have sockets on said skirtings though?

(Thinking back to the Victorian place I grew up in - tall (ish) skirtings (c. 8") - all sockets surface mounted on the skirtings)

[:::Jerry::::]

Then you would expect to find wires either vertically above or bellow the said outlet.

[s--p--o--n--i--x]

Err, I think he asked whether there were any PRACTICAL reasons for not doing so.

s

[John Rumm]

There should be a civility test before people are allowed to post on usenet as well....

As they say, there is only one stupid question - the one you fail to ask.

Consider also that wiring behind skirtings is common practice is a large amount of UK housing stock. Not to current standards obviously, but less risk that you might think with a decent thickness skirting.

[John Rumm]

If your question was not about wiring regs, then what exactly did you want to know?

[Andy Hall]

Ah well.... they probably have bigger issues in that case. Are they a banana exporter by any chance :-)

I'm certainly no advocate of regulation for its own sake, and in general believe that governments are far too intrusive in the freedom of individuals, especially our current regime.

That said, in the area of wiring, the UK has some of the best considered standards in the world. Although they are called regulations, until January of this year they had no force in law (in England at least) and are a British Standard. In other words, based in general on sound engineering principles and practical considerations.

In relation to positioning of wiring, there are several rules and the main ones are to avoid damage to cable resulting in possible electrocution or fire.

So the rule for a room if you want to run cables hidden is that you can:

- run them at a depth of more than 50mm so that they are out of harm's way

- install serious metal covers over them to prevent screws and nails penetrating

- run the cables in a defined way. For this, you can route cables horizontally or vertically from a socket or switch or in a band 150mm wide from the corner of a room or top of a wall, but not up from a floor.

Hence, behind skirting boards is out. The reasons for this are obvious and practical. If you are talking about hanging things on the wall, you avoid areas horizontal or vertical to sockets and switches or close to corners.

Skirting boards are typically fitted on top of plaster using nails or screws. If there are cables buried beneath the plaster, the implications are pretty obvious.

The other obvious point in this is that while you might know where cables run, a later occupier of the property may not, so the standards bear that in mind as well.

If you prefer to think of this as wussy regulations then fine, but this particular issue seems like common sense to me.

[Andy Hall]

Generally only if the purchaser pays for a "full survey" or electrical inspection. A lender's inspection may well not since the lender is mainly interested in knowing if his security in the form of the property is covered.

This may change with the new Sellers Pack idea.

However, there is normally a questionnaire as part of the conveyancing to which the vendor has to reply.

An electrical contractor should not have done anything as stupid as putting wiring behind skirting. So the implication would be of a poorly executed DIY job

Normally an electrician belonging to one of the approaved trade associations. It's pretty easy to find live wiring with a cheap detector that you can buy on any hardware store.

[Andy Hall]

I think that it wouldn't be allowable nowadays, although possibly where you were, the wiring might have originally run in steel conduit. That would give the appropriate protection.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not, actually. How often have you nailed something to a skirting board? Far more likely to drill into a cable buried in a wall, as most DIY first timers wouldn't necessarily know the regulations as regards those.

If someone *was* running wires behind skirting you'd sort of assume they'd have the sense not to nail through them when fixing the boards on.

[Stefek Zaba]

Umm, the permitted-cable-routes explicitly allow *horizontal* runs from visible accessories too... so not only would the clued-up householder/electrician would consider the possibility of cables being behind the skirting in an older property, but they're even Permitted Under Current Regs. Admittedly, horizontal runs are rarer in practice than vertical ones, but they're common enough in kitchens where there's sockets all round the worktops...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They're more like 18" in my 'public' rooms. And have got all the sockets etc flush mounted in them.

[Andy Hall]

True, but in this case, the two coincide pretty well......