Others have answered. It's legal.
I think there's zero risk if you do it right. There'd be no come-back if you didn't conform to the latest regs, just as long as the work is safe. There are loads of perfectly safe installations that were not done to the now-current regs.
Interesting question if you point them in the direction of what turns out to be an unsafe clone. :)
Don't forget to look both ways carefully before crossing the road. :)
To which the answer is a simple and unqualified yes.
Part P now covers all domestic electrical work, and from that, many would argue that it mandates work be done to a recognised standard. That applies to all work - even non notifiable work.
Even part P now has two explicit mechanisms for non professional electricians to complete *notifiable* jobs in a way that satisfies the LABC.
I would turn it round the other way, and say the starting point is you have established its legal for you to do it, then you get to what qualifies as an acceptable standard of work. Having done the work, the final stage should be some appropriate level of testing.
I've seen pro work which would make you shudder. On a new build estate, so I'd guess pros.
Steel back boxes nailed to studs where possible - others simply held in place by plaster. Perhaps OK for a switch, but a couple of sockets and boxes came away from the plasterboard.
No grommets to protect the cables into the back boxes. No earth sleeving. No tail to box earth terminal.
I'd hope no true DIYer would do work like that.
One socket (single or double) on a spur is ok unfused. Since the single run of 2.5mm^2 T&E has adequate fault protection provided by the MCB at the origin of the circuit, and overload protection by virtue of the nominal max load being less than the minimum installed capacity of a single bit of cable.
Once you go beyond that, then you would need to provide additional fusing locally to protect the cable against overload.
Multiple sockets are obviously better incorporated into a ring (assuming that's what's there in the first place).
Note that you can still extend a ring even if you only have access to it at one socket location, just by taking both ends of your new bit of ring to it, and joining appropriately:
I have done this in our house a good few years back now, and nothing has blown up yet.
THere are marks on our floors indicating junction boxes, ceiling roses etc. underneath!
They do however, require you to chop in a back box.
Remember that 3rd year apprentices socket I tested?
Absolutely no need to make it a ring if it means extending cables.
On a new build or rewire I would of course generally not use a spur apart from a socket in a loft.
With the socket switched off?
Think SP switch.
I presume a single pole switched socket with live going to either earth or neutral.
lovely, did you tie him to the ladders for the ride home?
LN reversal in this case. Had the switch been on then the middle LED would have turned green.
Of course not.
I just made him hold on to the roof bars.
Check, thanks Andy.
Cheers, T i m
Understood.
Check.
Agreed (and what I've always done in the past, even to the point of running a new cable into the 'short' leg (here, so all the cabling was in trunking). ;-)
I generally work on the principal that every run of (mains power) cable is continuous, that way you can never have any issues with joints. I'm not saying I don't use junction boxes where it's not convenient to daisychain but the cables from A to B are continuous. ;-)
That was the case for the cable joining the socket on the landing to the one in the hall in my mates new build house. Shame they were only connected to each other. ;-(
Tested much?
Cheers, T i m
Not sure how well that would work on one of the plastic plasterboard boxes? ;-(
Cheers, T i m
I'm going to have to be careful enough as it is, not sure how they would feel about me pulling their (white) carpet up! ;-)
Cheers, T i m
ok if done securely enough, which they won't be if only nailed on one side.
the last double socket I did is held in by plaster, bonding plaster on all 5 sides - that isn't coming out any decade soon.
Earth sleeving, grommet & tail to box offer no significant safety IRL. It would not upset me to see diyers omitting them. I expect many do.
NT
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