I'm going to run power to a pair of lights in the pillars either side of my gate when the drive is relaid.
Having miles of 2.5 T+E dated prior to 2005 can I use this provided it is (a) buried in a sand lined trench of suitable depth below the drive, (b) marked with that yellow warning tape and (c) in some sort of protective tube?
I had 1" overflow pipe or 22mm polypipe in mind for the protection. Is that suitable/acceptible?
TIA
Richard
No. PVC T&E is not suitable for direct burial
This is usual for any type of cable, but does not change the fact that PVC T&E is not suitable for direct burial
Yes, but ...
No, because it isn't manufactured to the relevant British Standards for buried-conduit-for-electric-cable, so wouldn't comply to the IEE Regs which require things to be made to appliccable British Standards. If for no other reason, it's probably not the right colour for a buried cable duct.
Just buy some armoured cable and do the job properly. We won't tell anyone, honest. (And if the job is done in pre-2005 T&E inside the house and the junction to armoured is concealed-but-accessible I don't think anyone will notice.)
Owain
You should be using SWA, I'm afraid. It just shows how Part P is encouraging people to do a second best bodge job, rather than do the job properly.
Christian.
As you both guessed I'm trying to avoid a very visible length of SWA bearing the dreadful numbers '2005'.
At present I have an external socket on the end of a length of SWA supplied from a dedicated MCB. The intention (back in 2003) was to extend the SWA from the socket, i.e run it down the wall to the drive, and thence (buried) to the gate posts via a dusk-to-dawn switch. It's the problem of the metre or so that will be visible to the naked eye that I'm trying overcome.
Any suggestions? Serious surface abrasion to suggest really old cable? My local factor can still supply pre-harmonisation colours.
Actually, I've just had a thought. I may have a short length of the original SWA knocking about that might reach the ground. I could start the extension with that and bury the join to the 2005 SWA. What do you think?
Or I could use new SWA from posts to the external socket but terminate it in an IP65 or whatever box and from there run a bit of flex to a 13A plug that 'whenever I need the gate lights to operate' I plug into the wall socket. I assume that non-fixed installations like extension cables are not caught by Part P? Getting silly now! It's been a long week.
Richard
So paint it.
Good idea. The existing SWA to the socket stands out like a whatever against the very bright white textured paint on the wall. And I just happen to have some left..
Ta
Richard :-)
Good grief... I can just see it now, ebay adverts for pre-2005 T&E, only installed once before, not many kinks or nail holes, some cable clips still attached, starting bid 9p/metre...
It's amazing just what the side effects of a truely crappy piece of legislation are, and besides those which were well known in advance, I bet there are a load we still haven't even thought of, let alone seen.
Yep.
Fortunately I have a couple of 50m reels of 2.5 T+E dated 2004 ad goodness knows how much lighting cable.
Richard
Nah, the previous cable, installed in 2003, met with an unfortunate accident involving vermin and a hacksaw. You then did an exact like-for-like replacement, didn't you...?
Er, yes. Including laying a new drive? Plausible?
Richard ;-)
Ah, IMM came to visit...!
The previous cable met with an unfortunate accident while the new drive was being laid, so was replaced with a like for like replacement before the new drive was finished.
Like anyone's going to look. The only issue is being very careful what responses are made to a house-buyer's questionnaire, which is the same whether the work is done in old cable or new.
Owain
Ebay already has lots of things to help you wire your home the pre-Part-P way
Owain
Maybe there will be lots of pirated 2004 cable available on the black market? M.K.
Go to B&Q and you'll find no evidence that colour harmonisation is taking place at all, and you'll find all their cable still has the old colours (don't know if it's date-stamped - haven't yet unwrapped the reel I bought yesterday!).
David
Why? The chances of anyone picking up on this are remote, to say the least.
Aww - that's just plain nasty. About one who clearly needs treatment for his poetry infection.
On the red-and-black market ;-)
Owain
That was poetry?! Then IMM *is* Paul Neil Milne Johnstone AICMFP.
Perhaps a manufacturor will take up the chalenge and keep behind the times.
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