Moving an electric wall socket

What are the regulations regarding moving an electric wall socket about

6 inches horizontally from where it is now? I read somewhere this is taboo. What is involved...soldered joints etc?
Reply to
booveedoo
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If the drop, or rise, of the cables still falls within the boundaries of the socket plate, you're fine. If not, then the cables should either be buried deeper than 50mm into the wall, or given suitabel prtection along their whole length (like heavy gauge steel conduit, rather than the thin steel capping). This is to stop a screw or nail being inserted into the cable at some later date, because nobody had any idea where it was.

If you have to join new lengths of cable on, and the joint will be inaccessible afterwards, the only options permitted are soldering (can be difficult to make a suitable joint, or crimping (using decent crimps, and a ratchet type crimper, rather than the cheapo squeeze together ones sold in car accessory shops). The crimps should then be suitably insulated, ideally by using heat shrink sleeving over each crimp individually, then a second layer covering the whole shebang, making sure that it covers both cable sheaths. Remember to put the HS sleeving on before crimping the joints!

Reply to
Gary Cavie

This *isn't* required because the buried cable will be running horizontally from a visible fitting (the moved socket).

You can just chase a channel and bury the cable.

It might alternatively be possible to put a junction box where the old socket was with a cover plate over it so it is accessible. No special wiring techniques are then required.

Strictly, as this is modifying a ring circuit, I suspect it's caught by the new Part P regulations so you should call your local building inspectors and tell them. I'm sure they'll be really hppy to hear from you.

Reply to
usenet

If it isn't it should be. Some pratt leckie in the past apparently moved our cooker switch about 12" to the left, just with a horizontal cable, leaving the vertical cabling in the original place.

Some kitchen work last year resulted in a nail through the vertical cabling.

I don't have the bottle to dig out and see how that leckie did the join.

Reply to
Tony Williams

The message from snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk contains these words:

If it is a matter of moving it to make it accessable the easy alternative is to leave it where it is and spur off another socket alongside. If alongside happens to be on the line of the ring cabling (unlikely) it is easy enough to add an extra socket to the ring. Adding extra sockets means you escape the problems of extending/replacing existing cable runs.

Reply to
Roger

This may on may not be true...

You can run horizontally *or* vertically from the visible socket plate. So if the original wire runs up or down the wall to the socket you can move it up or down easily enough. If it runs horizontally to the socket then you can move it side to side. However you can't move a socket with a vertical cable run horizontally since the bulk of the hidden wire run will no longer line up with the socket position.

One way round this is to simply add another socket in the new position and connect it to the existing one. That way the wire runs will line up with a socket regardless of the location.

This is explicitly excluded from part P since it is a "minor work".

Reply to
John Rumm

Sorry, my bad wording. I meant the original cables in the wall, dropping to the existing socket, and assumed that the original socket was to be done away with. In this case, the original cables could be dropping outside the permitted zone of the socket, and doing a dog-leg in the cable to reach the new socket would not be allowed.

Again, I assumed that the original socket box was to be filled in and plastered over - all my assumptions! I agree that if the original box is just to be cover-plated, and ring extended, then it's dead simple. Not too sure off the top of my head, whether you can terminate a ring in a JB, then spur a single cable out of it? Common sense says that it's no different, and possibly even a bit better, than spurring out of a socket outlet, but then...

Minor works if it's just spurring from the existing, and leaving the original in place, unless it's in a kitchen of course!

Reply to
Gary Cavie

Funny enough, it is in a kitchen and the existing socket is just inside the righthand side back of a gas hob! That is why I want it moving!!! Thanks so far for the replies.

Reply to
booveedoo

The fact that it is in a kitchen means that legally, you must submit a building notice application. You'll probably find it costs:

2.00 for the socket (or reuse old one) 1.00 worth of cable 0.50 of crimp terminals 100.00 for inspection.

Bargain.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

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