Hi
I need to 'move' a lightswitch. (the previous owners 'moved' a doorway from one end of the room to the other, leaving the switch in the middle of a wall)
I don't have any problem with cutting holes and running cable etc, etc, but I thought i'd just ask what is seen as the best way to join the 4 foot of t&e that i'm using as an extension to the original cable
regards
Mike
p.s. - if anybody can recommend a website for this sort of info, please let me know.
If the join is 'accessible' then you can use a junction box. Accessible can mean in something like a roof void or under floorboards even if you'd have to pull nails to get access. What is *not* accesssible is buried in plaster or something like that.
If you want to make the joint somewhere inaccessible (e.g. buried in plaster or in some sort of sealed up cavity) then the join must be crimped or soldered. Making a good soldered joint is difficult unless you have the right equipment and skills. Crimping is relatively easier but you need to get a proper ratchet crimp tool and some crimps. A crimp tool can be bought for £20 or so nowadays and a box of crimps in the three standard sizes around a tenner or something like that. If you're never going to use them again that may be a bit expensive but I find having the crimp tool and crimps around very useful for quite a few odd jobs (extending wires which are 'just too short' for example).
If you're just going to bury the crimped connections in plaster I think it's a good idea to sleeve them as well, otherwise put them in a box of some sort and bury that. It's probably a good idea to sleeve the crimped connections whatever you do.
Ta
It will be in the cavity of a studded partition - i'd assume that counts as inaccessible ?
In message , diy@sandyway.?.fsbusiness.co.uk.invalid writes
Yep, unless you have a removable access panel.
If you are going to permanently fill the hole where the current switch is then yes. If you say replace it with a blank plate, then no.
Marginal but, yes, I would think so unless there was access via (for example) removing a double socket to get to the junction box. If you just blanked off the old switch with a blanking plate then that would give access. However if you fill the hole and plaster/paint over it then it's inaccessible.
That's me off buying a crimper on the way home (i presume i should be able to find one at the borg)
- I do like to think i've done the job properly.
ta very much
Chris Green wrote | Marginal but, yes, I would think so unless there was access via (for | example) removing a double socket to get to the junction box. If you | just blanked off the old switch with a blanking plate then that would | give access. However if you fill the hole and plaster/paint over it | then it's inaccessible.
Also if the original switch is removed and plastered over the wiring may no longer be running in the permitted zone up/down/across from a visible accessory, so the wiring might have to be mechanically protected. This might apply not only to the new wiring but also the existing.
I think I'd run triple-and-earth to the new switch and have two-way switching. No doubt then that the cables to the switch are still live and what they do.
Owain
This has been done in our house - old switch is left there and an extra switch added at the new location. Old switch is used to join the cable and both work as wired in parallel. I assume that this is permitted and maybe an option.
Darren
Is it not possible to pull the switch wire up into the attic/ceiling void and then re-route it to the new location, or possibly just disconnect the old wire and fit a new switch wire? I suppose if the old wire is plastered in, it'd be difficult to remove it easily so there's then the question of chopped-off dead cable left buried in wall to frighten someone putting up shelves a few years hence...
It would be my prefered option, rather than leaving a bit of live wire buried in some indeterminable part of the wall, probably unprotected.
Hwyl!
M.
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