As I have needed to do a few installations recently which were all surfaced wired, I though I would lob the few photos I had into an article with some tips on wiring surface stuff.
What I got so far was:
However it could do with photos of other types of install - say conduit metal and plastic), micc, square trunked etc. Anyone got any good shots I can use handy?
In the first shot (ceiling light) I would have put the cable at the very top of the joist rather than roughly half way up. It would have looked much better. And I would have used twice as many clips, and I would have spaced them evenly. I would have had a shorter pendant cable to minimise the chance of the lamp getting knocked. But a four or five foot fluorescent fixed to the bottom of the joist would have been far better anyway.
Bill
Is there any recommendation for labelling unused switches?
In our last place there was a switch above the sink (! Before regs?) in a utility room behind the garage. It was connected up, but the wiring disappeared behind the sink unit and I never found out what it went to. It was one of those irritations every time I saw it - what did it supply? The guy we bought the house from had a lot of "just in case" cabling and boxes all over the place, ready for whatever connection might be needed. I think we used only two of half a dozen or so in the
14 years we were there.It's just that there is an unconnected third switch in the multiple, and someone who moves into the property later may wonder if something is faulty if nothing comes on when the switch is operated. Maybe a double switch would have been sufficient; a triple wouldn't exactly break the bank if it was needed later, especially if the "spare" cabling wasn't present anyway.
Just 'using up' that old drum of 3&E, heh?
I would be wicked and label the third switch:
THIS SWITCH MUST BE LEFT 'ON' DO NOT TURN OFF
But must be turned off for 5 minutes once a month. AND NO LONGER!
NT
"In this example a surface box was used to make the transition from the flat T&E cable (switched by a remote stat, in turn fed from a fused connection unit)) to the high temperature butyl rubber flex that feeds the heater."
I would have used a flex outlet plate with a cord grip.
I may be able to put some minitrunking and skirting trunking photos up later.
Owain
Did you miss the bit about it being a summer house (and hence not my domain!) ;-)
(I did suggest a strip light (mostly in jest) the response was not favourable it has to be said!)
I don't recall seeing one anywhere formal - but its obviously worth doing in some cases.
I expect that spare will get used once the building is furnished and a pattern of use has been established - then we will know what extra lighting is needed (likely to be a LED tape or two at the edges I would guess). If it turns out there is no further requirement, then I will split the lighting sockets to have a switch each.
I would have thought "Warning, don't turn on" would drive some people crazy ;-)
Given the whole place is mixed colours anyway, I have no qualms using old colours. But yup, I needed all of 2m for that project, so grabbed the small coil on the rack rather than the big reel, and that turned out to be RYB.
I considered it - but all I had handy was a fused flex outlet, and since I did not need the fusing there I decided to save it for a job where I needed it. Cable restraint seems a bit of a moot point in the circumstances since that flex is never going to move.
Ah yes, I was forgetting skirting and dado trunking... I probably have some photos of installs with that...
With surface mounted cable needing a back box doesn't that result[1] in the flex coming out above the surface and so presenting a loop which could be snagged or requiring a very tight bend radius?
[1] even with a "side entry" outlet (which I always feel ought to be called a "side exit" outlet)
My tip for choosing trunking, if a beginner (like me). Choose a size that definitely looks big enough, then go up at least one size more. It really beats buying the stuff twice. :)
Especially at crossovers, where leapfrogging one trunking over another really looks like I didn't plan the job.
Owain
To [Why surface wire] I've added: [Or you may not want to pierce the Vapour Control Layer andor Insulation. ]
Is there a maximum distance between clips?
[g]
If 'twere my shed I'd have screwed the ceiling rose thing onto the side of the joist and modified it with a pair of side cutters or hack-saw to allow cable entry from side/top rather than the strange over-sized bit of wood "bodge" but yes, twice as many clips as a back-up to not having a roll of mini trunking in the van.
:)
I hesitate to say "good" either of the handiwork or the photography, but I have put some stuff up.
I'm afraid I don't know how to get smaller photos on the pages though.
Owain
In days of yore 90% of wiring was surface. There were many strange systems no longer seen. Eg Capping and clips. Capping and casing. Cleated.
Yup, that is a good point... The ones I had were side outlet. (in fact even the blanking plate has a central knockout for front centre exit if you wanted, but out the back against the wall seemed preferable.
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