Hi
I want to remove a wall light from a downstairs room.
I do not want to replace it with any other form of lighting.
Any advice on how I can make the wires safe once I remove the light?
I have seen a wall plate type cover somewhere but that requires chopping in a pattress box - which is more work that I wanted to do so I was wondering if there is any alternative
Thanks
Bhupesh
You either go the cover plate route as you've outlined, or access and isolate the cables above the ceiling by lifting floorboards, preferably by tracking them back to their origin (probably a junction box or ceiling rose?).
You absolutely cannot leave live cables buried in the wall unless their position is made clear by the presence of the cover plate.
David
On Mon, 12 May 2008 07:49:41 -0700 (PDT) someone who may be bp wrote this:-
Yes. Isolate them at an appropriate point, such as a junction box or ceiling rose. Then remove the cables.
The least amount of work would probably be to insert an architrave box and either a blank (if they are available) or switch, but that depends on your particular circumstances.
As well as possibly killing or injuring someone, burying and forgetting them renders you liable to prosecution for failure to follow the building laws if/when it is discovered.
If you want an invisible solution (i.e. no visible blanking box etc), then you need to disconnect them from the supply (probably a ceiling rose or junction box). Once they are disconnected there is no requirement to actually strip them from the wall (which may be difficult if they are plastered in).
It might be easier to lift the floorboards just above the wall lights and terminate the cable there using junction boxes instead of trying to trace the wires back to their origins.
Adam
You most certainly can.
Whether its a *wise* thing to do is a moot point....
AFAIK the building regulations cannot do more than force you to rectify bad work.
>On Mon, 12 May 2008 20:31:44 +0100 someone who may be The Natural Philosopher wrote this:-
John Whitfield, in his book on the 17th Edition, says that contravening the Building Regulations is a criminal offence and there are penalties including a fine of up to £5000, in addition to fixing the work. That is the English system he is talking about.
Correct. British Standards are "recommendations". Build regs are the law. Where a BS is pointed to into the Building Regs is law in that context.
True, although a few points worth noting. The "Approved Documents" themselves are only guidance to the regulations - hence how a number of local authorities manage to ignore the procedures laid down for dealing with part P etc. For there to be any possibility of a fine it would usually need to involve a building control department taking legal action to enforce their will. Not something they do very often - and then usually only in the extreme cases where public safety is at risk and the violator has refused all other attempts to get them to correct or modify their actions.
While it would indeed be preferable that the cables are disconnected before being abandoned in a wall chase, it is worth bearing in mind that many properties will have unmarked live cables in unexpected places, so there is always a duty of care on anyone carrying out later work to allow for this possibility.
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