What are they?

[PoP]

I boarded a loft recently. 1930's terrace house.

During this process I discovered a couple of vertical metal tubes (pipes) of about 10mm diameter sticking up about 3 inches above rafter level. These appeared to be at the corners of rooms where partitioning(?) would meet, or possibly above light switches (I didn't check).

Not knowing what these were and whether I could cut them off I left them be and cut holes in the loft boarding so that they were exposed.

Out of curiousity does anyone know what these are?

Next time I come across these I'd like to know what I can/can't do with them!

PoP

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[ARWadsworth]

They could be the old wiring conduit. Although you normally find it has been reused when a house is rewired to save on time and mess.

-- Adam

adamwadsworth@(REMOVETHIS)blueyonder.co.uk

[Andrew Mawson]

They are undoubtedly conduit - possibly as you suggest for light switches, but also possibly for a low voltage bell system - my house has masses of such conduit for both purposes but now disused. The conduit is usually light gauge and made from wrapped sheet - so there is a seam down the length. Joiners and tees are simple clamps.

Andrew Mawson

[Dave Liquorice]

Gas for wall mounted lighting? But I wouldn't expect that to be near room corners more likely to be at wall middles.

[Peter Taylor]

Andrew Mawson wrote

That was my first thought too, but another possibility is tubing for gas lighting. I found lots of this in my 1927 house, but it was galvanised threaded iron pipe, 3/8" and 1/2" diameter. It would be unlikely in a corner of the room, though.

There was also a 1½" dia galv pipe in my loft, once used to deliver water up to the tank in the loft from the underground water storage chamber in the garden. The man next door told us when he was young he was frequently given the arm-aching job of filling up the tank with a hand pump as a punishment!

Peter

[Soup]

Conduit for TV co-ax ?

[Witchy]

Like others have suggested I'd say wiring conduit. Our house is full of the stuff in the walls and under floors, most of it still has the old wiring in, though I hasten to add we're not using it :)

-- cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

[The Natural Philosopher]

My mums house built 1953 is covered in it, with original wiring, none of which has ever gone wrong. Rubber coated cables in steel pipes seem very stable.

[PoP]

In the 1930's they didn't have TV..... ;)

PoP

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[Andy Hall]

Yeah they did - for three years from 1936 to 1939, transmitted in the London area from Alexandra Palace.

The transmitter was redeployed for electronic counter measures during WW2.

However, I'm wondering whether another alternative might be gas pipes for lighting considering the size.

.andy

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[Soup]

OK then Radio co-ax. rofl

Some radios require an external aerial, so maybe leading radio antenna wire from an external aerial to the radio set ?

The house is '30s but perhaps this conduit (think we all agree it is some sort of conduit) was added at a later date

[Andy Hall]

Nope. VHF/FM radio didn't start until the mid 50s.....

.andy

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[Witchy]

Ours isn't rubber :o)

It's a pity that the ham-fisted fool who originally rewired loved surface mounted conduit/sockets/switches so much - the original stuff was lovingly (ok, it was all they had I guess) put into nicely crafted wooden boxes for surface mounting or put under the floor in the metal conduit. Nice job.

-- cheers,

witchy/binarydinosaurs

[chris French]

In message , Andy Hall writes

I go for the electrical conduit.

Our '30's semi had the original (AFAICT) lighting wiring in place and in use when we bought it 6 years ago. It was run in small diameter conduit just as described by the OP.

I could possibly have reused it for running new cables, but it was easier just to put in new and ignore /remove the old.

[The Natural Philosopher]

No way. In those days we used to string long bits of insulated wire - or bare copper and porcelain insulators - from the roof, and take the receiever earth out to a stake in the ground.

Its power conduit.

[Rick Dipper]

A similar sounding thing in my house is old pipes to put lecie cables in.

Rick