The heading is slightly misleading as I am not implying that anyone works on a live circuit more a case of working on a circuit that needs to be energised as soon as possible and where all the work cannot be completed in one session.
This weekend was a typical example. I was working on the main ring main which meant several appliances were out of commission whilst the work was being done. The circuit was duly isolated and proved before I started work and the work involved re-routing an under floor cable and some small chases in the plaster. As the work progressed I was unable to repair the plaster work so had to replace the sockets otherwise the circuit would have been left isolated. Fortunately the plaster around the back box was undisturbed so no real access behind the socket front.
However, in the past this has not always been the case especially when a new back box is installed and the plasterwork around it needs to be repaired. If you can simply loop a cable through that’s not a problem but when a cable needs connecting to an existing cable that is another matter.
In these circumstances I have Wago’d the cables together and inserted a thin ply within the box sides to cover the cables and secured it with the accessory screws until the plasterwork could be repaired and make the circuit usable in the meantime. This probably is not completely Kosher by the regs but then again we live in the real world.
I am interested what other members do in these circumstances?