Electrical Junction Box rules

House_Hunter

Evening all,

Just wondered whether someone could clarify the rules with regards electrcial junction boxes....

...I know they must remain "accessible" but what does this actually mean - what is and isn't allowed?

Obviously buried in concrete is a no-no and sitting lovely and exposed on wall or in loft an easy yes.

But hows about say attached to a 1st floor joist (i.e. above ground floor ceiling and below 1st floor floorboards)?

Is that still classed as accessible as you "can lift floorboards"?

Many thanks...

zax47

No it isn't! Sorry.

Steve_the_fitter

Could you use something different to join the cables?

deano72_2

if you make the joint between ceiling/floorboards & cut a trap in the floor board (cut the board where the jb is ) & screw it down then it becomes accessable

Jonesya

You can buy 'maintenance free' junction boxes for use in inaccessible locations, see below for an example:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Wiring_Accessories_Menu_Index/Junction_Boxes/index.html

House_Hunter

Are maintenance free JB's the "by the book" way to do it then?

Otherwise I don't see how you can fit anything other than a simple rose with integral JB in a ground floor ceiling? (without having a nugly JB surface mounted on the ceiling!)

zax47

What's the JB for? If it's for downlighters, then you can get a specific lighting JB to fit through the downlight hole - this is allowable as "access for inspection and maintenance". Ashley, among others, do these. Otherwise, use things like Wagos (or Hellerman-Tyon or other equivalents) which are push fit connectors and perfectly legitimate. If it's for a ring main/spur then again you can use Wagos and put them in a Wagobox.

www.wagobox.com

The problem relates to anything with screw terminal cable fixings - 50Hz mains can make these loosen over time and thus they need to be "accessible for maintenance and inspection". Under a floor, with laminate on top is not accessible! There is much debate among us "pro's" about whether JB use in any instance is acceptable now, given that there are many alternative products appearing on the market.