Drilled through a lighting circuit last night

fluffpot

If you have enough slack, crimp and fit heat shrink sleeving over join. But then continuity and insulation resistance test to make sure cable all OK

cyclonebri1

baldelectrician wrote: »

Here lies the confusion

Part P is an inadequate attempt to bring electrics into building regs in England and Wales and does not mention crimps etc

17th Edition of BS7671, formerly known as the 'regs' or the 'wiring regs' mention things such as crimps, access to conductors etc

So this is mentioned in BS7671: 2008, 17th Edition Wiring Regulations, but not in Part P

To answer the OP, I would rewire that part of the circuit - to the ceiling void atleast in the first instance. With a join in a cable there is always a risk

Thanks for posting the correct answer, as always the law(s) are asses.

Check out the guides in the States and Canada, inaccessible junction points/buried boxes are illegitimate

southcoastrgi

mkaibear wrote: »

"In the Secretary of State's view

there was me thinking that he didn't have the first clue about politics let alone electrics.

Leif

Can I ask a naive question, why is a crimp bad?

southcoastrgi wrote: »

there was me thinking that he didn't have the first clue about politics let alone electrics.

:rotfl: Now you know.

fluffpot

it's not - if done correctly, it's permanent joint so can be plastered over as long as the conductors have protection, such as sleeving as I suggested.

Owain_Moneysaver

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Thanks for posting the correct answer, as always the law(s) are asses.

Check out the guides in the States and Canada, inaccessible junction points/buried boxes are illegitimate

That's all right, as
(a) we aren't in the US or Canada, and
(b) they allow wirenuts, which have been banned in the UK since the 1960s.

Owain_Moneysaver

mkaibear wrote: »

2) Open up the wall, put in a metal JB, chocolate block in the JB, plaster over.

Not acceptable, as screwed joints must be accessible for inspection.

baldelectrician

mkaibear wrote: »

Er, Part P regs (Building Regs 2010 Electrical Safety-Dwellings) begin with;

"In the Secretary of State's view, the requirements will be met by adherence to the 'Fundamental Principles' for achieving safety given in BS7671:2001"

Part P and 'the regs' are fundamentally intertwined.

BS7671: 2001 is now BS7671 :2008

Please remember that the UK is not just England and Wales- there are other 'bits'.

The Scottish Building Regs state that adherence to "the current edition" of BS7671 should be followed.

Part P is not entertwined with BS7671, it just refers to it.

BS7671 is a British Standard and published by the IET (formerly the IEE), the IET write the regs for Part P to follow, so they are not 'entertwined' as Part P follows the requirements of BS7671.

To sum up BS 7671 does not follow Part P, it's the other way around.

tlh858

Of the options, 1 is possible provided the correct crimps and crimping tool are used. Soldering is also possible, although not likely since to do properly will be far more difficult than crimping.
2 is not permitted, as screwed joints must be accessible.
3 and 4 are possible although somewhat silly.
5 is the best option but also the most expensive and disruptive.
Forget about 6 - leaving damaged cables connected to power is not permitted and will result in bigger problems later - in this case the most likely being the RCD trips and then can't be reset, and it will happen on Christmas Day or some other inconvenient time. Or perhaps it will set the curtains on fire.

mkaibear

So, last night I got out my trusty bolster chisel and lump hammer and knocked out a square round the offending holes.

Lo and behold, I've drilled straight through the wire in two places - slicing half-way through all four (well, 3&E) cores. Amazed that the MCB didn't trip immediately when I turned it back on.

The wire was buried in plaster. Approximately an inch to the right of a conduit which is more than sufficient to hold the cable. No idea what my sparks was thinking... :mad:

No slack in the wire so it will have to be a double crimp with enough slack to make it all work - opened up the wall for a foot below the original hole to give me enough room. Wire is now joined together with a pair of chocolate blocks but hasn't been sealed in so that it satisfies inspection requirements. Waiting for my crimping tool & bits to arrive now.