Is this Lecky following legisislation?

CumbrianWolf

I've got an electrician round now doing some work. My normal one is on longterm sick, the guy doing the install now is new to me.

Whenever new cables and for sockets have been routed in the wall my normalelectrician always seemed to put them in conduit as far as I know.

This current one hasn’t and hasn’t plastered over; in one place I canslightly see the sheeth of the cable.

Is this allowed or acceptable?

Your help appreciate for my reassurance.

Gloomendoom

I asked this question a while back on an electricians' forum as my house has some surface mounted cables. I was told that surface mounted cabling was ok and has some advantages. You can see where it is and it dissipates heat better than when it is run in conduit or buried in a wall.

sweaty_betty

I would never have conduit mounted onto the walls if I can help it - I think it looks awful. When I've had new building work done wiring has always gone in conduit and/or loose behind the plasterboard. However when I've had patch up work done, wiring has been embedded straight into the wall and plastered over and it's not caused problems.

CumbrianWolf

I am not sure if I made it clear.

I am use to conduit or sleeve being inside the walls where it has been chiselledand chased away and then plastered over.

There are just bare cables in the walls and the plaster filling where it hasbeen chiselled out.

Nothing regards conduit mounted to the wall

DTDfanBoy

Should be fine as long as you have RCD protection

CumbrianWolf

yes I ahve an RCD, just worried he is not doing what he should be doing. I guess what he's doing is perfectly ok

27col

As far as I am concerned plastic conduit or trunking in the wall is merely keeping the cable straight and tidy prior to plastering. It does not really provide any serious protection from nails and screws.

I_have_spoken

A cable concealed in a wall must be protected by one or more of these methods:

1) Buried at a depth greater than 50mm.
2) Have an earthed sheath.
3) Be contained in earthed conduit or trunking.
4) Be mechanically protected (no requirement for earthing) sufficient to prevent penetration by a screw or nail.
5) Run in a prescribed zone and protected by use of a 30mA RCD.

Use of a 30mA RCD on cables which are plastered over is OK so long as they are in a prescribed zone, not run any which way over the wall.

fluffpot

No he's not doing anything wrong - it's just slightly better practice to run the cables in oval plastic conduit to protect from nicks by the plasterer....

ValHaller

Done in oval plastic conduit, if

• the run is straight
• access is available top and bottom

the job becomes rewire-able