DIY Demolitions: Advice for making safe electrical wires

karmachilovething

Hi,

I am just starting to renovate my first flat, and in MSE style I'm doing some of the work myself (with help from friends and family)

the big job coming up is to demolish the non-loadbearing walls to the kitchen to make an open plan kitchen/living room. I'm quite happy with the process of actually demolishing but I wanted some advice on the electrics in the walls. Most of these will be kept and rerouted to new locations, but the sockets will be removed and the wires left free, so I need a way to make the exposed ends safe while we demolish and prepare the new walls/layout.

So what I was thinking was this:
1. Switch off electric at the mains
2. test socket/wires to double check they're not live
3. remove socket
4. protect wires
5. Repeat for all sockets

Is it enough to tape up the ends with electrical tape? Or do you need a more robust protection? Being realistic the wires will be left for at least a month before they're safely back in a wall socket. Do I need to give greater protection for the cooker switch for example?

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks

Mark_Mark

Wago clips will do the job for you.

fluffpot

You cannot just use electrical tape.

Use connector blocks (or Wago's as suggested) of the correct rating (eg 5amp for lighting and 30A for sockets), then tape these up. If you don't connect the socket cables for example you could either find that some of your sockets don't work or you will have made the ring into a radial and there could be potential overloading of the cables

If you are disconnecting the cooker, then 30A connectors will be fine (you'll struggle to fit the conductors in to 5A anyway!)

blackshirtuk

Just so you know what a wago connector is, very useful.

karmachilovething

Many thanks for all the advice, really helpful.

fluffpot wrote: »

Use connector blocks (or Wago's as suggested) of the correct rating (eg 5amp for lighting and 30A for sockets), then tape these up.

fluffpot, please could you expand on why it's recommend to tape the connectorblock/Wagos? If I understand the purpose of the tape I'm more like to do the "right" kind of taping IYSWIM

karmachilovething

blackshirtuk wrote: »

Just so you know what a wago connector is, very useful.

Thanks for the picture, very helpful. Is there any benefit over these clamp type connectors vs. the screw on kind? The clamp ones look easier to use, and there's not much in the price, but I like to understand rather than follow blindly Thanks!

blackshirtuk

karmachilovething wrote: »

Thanks for the picture, very helpful. Is there any benefit over these clamp type connectors vs. the screw on kind? The clamp ones look easier to use, and there's not much in the price, but I like to understand rather than follow blindly Thanks!

Ease of use really, you just take the ends of the wires and shove 'em in! no screwdriver needed.

To undo you just rotate the wire while pulling out

I believe the reason for taping connector blocks etc is to remove the chance of electrocution if accidentally touching the screws or live wire in the connector, or bare wire just outside the terminal. It also helps the stress on the connector with several wire going into it making it more robust.

karmachilovething

Thanks, blackshirtuk, that makes sense to me now. Right off to Scr3wfix then!

blackshirtuk

Just as an aside,

Do you need/ have you got permission from the freeholder to knock down walls.

Would hate to see you have to do double the work and replace what was there!

Mark_Mark

blackshirtuk wrote: »

Just as an aside,

Do you need/ have you got permission from the freeholder to knock down walls.

Would hate to see you have to do double the work and replace what was there!

I think you do in a flat.

karmachilovething

blackshirtuk wrote: »

Just as an aside,

Do you need/ have you got permission from the freeholder to knock down walls.

Would hate to see you have to do double the work and replace what was there!

Yep I've cleared all that, and with my mortgage company, so I'm all good to go. Thanks for the thought though.