Hit electrical wire?

heatherw_01

My hubby was drilling into the wall to put up a few shelves and the electric went off. He saw a few sparks too.

He obviously hit a cable, but after putting a new fuse in it all works fine.

Is the wire in the wall now a fire hazard?

pukkamum

My husband did this in our old house but we never had any problems with the wiring afterwards but i am no expert HTH

heatherw_01

Thanks

I am hoping it just cut the electric off before it did any damage and that is why the fuse blew.

Tallymanjohn

You really need to get sorted - the drill bit would have gone through the insulation & shorted 2 wires. Removing the drill bit removed the short, but the danger is that you could still have unshielded wires possibly very close to metal conduit (that would normally be covering the cables) - if this becomes live then you could have danger of electrocution on any exposed parts elsewhere.

andrew-b

Just because it works doesn't necessarily mean it's safe! Was it the power circuit or lighting circuit affected? A ring main will still work if you break one of the cables in the ring but it could double the load on the remaining cable of the ring. An overload on the circuit could potentially cause a fire. Please don't put a screw in that hole as it could become live if it makes contact with a live wire.

The fuse wouldn't have blown if the insulation hadn't have been breached.
If your lucky and the cable is in a conduit you may be able to replace it with minimal mess...if not it may mean chasing a new cable into the wall which be much messier. Do you have accidental cover on your buildings insurance as it would cover you for drilling through cables?

I know it's a bit late now but it's easy to avoid drilling through cables by using a voltage/metal detector. The £10 it costs could be the difference between life and death. Also understanding the allowable routes for running cables helps alot - cables should follow a vertical or horizontal route from sockets/switches.

I'd also consider looking into getting your fuse box upgraded as you mentioned replacing fuses rather than flicking switches. A modern "fuse box" (consumer unit) will have MCBs (mini-circuit breakers) and an RCD either on all or some circuits (split-load) and is far safer.

Andy

heatherw_01

It was the plugs that blew.

baldelectrician

You need to get this attended to as soon as possible.

These things can lay dormant and smoulder away one day and burn your house down if things are really bad.

Get it seen to, as your ring main may have a fault.

TimBuckTeeth

Just to back up the other posts. The wire definitely needs to be replaced ASAP. It could be messy and cost a bit, but don't leave it as it is a fire and shock hazard.

trf1960

Heatherw_01, the fact that you asked the question "Is the wire in the wall now a fire hazard?" makes me wonder how you can even sleep in your house at night without calling an electrician round to check it out? You are obviously aware of the potential risk.

heatherw_01

trf1960 wrote: »

You are obviously aware of the potential risk.

No, that is why I asked if it was a risk.

andrew-b

Do get this sorted ASAP. It may seem fine as it is but it's really not worth the risks involved.

I think if it were me i'd remove the fuse for that circuit until you can get someone to look at it...assuming the fridge/freezer wouldnt be affected or could be connected up to alternative sockets.

Good luck and keep us posted

Andy