Can I disconnect an old plug socket myself, or do I need an electrician to do it?

[Deleted User]

I'm getting rid of the work-surface along one of the kitchen wall.   I've chiselled the tiles off.    Now there's a double plug socket that I won't need any more, half-way up the wall.

I've got a plasterer coming soon to fix up the wall so I can paint it.

I know how to turn off the electricity from the hallway.  Is it then straightforward for me to unscrew the plug socket, & wrap electrical tape / caps over the ends of the wires?   Or do I need an electrician to come do it, is there more to it than that?   The last thing I want is an electrical fire or to be electrocuted!  The second-last thing I want is to pay an electrician if I don't need to!  Thanks! 

tonyh66

An electrician will be along soon, you definitely cannot remove the wires and wrap them in tape. If the socket is on a ring circuit you cannot break it. I'm almost positive you cannot make connections and make them inaccessible, but I'm here to be corrected by an electrician.

Ectophile

Do you mean permanently disconnecting it, or just removing the old socket and putting a new one on once the plastering is done?

If it's a permanent removal, then you need a proper maintenance-free joint of a sort that's that's allowed to be buried in a wall.  Bodging it with insulating tape is no good.

If you're just temporarily removing it, then you don't have to pay an electrician, but do make sure the power is off, and make sure it's not turned on again until the thing has been made safe.  You don't really want to electrocute the plasterer.

[Deleted User]

I mean permanently removing it!    There is not going to be a work-surface there any more.   So I won't need a plug socket halfway up the wall.    

Right, I'd best get on the phone to an electrician, then!   Is it likely to take them more than an hour and to involve any parts?

Owain_Moneysaver

You must not leave live electric wires in the wall without a visible accessory. That would be highly dangerous. 
The wires must be traced to where they are connected, disconnected and the gap in the circuit replaced with new cable run in accordance with the Wiring Regulations. 

[Deleted User]

Thanks, Owain - especially for the link!  

So, how big a job will it be for the electrician?   How much should I budget for it, in terms of how many hours of their time?

Owain_Moneysaver

Depends how hard it is for them to find where the wires are.

Would it really be in the way if you left it?

[Deleted User]

Ah, so the electrician would likely need to slice open the wall down to the ground, would they, to dig the wires out?    

No, the socket wouldn't be in the way if I just left it there.   It would look a bit odd, being a foot above the washing-machine in the middle of a stretch of wall.   But keeping it in place would leave the option for me to put a work-surface there again in future.

So if I just leave it as it is, will the plasterer be able to take off the tiles and plaster around it?  Presumably turning off the electricity so he doesn't get shocked. 

Thanks again for your help!

FreeBear

Poster_586329 said: Ah, so the electrician would likely need to slice open the wall down to the ground, would they, to dig the wires out?

Depends if the cables run up, down, side to side, or through the wall to a socket on the other side. What ever the case, if the electrician can gain access by lifting floorboards, (or other sockets in the last two cases), it should be simple enough to pull the old cables out assuming they are in conduit. If they have been nailed to the wall and covered in steel capping, he may just snip the cables where access allows and run a new length of cable. But if the cable to the other sockets are also clipped & capped, he may end up having to chase the walls (a real messy job). If getting to the cables proves to be too much of a hassle, hang a picture on the wall over the offending socket.

Having a socket at elbow height is no bad thing - You can never have too many sockets, and sometimes, one a good distance off the floor can be handy - Got a single socket at shoulder height in the hallway. The vacuum cleaner is always getting plugged in to that one.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the explanation, FreeBear!   Oh, it sounds a bigger job than I'd imagined.   So, yes, I'll just leave the socket there.   And the plasterer should be able to plaster around it without a problem?

FreeBear

Poster_586329 said: So, yes, I'll just leave the socket there.   And the plasterer should be able to plaster around it without a problem?

There should be enough slack in the cables to take the two screws out and pull the socket far enough away from the wall for the plasterer. Ask him if he is happy & willing to work around the socket before he turns up. If he says "No", you still have time to have the socket removed temporarily.