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

Ectophile

Proper maintenance-free joints are allowed buried in walls.  Any good electrician should know how to do them.  Likely options are crimp joints covered in insulating sleeves, or Wago connectors in a suitable box.

There is a risk with wires buried in walls, if there is no sign that the wire is there.  Anybody drilling walls should assume that there might be a wire going up, down, left or right from an accessory such as a socket.  If you remove the socket, then there is a possibility that the wire could run completely un-marked.  The safety risk is a lot lower if the circuit is protected by an RCD.

TherealMandM

Wagos... done. All joints have to be accessible unless maintenance free such as a wago.

Risteard

Ectophile said:

The safety risk is a lot lower if the circuit is protected by an RCD.

RCD protection does not permit cables to be run outside of zones if not in earthed metallic conduit or trunking, MIMS, SWA etc. or buried at a depth of greater than 50mm.

Mutton_Geoff

Why not have an electrician remove the existing socket, connect the ring together with Wagos and put a blank plate on the box instead? That might be the cheapest way. Alternatively you might be lucky and find this socket is a spur and can be disconnected at source and your unwanted hole filled in.

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys for all the information.  I think I'll leave the plug there after all, and just put the fridgefreezer rather than the washing machine in front of it, so it can't be seen!   Thanks for stopping me from electrocuting myself with a DIY botch.

Dickymicky

Get a registered electrician! The very fact you're asking how to do it means you are NOT  COMPETENT,  which is what the law requires for such a job. It's not difficult and shouldn't cost much..

[Deleted User]

You're right, Micky, I'm definitely not competent when it comes to electrics!  However I'm not going to change anything to the socket except get the plasterer to take off the four remaining tiles and plaster around it.    So I don't think I'll need an electrician.  

stator

Disconnect the circuit and test it is off, then remove the faceplate and take a peek.

If there is only one set of wires then you know this is a spur or the end of a radial and it will be easy to remove, you just need to find the point where the spur is taken from, disconnect it and pull the cable through.

If there are two sets of cables, then it is part of a ring circuit, or in the middle of a radial circuit and you would need to do something proper to restore the ring/radial, so probably need an electrician.

Ectophile

Mutton_Geoff said:

Why not have an electrician remove the existing socket, connect the ring together with Wagos and put a blank plate on the box instead? That might be the cheapest way. Alternatively you might be lucky and find this socket is a spur and can be disconnected at source and your unwanted hole filled in.

If you're going to do that, you might as well put a new socket back on.  It will look no more ugly than a blank faceplate, and you'll have a handy socket for plugging in the vacuum cleaner or whatever you're using in the kitchen at the time.

Chrishazle

When we moved in here I found a load of blanking plates over old connections for the night storage heaters that used to be here before the previous owner had gas central heating installed. The wiring was simply into connector blocks with electrical tape insulation - so having used my multimeter to check (or find the circuit breaker that turned them off) to make sure they were dead I simply converted the balnking plates to single power points - no electrician required! Wife finds them handy for the hoover!