Electrical Sockets Built Into Skirting Boards

woolley_2

New (to me) 1930's house has all original skirting boards 7" but all the electrical (plug) sockets are built into them. Now as with another house I have renovated in the past I plan to move the sockets into the wall above where they are now as I believe its against regulations to have them fitted into wooden skirting. I will replace all the sk/boards with similar l/t new ones as the current ones have lost the mouldings due to years and years of gloss paint over and over.

Problem is last time I 'sorted' this I was having a full rewire done but its not necessary here (i think) because the wiring is all newish.

I have looked at one socket and there isnt enough slack in the cable to resite it higher (approx 3") above the skirting. Is there a way I can increase the cable length without having to start back at the consumer unit and run another circuit all around the upstairs and another again downstairs.

ManAtHome

You should just need to replace the wiring between the socket and the previous or next socket (or consumer unit). Alternative is to put the socket where you can (just above the skirting or even behind) with a blanking plate and run a spur to where the socket should be.

weekendwarrior

Hi,

It is better if you can replace the wire with new lenghts of wire, although you can join it if you wish with a junction box like this- http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=17018&ts=81165

New regulations came into force in January this year, so you should check these first Here

I am pretty sure that working on existing circuits does not come under the new rules.

Electricians do not like joining wire, and if you do they must be accessable.

I hope the wire in your home is either grey or white PVC, as normally when the sockets are in the skirting it could be wired with the old black rubber cable! If it is black rubber then you need to replace it all as it perishes with age!

Hope this helps a little!

woolley_2

Thanks guys. The wiring appears to be OK - grey, new stuff - probably had a rewire at some time and the electrician just wired to the same socket locations.
Thanks weekendwarrior for the link - I have read the same as you say about junctions need to be accessible - I guess a junction under the floorboards wouldn't be considered so which is a pity as I imagine an accessible junction box however you did it would be unsightly.

Think I'll have a look how the circuit runs and start tracing round to each socket with a longer wire length as ManAtHome suggests - not too bad as I'm in the throws of a major renovation so floorboard lifting isn't the pain it could of been.

One quick point is I had a look on another forum where someone had a similar question and it was suggested - I think by a jobbing leccy that cable lengthening if really necessary could be achieved by using crimps and terminals but I'm not sure how these work in practice.

Anyway thanks again both for your suggestions.

YorkshireBoy

woolley wrote:

...I had a look on another forum where someone had a similar question and it was suggested - I think by a jobbing leccy that cable lengthening if really necessary could be achieved by using crimps and terminals but I'm not sure how these work in practice.

Absolute "no-no" for your T&E cable in a domestic situation - and I speak as an electrical engineer. You need to use proprietry 30A 3 terminal J/B's.

Just on the point of "accessibility" for J/B's, if you fastened your floorboards back down with screws rather than nails, wouldn't the J/B's then be accessible? Just something for you to ponder.

Pink.

Just a reminder of the warning at the top of this board:

Warning! Always use a professional for gas maintenance and complex electrical repairs. Being safe is more important than MoneySaving.

Pink

woolley_2

Thanks for the advice YorkshireBoy I didn't think about screwing the floorboards down - one way or another I'm confident about sorting this problem now - and I won't use the crimp method - thanks again for the safety warning.

Getafix

I'm facing the same problem right now but I plan to overcome it by tracing the cable back to the previous socket on the main and running a new length from there.

However I'm still unsure of one thing. There is only one socket on the current ring in my bedroom. I want to add another two sockets to this. The current socket has two wires coming into it. How do I know which one to take to the next socket and which one is retuning to the consumer unit?
thx
G.

moonrakerz

woolley wrote:

I didn't think about screwing the floorboards down

If you screw them down, it also stops them coming loose and squeaking !

Neil_Taylor

No-one who has to ask these technical questions should be working on electrical systems.
How are you going to check the earth continuity for instance.
Which cable is which on a ring main.
If you don'tunderstand ring mains don't touch them.
Electricity KILLS very quickly!

mercurystar999

Do the cables come from above or below the socket in question? 9 times out of ten cables come from above on a downstairs ring main so resiting should be easy??