Is this against regulations?

[jreed110]

I had the misfortune of drilling through cabling several days ago (on more than one occasion). Unfortunately it was not until the very last point that I tripped the fuse box and the power went. On bringing in an electrician he was shocked to see the cabling set up as it was, stating it left me with no chance of knowing cabling would be hidden where I went in and that a tradesman would have done the same thing. He also believed the work was against regulations for new builds and should not have been signed of by the site manager.

My house is a new build, we moved in two and a half years ago. This is an under stairs cupboard, a fairly obvious place for shelving to go, and as you can see from the attached pic the cabling was completely hidden under the plaster with no external box in sight to give an indication there could be cabling there. We've had other issues with the builders and I know they are likely to stand their ground on this. Was this entirely my fault or prior to the build being signed off should they have ensured there was a box of some type showing cabling could have been running horizontally or vertically from there? Will our 10 year NHBC warranty cover this? Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Spoon]

Just to let you know mate, there is no attached pic.

 

[telectrix]

as he says. without a photo, we're just guessing.

 

[driverman]

Yes , pic would be nice to see. What cable , circuit was it for ? Anything electrical on the opposite side of the wall that you drilled?

 

[Kate]

Was it 150mm from any corner wall?

 

[jreed110]

file:///Users/ali/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library.photolibrary/Previews/2014/12/17/20141217-093751/fhVW3k5%25TzafvwcJfXvSZQ/IMG_0040.jpg

 

[camerabloke]

No valid link there bud

 

[jreed110]

Sorry, issues with the internet. Pic should now be above..... I believe it is less than 150mm from the wall, despite this the electrician still believed it was poor practice and possibly in breach of regulation 7671. He completed a report part of which is below but am after any other thoughts as weight for whether or not we should pursue this with the builders.

"Found flexes buried in wall of under stairs cupboard, in my opinion this isn't good practice and requires attention. As I would interpret the 7671 regs flexes should be surface ran not buried and no more than 3m long. Also any buried cables should terminate into an accessory that is in line within 150mm of the buried run, so anyone fixing to the wall can see that there maybe buried cables."

 

[cobrauk]

I do not fully agree with the 150mm rule just because of this situation.

But I would never drill into a wall without checking there is nothing hidden a simple cheap cable detector would have saved you from this happening.

 

[jreed110]

Thanks for your reply. I used to have a cheap wire detector but have up on it as it would go off all the time even when I'd subsequently find out that there was nothing nearby. Never found them very reliable tbh.

 

[cobrauk]

They do work but when i say cheap i do not mean £10 from aldi, they do need to be calibrated as well and be set to pick up electricity not metal

 

[telectrix]

is that junction box one you've put in, or is it original?

 

[driverman]

What are those cables feeding? Also the flexes? Looking at pic are those cables within 150mm of corner? Not that I agree with that rule, I've never done it nor will I. To me it appears the cables/flex are to the side of an architrave.

 

[jreed110]

No that was part of a temporary fix the electrician put in awaiting the cable being replaced. There is another now on the lower part where the wires are exposed. The cabling ran through plastic trunking completely hidden under plasterboard with no boxes of any type on the surface.

 

[driverman]

No that was part of a temporary fix the electrician put in awaiting the cable being replaced. There is another now on the lower part where the wires are exposed. The cabling ran through plastic trunking completely hidden under plasterboard with no boxes of any type on the surface.

Well at least you got some capping, may assist any rewiring that you may be doing. Surprised capping was used if its dot n dab plaster as from what I can gather many sparks don't. I would of used capping, but metal though. what are the flexes feeding?

 

[jreed110]

The cables are apparently feeding the under floor heating, sorry for my ignorance but by flexes are you referring to the wiring inside the calls? It all comes within the 150mm, just. I gather from the replies the general belief is that this is how most sparks would fit these cables, without any kind of exterior box indicating they are there?

 

[Kate]

Well at least you got some capping, may assist any rewiring that you may be doing. Surprised capping was used if its dot n dab plaster as from what I can gather many sparks don't. I would of used capping, but metal though. what are the flexes feeding?

Thats not dot and dab. Just plastered.

What if there is no other easy way of getting cables between floors?? I disagree with anyone who thinks this electrician did wrong. The regs clearly state within 150mm of a corner and they have complied with this

 

[driverman]

The cables are apparently feeding the under floor heating, sorry for my ignorance but by flexes are you referring to the wiring inside the calls? It all comes within the 150mm, just. I gather from the replies the general belief is that this is how most sparks would fit these cables, without any kind of exterior box indicating they are there?

Yes, apparently so. As i said earlier I disagree with that rule, for the very reason you are now experiencing. In my opinion it's just asking for trouble in the future. Others though may disagree.

 

[Kate]

Title of the thread is 'is this against regulations'
To answer. No its not. But electricians have differing opinions that they apply to their own workmanship

 

[driverman]

Title of the thread is 'is this against regulations'
To answer. No its not. But electricians have differing opinions that they apply to their own workmanship

hi Kate, I'm not saying and never have said, it's against the regs. Mind you it was in the past. I was just brought up never to do that. So, by todays standards it does comply.