Regulations for Mains Wiring

brianmoooore · Sep 4, 2021

When considering if where you want to drill is in a 'safe one', always consider BOTH sides of the wall.

timhoward · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
And there’s more to the story. I drilled a hole for a mirror, drilling into the mains cable(black in pic).

I feel your pain. Over the years I've suddenly heard gas and suddenly felt mains water. Never managed to drill into a cable. Let's see what next week brings...

nicebutdim · Sep 4, 2021

brianmoooore said:
When considering if where you want to drill is in a 'safe one', always consider BOTH sides of the wall.

We still don't know if the conduit is serving something on that side of the wall.

Electrics · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
I’m

you’re 100% right in your first sentence.
This is at front hall of house and the main fuse and meter is on the opposite side of that wall. The consumer unit is in utility room at rear of house.
And there’s more to the story. I drilled a hole for a mirror, drilling into the mains cable(black in pic). What followed was a shower of sparks and complete power cut to home. After this an electrician replaced mains fuse and performed a short-term fix on the damaged cable to get the power back on. I’m now going to contact the builder but trying to figure out where I stand regarding building regulations. Home is a 5 year old new-build.

That's your problem.

SWA is mechanically protected so not sure how this stands in the regs and whether it still needs to be in a zone but putting it in the wall like that is imo just shoddy.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

nicebutdim said:
We still don't know if the conduit is serving something on that side of the wall.

If I understand correctly… there’s a socket lower down the wall.

brianmoooore · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
If I understand correctly… there’s a socket lower down the wall.

IF the above is true, then the OP drilled a hole i a safe zone, and the problem is entirely his fault.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

brianmoooore said:
IF the above is true, then the OP drilled a hole i a safe zone, and the problem is entirely his fault.

Yikes… not what I was hoping to hear but thanks for input.

nicebutdim · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
If I understand correctly… there’s a socket lower down the wall.

See the link about safe zones in the first reply. Unfortunate situation, but it is indeed acceptable to have this cable where it is.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

SJD said:
How about a photo of the whole wall, showing anything above or below the cable?

brianmoooore · Sep 4, 2021

There was a DIY bit on a TV show a couple of days ago where they drilled a hole in a wall. The chosen spot was close to, but not quite in a safe zone, but no mention was made of them at all. Would help if the £experts" publicised their existence and position.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

nicebutdim said:
See the link about safe zones in the first reply. Unfortunate situation, but it is indeed acceptable to have this cable where it is.

Even if the socket does not line up with the position of the mains cable? See pic posted above.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

nicebutdim said:
See the link about safe zones in the first reply. Unfortunate situation, but it is indeed acceptable to have this cable where it is.

nicebutdim · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
Even if the socket does not line up with the position of the mains cable? See pic posted above.

Others have mentioned mechanical protection, but I'd wondered if it also fell within a designated safe zone. It's certainly not an ideal situation for you, but I'm not sufficiently well versed on regulations to give an empirical answer.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
Even if the socket does not line up with the position of the mains cable? See pic posted abov

nicebutdim said:
Others have mentioned mechanical protection, but I'd wondered if it also fell within a designated safe zone. It's certainly not an ideal situation for you, but I'm not sufficiently well versed on regulations to give an empirical answer.

Thanks for your info nonetheless! ?

SJD · Sep 4, 2021

I'm wondering what is in the adjacent conduit, possibly the socket cabling, or possibly something else like earth/bonding cables (with the socket cable then a bit further to the right)? If the conduit is for the socket cable, then perhaps the original intent was to have the socket designate a safe zone above, and for whatever reason they didn't line up. Personally I can't see it would have been too difficult to keep the cables above the socket so there is more of a hint there could be something in the wall.

brianmoooore · Sep 4, 2021

Difficult to tell from the pic. whether the cables are within the vertical limits of the sides of the socket or not, but it's always a good idea to proceed with extreme caution if you have to drill within an inch or so of a safe zone, especially when you are well above the fitting.

Martyparty · Sep 4, 2021

brianmoooore said:
Difficult to tell from the pic. whether the cables are within the vertical limits of the sides of the socket or not, but it's always a good idea to proceed with extreme caution if you have to drill within an inch or so of a safe zone, especially when you are well above the fitting.

The cable is 5-6 inches to the left of the left side of the socket.

brianmoooore · Sep 4, 2021

Martyparty said:
The cable is 5-6 inches to the left of the left side of the socket.

If that is so, then you didn't drill in a safe zone (but should have considered the other side of the wall), but SWA doesn't need to be in a safe zone, so that just makes it an unfortunate accident.

Pretty Mouth · Sep 4, 2021

@Martyparty , unfortunately for you, the cable you drilled into is probably compliant with regs. The 'safe zones' don't have to apply to cables with an earthed metallic covering. We think this is steel wired armoured cable, which would have an earthed metallic covering. Regulations 522.6.202 and 522.6.204 apply

brianmoooore · Sep 4, 2021

Pretty Mouth said:
@Martyparty , unfortunately for you, the cable you drilled into is probably compliant with regs. The 'safe zones' don't have to apply to cables with an earthed metallic covering. We think this is steel wired armoured cable, which would have an earthed metallic covering. Regulations 522.6.202 and 522.6.204 apply

As above. Installed within the regs.
Poor practice though, especially since fixing the cable a few inches to the right would have put it in a safe zone.

Regulations for Mains Wiring

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timhoward

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Electrics

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brianmoooore

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