Advice after drilling through electrical cable above plug socket

[Jengajenga]

Hi all,

I have stupidly drilled through the same electrical cable TWICE 1 inch apart. This is above a twin plug socket which obviously now doesn’t work. The holes are about 1m above the socket.

As a temporary measure I was going to connect the wires individually with Wago connectors but the 2 whole problem has thrown me!

Will it be okay to replace the broken part of the cable and use wagos at each end?

Or is it better to replace cable from the break to the plug socket (so just one set of connectors being used?) Is it a case of attaching a new cable to the end of the old one and greasing / pulling through the socket?

Hope all that makes sense. Advice much appreciated!

 

[MJPD29]

It would be best to rewire it if possible as any sort of junction box that will be covered over with plaster is not ideal

 

[telectrix]

best way is to rewire from a maintenance free JP above ceiling. is there just 1 cable in socket or 2?

 

[littlespark]

If its a regular socket circuit, you may have 2 cables coming down to the socket.

Cut a box into the wall further up, rewire from box down to socket and make a joint. Cover with a blank plate so it can be accessed if needed.
Make it a suitable height so you can hide it behind a picture.

Just watch where your stick the nail in!

 

[Jengajenga]

best way is to rewire from a maintenance free JP above ceiling. is there just 1 cable in socket or 2?

Just the 1 cable. Would I access this from the floorboards above? I’m not sure how I would remove one cable and add another behind the wall? Is there a technique to this?

 

[Jengajenga]

If its a regular socket circuit, you may have 2 cables coming down to the socket.

Cut a box into the wall further up, rewire from box down to socket and make a joint. Cover with a blank plate so it can be accessed if needed.
Make it a suitable height so you can hide it behind a picture.

Just watch where your stick the nail in!

I’ll be watching every nail and screw entry from now on! How do I actually rewire?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Sell drill on EBay.

 

[telectrix]

whereabouts in lancashire are you.one of us may be close.best to get a pro to fix it safely. what price you put on your life and that of your family?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Lol, OP dislikes my advice.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

If its a regular socket circuit, you may have 2 cables coming down to the socket.

Cut a box into the wall further up, rewire from box down to socket and make a joint. Cover with a blank plate so it can be accessed if needed.
Make it a suitable height so you can hide it behind a picture.

Just watch where your stick the nail in!

If the OP uses one of them really thin blank plates then it might sit flush to the wall /plaster and be easily decorated or covered easier. the thin ones paint up well with a bit of undercoat first

 

[Jengajenga]

Lol, OP dislikes my advice.

Haha, not at all. It was actually a slip of my fat finger!

 

[Wilko]

Hi - I agree it's better to replace the damaged cable than attempt to join it ... twice. How best to do the replacement will vary site by site, so I'd get some help. Post up a pic

 

[Spoon]

I like @telectrix suggestion in post #3.
Can you get to the cable in the ceiling?
Also, as @Wilko has said, post some pics up.

 

[Deleted account]

Job like this can take all day for someone who isn't used to doing it.

We (forum members) do this every day and have got various closely guarded secrets as to how we can magically run cables behind walls.
Some times we tie cables to ferrets.

You may get it done in a full day, we could do it in a couple of hours.

Pete

P.S. I was joking about magic, but airlines used to use ferrets for wiring planes.

 

[Spoon]

Some times we tie cables to ferrets.

OP: Of course, this all depends on the size of cable.
We can use anything from small hamsters to young children for pulling cables...

 

[Wilko]

OP: Of course, this all depends on the size of cable.
We can use anything from small hamsters to young children for pulling cables...

Here's a rabbit ready to run some IT cable

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I suspect that the rabbit is having a snack rather than running anything anywhere.

 

[Spoon]

I suspect that the rabbit is having a snack rather than running anything anywhere.

So wrong..... It's a well trained rabbit that holds the cable.
For the Electrical Trainee rabbits you have to tape the cable to them...

 

[Wilko]

And it's the fastback ear model, for better access and higher cabling speeds that the traditional rabbit.

 

[Midwest]

I suspect that the rabbit is having a snack rather than running anything anywhere.

Think you're thinking of welsh rarebit.