Discuss building regs in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

lurch

-
Reaction score
43
chaps, is there any buiding reg that will stop me chopping an existing socket into a skiting board? Alternately i will need to lift the socket up (if there is enough cable!) and cut it into the lathe and plaster wall, which in it's self can be a nightmare.

Thx i advance
 
I assume it is a surface socket at present, I would have thought if you are not making the situation worse by lowering it then no problem, as for building reg, cant think of anything
 
Agree, although not ideal.

Try and get it as high as possible in the skirting so that the flex on any plug that is used wont get bent back too far when inserted.
 
the skirting is 150mm so sufficient space to position the s/o high enough to ensure the 13A plug does not fowl agaisnt the floor. I ask the question as I was told last week that a NIC assessment had picked this up and highlighted a building reg, so was interested to know what the bulding reg that deals with this particular item. Unfortunately the chap who told me was only an acquaintance met on site. . . .
 
Hi Lurch

Excuse the pun but I think the NICEIC man has got his wires crossed the only ones that I know about is for new installs where the minimum is 450mm and above kitchen worktops where middle of socket has to be a minimum of 150mm above work surface. Cant think of any more hope someone can add to the list if we have more

Chris
 
Hi
You have referred to Building regs and that states 450mm height above floor to bottom of the socket. You should at the absolute minimum allow 100mm from bottom of socket, if not complying with BC, just to stay within BS regs.
Regards
 
Just had a glance at the "electricians guide to the building regs" the small green book section 10.7 p137 It says in new builds use guidance in part M

However it says and i will quote " If a dwelling is to be rewired ,Then there is no requierment to provide the measures described. (in part m) {rovided that on completionthe building is no worse in terms of the level of compliance with the other parts of shedule 1 to the building regulations"

so what i take it to say is As long as you dont make anything worse that it already is its not a problem.
 
Hi Scot

You need Part M if the jobs comes under BC for what ever reason, mostly new builds. The statement " As long as you don't make anything worse that it already is its not a problem" will not stand up in court and is not a statement I would work to. If something is wrong and you are working/updating you need to change or improve to current regs. Forget BC for a moment what about the BRB...

regards
 
Electro what i am reading the statement as is if its an old house and getting rewired then the cables,Basic protection and Fault protection ect must be to current standards. however if you cannot move the location of a socket for example its in a skirting its ok. You dont have to coply to part M.
 
Indeed, however, i have been working in a flat wee the sockets are in the skirting, and its virtually impossible to plug anything in with a moulded plug!

With this in mind, i think putting them higher is a must, but thats all IMHO.
 
Hi
See what your saying but the title of the thread is building regs.. if you cannot move the location and it falls below the minimum standard the BS regs (17th edition) then you do not reconnect. They have given a minimum of 100mm from the bottom of the socket to the floor due to bend radius to go below this may cause a fire. Always protect your self and your liability remember you will be the last person on the EC certificate.
Regards
 
electro the minimum heights in the BRB are for new buildings. What is shown in the OSG also refers you to part m section 8 its the same drawing as in the "Electricians guide to the building regulations" page 137 which is what i quoted.
So if you raise you are improving no worries.
 
Scot

You quoted “so what i take it to say is As long as you dont make anything worse that it already is its not a problem” that means leave as it is? We have have now got to the same thinking, good result ayy.


regards
 
Just had a glance at the "electricians guide to the building regs" the small green book section 10.7 p137 It says in new builds use guidance in part M

However it says and i will quote " If a dwelling is to be rewired ,Then there is no requierment to provide the measures described. (in part m) {rovided that on completionthe building is no worse in terms of the level of compliance with the other parts of shedule 1 to the building regulations"

so what i take it to say is As long as you dont make anything worse that it already is its not a problem.


What u turn??? read the last line!
 
The idea of part m is to make things acessable for disabled persons agreed ?
To apply part m to one particular outlet whilst the rest of the installation does not comply is not any help to the availability of acess for any future disabled occupants
The intentions of part m shouldn't be mixed in and mangled with the requirements of BS7671
New builds and possibly extensions,depending on the building inspectors take on the requirements are relevant
Rewiring of existing installations as stated previously,need make the compliance no worse
The skirting socket I believe, does not require any reference to part m.but I personally do not like outlets mounted on flammable surfaces,also where there is little play for the flex of any thing plugged into it
Sockets mounted on skirting boards are unsightly and make the job look amateurish,why not raise the socket and fix it to the wall ?
 

Reply to building regs in the Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

Electrical Forum

Welcome to the Electrical Forum at ElectriciansForums.net. The friendliest electrical forum online. General electrical questions and answers can be found in the electrical forum.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock