Help before I set fire to my house please?

[Captain Slow]

Hi, I'm a tiler that has escaped from the tiling forum and need some urgent advice please.

I've ripped out my en-suite and have a plasterer coming to skim the ceiling tomorrow morning. I plan to install down lighters so want the whole ceiling flat. I'm just about to whip out the old ceiling rose and pull cord switch thingy and have realised that I don't actually know what I'm doing .

I've isolated the upstairs lighting circuit at the consumer unit. If I just disconnect all the wires and individually wrap them with electrical tape, presumably I'm going to end up with a fire in my loft when I flick the switch at the consumer unit again?

Can anyone steer me in the right direction please?

Thanks in advance,

Daz

 

[rocker]

If you're not sure, I really recommend you get a spark in to sort it out for you. If you're a tiler, I'd imagine you know someone you've worked with.

On the other hand, if you disconnect everything and temporarily put each cable into a seperate junction box terminal, it's unlikely you are going to have any problems. That said, it is very likely that once this light is disconnected, a whole load of other lights aren't going to work in your house. I personally would avoid just taping them up.

 

[DurhamSparky]

LEAVE WELL ALONE!!!

alternatively if you must

pop along to screwfix/b&q etc...!! Hurry it shuts at 4pm

and obtain some connector block 15Amp as they are suitably sized holes!!

15 Amp Connector Strip like this

ensure you correctly place them together in the block as they came out of the light or you will not get ya lights on!!

DONT JUST TAPE UP!!!! its not big or clever!!!

 

[DurhamSparky]

Rocker!!!! Argh!!! Lol...!!

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If you can access all the area of the room up in the loft, then for now you can just isolate them and push them up above. Be sure to make all connections in the loft sound, and do not leave any connections exposed.

If the connections themselves are a problem, then tell us what you can see and we can go from there.

 

[Captain Slow]

Thanks guys, I was thinking along those lines. I've called a couple of mates local to me but can't get hold of anyone as yet and with the plasterer booked for tomorrow I'm gonna have to do something.

If I poke the wires up into the loft and then re-connect the ceiling roses, will that be a safe temporary fix until I can get a sparky round?

Just read Widdlers reply.

Cheers!

 

[DurhamSparky]

yeah that will be a suitable fix until tomorrow!

 

[Spudnik]

Yep, if you are boarding over your existing ceiling, just take the bulb out, smash a hole round the existing fitting and put it up in the loft for now.

Just a note, if you plan on just skimming, you may find when you cut the holes, if will also break the plaster away from the old surface.

Skimming ceilings over artex for eg, is never a good idea.

 

[Captain Slow]

Cheers guys,

I've relocated the ceiling rose and switch into the loft and now I have a loft light woohoo! 2 birds with one stone etc..

I have a proper sparky mate coming round tomorrow to check all is well, too.

Thanks for the tip regarding the issue of drilling and bits of plaster coming away - I'll be having a chat with the plasterer first thing now

 

[Sparky Ninja]

Happy to help

 

[nickblake]

Handy hint of the day : if you are installing down lighters as youve said measure out the joists in the loft and transfer the measurements to the ceiling , if you use a hole saw to cut the holes use it on a piece of card board first and try the down light make sure it fits , nothing worse than cutting a hole and the down lighter goes straight through

 

[pevvers]

Good lord, nobody at all has mentioned notifying the LABC due to the alteration of a circuit in a special location...

You boys are getting lax!

 

[nickblake]

Yes its true but its sunday brain is in weekend mode , i know i thought about it just forgot to type it im such a numpty some times

 

[rocker]

I doubt it's a special location if it's downlighters, unless he has very low ceilings.....

 

[cbw]

We all want to be approved advisers!!!!!!!!

I had better start behaving!

On the oversize hole, cant believe I did it the other day, picked up the usual hole cutter, drilled me holes, I measured 3 times, lazered a perfect line then drilled 8 off 86mm holes instead of 76 mm holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had to go out and buy different lamps!!!!!!

 

[flukey]

I doubt it's a special location if it's downlighters, unless he has very low ceilings.....

thought a bathroom was a special location irrespective of zones

 

[rocker]

We all want to be approved advisers!!!!!!!!

I had better start behaving!

On the oversize hole, cant believe I did it the other day, picked up the usual hole cutter, drilled me holes, I measured 3 times, lazered a perfect line then drilled 8 off 86mm holes instead of 76 mm holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had to go out and buy different lamps!!!!!!

I believe the phrase is 'Mongo Chops'.

 

[pevvers]

I doubt it's a special location if it's downlighters, unless he has very low ceilings.....

Don't quite get ya... Yes, it may be out of the zones, but is still a special location in Part P.

Would you say that lights in kitchen are not part of a special location (a la Part P) too?

 

[pevvers]

thought a bathroom was a special location irrespective of zones

Indeedy,

 

[rocker]

Hmmm I've always assumed that if not in a zone, then by default it's not a special.

Not that it makes much difference as I always notify via elecsa, but if I was going down the LABC route, I wouldn't notify out of zones I don't think. Probably wrong, but hey, it's a moot point anyway.

EDIT: to expand, I assumed that Part P only classes what is in the zones as a bathroom etc. If it's out of the zones, even if it's in the same room in the broader sense, it's not technically a bathroom. Otherwise, there would be no point in going on about the zones stopping if there's a wall. That's my interpretation, anyway.