Is drilling rafters OK?

[Rich_123]

Hi guys,

Had some work done on the weekend from an electrician on a 200 yr old cottage we are renovating. Noticed that one bit of work he has chased/wired up from under the floor, added some sockets and then continue up and round a window - drilling through 8 rafters in the process. He then wired down the other side to create a new socket then down into the brick again.

Just wanted some advice about the work and whether it was the right thing to do. Are there any regs around it? I've got a few photos - sorry they're not the best quality.

Would love any info or advice you might have.

Thanks,

Rich

 

[telectrix]

those rafters were installed before the clever pencil necks came in with their crafty stress calculations in order to make roof timbers as cheaply as possible without collapsing. it will be fine. those wet-pants pipes will have caused far more structural weakness than the sparks' cable holes.

 

[Rpa07]

Nice gaff by the way - post a finished photo once the work is done - we're awfully nosey and now that you've entered our world - you owe us. All the best with the renovation.

 

[grandfortune]

you can probably nip over them where the felt is anyway.

 

[telectrix]

you can probably nip over them where the felt is anyway.

and get some hairy-arsed roofer nail them.

 

[ruston]

I tried to post more or less the same a sTel . I have had to swap browsers to post.
The flims trusses they use now would be weakened by drilling , but yours has stood up to WW2 lol.

 

[telectrix]

and WW1 and tony blair.

 

[The Ghost]

Why would you not trust your electrician? It sounds like you have a problem with the cable routing. Have you raised it with your electrician? If there was any problem I would be a little curious about the cable coming through the window frame.

 

[Des 56]

Yes it seems that trust is in short supply, considering the standard of the cable install when compared to the pipes

 

[Rpa07]

That's a coax - coax always come through window frames or they wouldn't rot!

 

[Octopus]

I can't imagine a 13 or 16mm hole is going to reduce the strength of those timbers .... unlike the flimsy "carp" that houses get built with these days!

 

[telectrix]

I can't imagine a 13 or 16mm hole is going to reduce the strength of those timbers .... unlike the flimsy "carp" that houses get built with these days!

murdoch, that cottage is 200 years old. to keep in character, them holes should be 1/2" and/or 5/8". get a grip.

 

[Octopus]

I suppose a nice length of surface trunking is out of the question.

 

[Rich_123]

Thank you for all your replies it's appreciated.

I don't understand why he went up and around the top of the window rather than under it - which would have saved the drilling - especially as he had already made channels coming up from the floor. I'm waiting on an answer from him at the moment, unfortunately we can can only work on it over the weekends so we can't always be onsite.

The cable coming through the window goes up to an old satellite dish which we are removing, and the windows are being replaced as well...

Regarding the rafters I'm going to have to remove the wiring, then I'll baton / strengthen the main support, put Celotex in the cavities the re-wire under the window.

 

[Octopus]

Alarm bells "weekends only"

 

[Edtwozeronine]

Under Regulation L, you can drill through the middle of solid wood joists in the UK Read it as part of my current electrical course fairly recently, but in America you can't drill their composite (not solid wood) joists.

 

[telectrix]

Regarding the rafters I'm going to have to remove the wiring, then I'll baton / strengthen the main support, put Celotex in the cavities the re-wire under the window.

more than 1 post has told you there's no compromise to the strength of those timbers.
I'm out.

 

[Octopus]

Where do you mean under the window?

 

[telectrix]

Where do you mean under the window?

think he means in the floor joists. more weakness there and these joists carry a lot more weight than them rafters.

 

[gutterball]

He's gone up and over because he wants to keep his cables away from the pipes, and the plumbers have knackered the joists.