Running cables to a socket

[Wulli3a]

Hi guys

my first post in here its probably common sense but here i go.

Im currently an apprentice maintenance electrician so domestic wiring i dont see too much of. My question is for my logbook. I have to run in a radial socket circuit. I know all the usual stuff B20A MCB 2.5mm cable clipped around under the floor etc. my question is how do i access the wall cavity of a timber frame wall with plasterboard on it from below the floor. Do i drill a 19mm hole up through the timber at an angle into the cavity?

Thanks guys any info appreciated im still learning & dont get much practice on domestic

 

[willy fixit]

2 x 12mm or 1 x 16mm should be adequate! the less wood you remove the better!

 

[PEG]

Not forgetting the lovelies that are concealed in the cavities of T/F constructed properties...you may negate those risks by opening up sections and making good. There are devices for threading through studding,but unless you are very confident,regarding what lies within,it could turn into a services lucky-dip! :icon12:

 

[davesparks]

If you can get an angle drill with a short drill bit in it under the wall you can drill straight up into the wall, a 25mm home will make life nice and easy for getting the cables through.

If you cannot get under the wall then cut the whole for the socket and with a long drill but carefully drill at an angle down through the hole and through the sole plate of the wall

 

[Paul.M]

my question is how do i access the wall cavity of a timber frame wall with plasterboard on it from below the floor. Do i drill a 19mm hole up through the timber at an angle into the cavity?

Thanks guys any info appreciated im still learning & dont get much practice on domestic

I would cut out the hole for the socket first (assuming it is 450mm from the floor) you can then put your hand in the cavity and check for other cables and pipes. Remove the rockwool so it dos not wrap around your drill bit when drilling.

Now with a small drill bit, say 4mm drill a hole in the floorboard central to the socket and just before the skirting board. You now have a point of reference in the cellar. Measure the distance from the hole to the center of the cavity wall and drill a 20-25mm hole from below.

 

[Engineer54]

I would cut out the hole for the socket first (assuming it is 450mm from the floor) you can then put your hand in the cavity and check for other cables and pipes. Remove the rockwool so it dos not wrap around your drill bit when drilling.

Now with a small drill bit, say 4mm drill a hole in the floorboard central to the socket and just before the skirting board. You now have a point of reference in the cellar. Measure the distance from the hole to the center of the cavity wall and drill a 20-25mm hole from below.

And if there is no cellar, or the installation is upstairs on a domestic house??

Post 4 would be the better normal methods, but both would require tools that may not be available. In which case a small breakout in the plasterboard just above the skirting board is needed that has to be made good after the holes made and cable has been pulled through...

 

[davesparks]

And if there is no cellar, or the installation is upstairs on a domestic house??

Post 4 would be the better normal methods, but both would require tools that may not be available. In which case a small breakout in the plasterboard just above the skirting board is needed that has to be made good after the holes made and cable has been pulled through...

An electrician working in the domestic sector would reasonably be expected to have the tools to do this job, it's only a long drill bit or an extension bit!

The hole above the skirting won't help much with getting through the sole plate of the stud walk, drilling at that kind of angle will most likely come out through the skirting board the other side, and still need the long drill bit.

 

[Engineer54]

An electrician working in the domestic sector would reasonably be expected to have the tools to do this job, it's only a long drill bit or an extension bit!

The hole above the skirting won't help much with getting through the sole plate of the stud walk, drilling at that kind of angle will most likely come out through the skirting board the other side, and still need the long drill bit.

I agree, but i wonder how many own an angle drill??

I've used that method on a good few occasions doing favours for friends and family, never once did i hit the skirting board on the other side of the wall.

 

[davesparks]

I for one don't own an angle drill and have only used one once in 10 years.

And now I do precious little domestic anyway so doubt I'll ever use one again.

Bug saying that I seem to be doing less and less electrical work too!

 

[telectrix]

just on a rewire at the mo. with lath/plaster walls upstairs. have used eng54's method. and filled hole after.

 

[Rockingit]

A lot depends on where this cable is being dragged from. If its a downstairs socket then logically it's a drop down the wall, in which case a 5" holesaw is your friend to take out the plasterboard immediately over the noggin to notch down through. Much harder to go 'up', as others have said - make your box cut out as at least then you can get your hand into the cavity to see/feel what's going on. And don't forget to reseal the vapour barrier if it's an external wall.

 

[Engineer54]

A lot depends on where this cable is being dragged from. If its a downstairs socket then logically it's a drop down the wall, in which case a 5" holesaw is your friend to take out the plasterboard immediately over the noggin to notch down through. Much harder to go 'up', as others have said - make your box cut out as at least then you can get your hand into the cavity to see/feel what's going on. And don't forget to reseal the vapour barrier if it's an external wall.

Now that's easier said than done!!

Modern soft wood framed houses, what a nonsense they are going to be as they get older!!

 

[Wulli3a]

Thanks guys all your posts are appreciated

 

[driverman]

What do you guys do say when adding a socket in a house that have those stud walls that are made out of metal and not timber?

 

[Guest77]

Cable in stud wall and MCB? hmm is it a deep stud wall?

 

[driverman]

Cable in stud wall and MCB? hmm is it a deep stud wall?

Am I missing something here, or dry sense of humor? Are you thinking about RCD protection re 50mm

 

[Silly Sausage]

What do you guys do say when adding a socket in a house that have those stud walls that are made out of metal and not timber?

Ah, now then.............To bond or not to bond, that is the question!!!!

 

[Guest77]

Am I missing something here, or dry sense of humor? Are you thinking about RCD protection re 50mm

My reply was to the OP, I should have Highlighted his post I suppose :biggrin: My reply to yours would have been the same regarding MCB protection.

 

[Wulli3a]

Another quick question for you guys. If we say the house again is timer frame with plasterboard covering the frame, 2 floors ground & first. When the cables exit your CU in a domestic property and go into the wall cavity, how do they get to your loft. The ring for upstairs prob jumps into the wall cavity with the lighting radial cables for upstairs and come out of the top of the timber frame then run round the ring mains of upstairs. But how do the lighting cables reach the loft. Do i drill a hole diagonally up into wall cavity from below the floor then drill a hole saw 50mm deep into the cross noggin, covering with chase guard & run cable up the wall to the loft? Im new at this guys. Wall construction plus entry & exits from them im finding tough as dont do domestic.

Thanks again

 

[ruston]

Usually the same run as the landing two way switch wire , if lucky utilizing the landing cupboard , This way usually keeps damage to the minimum. Bit more to it than that but you will get the gist.