Running main bonding outside

[dan1w]

Had a CU upgrade just over a year ago but the electrician didn't upgrade the main bonding to the water from 6mm to 10mm. I don't know his reasoning, wasn't there for the work and never chased it up.

I'm having my garage converted so access to the CU is going to be restricted after the ceiling is boarded. Got a spark coming in to connect up new circuit to new detached garage soon so I've run some 10mm conduit cable around the outside of the house for him to connect up at the same time.

I want to clip this as low as possible and paint it but can't find any regs on what height from the floor it needs to be. Is it just common sense i.e not going to be whacked with a spade rather than a specific height?

Cheers,

Dan

 

[littlespark]

Got a spark coming in

Your spark should be able to tell you.

so access to the CU is going to be restricted after the ceiling is boarded

I hope you mean access for routing cables to the CU will be restricted. Not the CU itself, you still need access to that.

so I've run some 10mm conduit cable around the outside of the house

That's going to look nice

 

[MDJ]

I have seen it done that way literally dozens of times, if it is clipped properly it will be okay, but that said I wouldn't want it on my house, in theory anywhere above the damp course shouldn't be an issue, but you will have to live with it lol.

 

[andyb]

Does it need upgrading?

 

[hightower]

Well, allow me to ask the question....

Why do you think you need the bonding to be 10mm? Your original spark could have had good reasons for not upgrading it, the main one being it's possibly not required.

EDIT: Andy beat me

 

[Spoon]

Maybe the OP likes the look of the conduit run around the outside of his house...

 

[suffolkspark]

Are you running it in a conduit or clipping it straight on the wall? Pvc cable shouldnt really be, i mean it probably wont go brittle for 30 years but still not right, as others have said though, why do you think it needs upgrading when a qualified electrician did not?

 

[Pete999]

Maybe the OP likes the look of the conduit run around the outside of his house...

Don't think he has ran conduit Spoon, his post states "conduit cable"

 

[Spoon]

Don't think he has ran conduit Spoon, his post states "conduit cable"

So he is running the main bonding cable around the outside of his house without any mechanical protection? Is that a good idea?

 

[Pete999]

So he is running the main bonding cable around the outside of his house without any mechanical protection? It that a good idea?

That's my take after reading the opening post, he also mentions clipping it low level, don't think I'm misreading the post to be honest.

 

[Wilko]

Hi - I suppose you've tried to pull the new cable through the existing one's route? (using it as drawer) There is a risk that it won't go, but if you're already planning an entirely different route, I'd try it first.

 

[MDJ]

So he is running the main bonding cable around the outside of his house without any mechanical protection? Is that a good idea?

Yes he is lol, he will have to look at it for years to come as well

 

[telectrix]

he could always paint it black:

 

[MDJ]

It is easy to slate this method and to be fair with good reason, but it is more common than some think, I have seen it a lot of times, apart from the green and yellow insulation fading from the sun it will do the job, pretty crap I know but is it really rough? well yes and no, I wouldn't lose sleep over it but wouldn't want it on my house.

 

[dan1w]

Reason for upgrading is the system is TNC-S and upgrading seems to be a grey area, basically don't want anyone insisting on an upgrade at a future date after the ceiling goes up. The spark that installed the CU was supposed to upgrade it, but when I got home after job complete he hadn't.

The plan was to run it around the house and paint it to match the bricks which would also provide UV protection. I think that would look better than conduit and would only really be visible for about 3m.

Besides, it's amazing what people don't notice. When we moved in the Mrs wasn't happy at all about me putting a satellite dish up, not wanting to be the only one on the cul-de-sac with one on display. She changed her mind when I pointed out everyone else did in fact have one in plain sight.

I may have changed my mind now anyway. There is no way I could pull it through using the existing cable but having spent the last few days searching under floorboards for a heating manifold it would only take lifting another couple of boards for me to be able to run it down a service duct that leads to the stopcock, just means getting on the roof again and pulling it out from its previous route.

 

[suffolkspark]

Is your incoming water pipe metal or plastic ?

 

[Rpa07]

Is your incoming water pipe metal or plastic ?

Hey, it’s not June yet - 18th is on the horizon.
Be great not having to bond those plastic and insulated incomers. They stated at ELEX that you don’t even need to test it - just don’t bond.
Mind you, even the cat will be RCD protected under the 18th!

 

[dan1w]

It's plastic. That's news to me.

 

[telectrix]

test any copper pipe to MET.if > 22 kOhms, then it's not extraneous and does not need bonding.

 

[Spoon]

Mind you, even the cat will be RCD protected under the 18th

------- should be protected from leakage...

Ok.... I'll get my coat....