Cable Advice

[wilbydoughboy]

Hello All. I have a small diy job to do to my property as regards adding a couple of double sockets to my bedroom so as I have a double socket to both sides of my double bed. A retired electrician has given me a reel of 2.5mm twin and earth cable made by Delta which has red and black colours .As my property is all in black and red coloured wiring he says its ok to use but another electrician has told me it would be illegal and against the recent codes and I should purchase new cable and stickers to warn of the colours. How do I stand . Thanks.

 

[Andy™]

only new colours comply with current regs, and have done so since 2006 so to do the job correctly you will need new cable

but if its just 1 socket adding to existing...

 

[Barx]

Installing cable to old colours is now against regulations BUT not following the regulations is not a criminal offense. Your not going to get locked up for using red/black cable.

It's a little different for a qualified electrician doing works and charging a client for it. In this case a certificate for the works is issued and the cert states whether the install meets the current regs. The work couldn't be passed as meeting current regs when it simply doesn't.

 

[Andy™]

7. Have lots to drink -  See point 1 - I would be on my second barrel at this point

FTFY

 

[Evans Electric]

As I've said before ............just do it .......... nothing will happen to you ...the world will keep turning ...all will be well...rest easy in your bed ...and tomorrow you will find an extra socket , just where you wanted one.......no one will care what colour the cores are  .

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Barx has summed it up correctly IMHO...

A professional doing the work as a trade, and signing and issuing an appropriate electrical certificate would be telling untruths by signing the declaration that the work complies with current wiring regulations. 

BUT...

1/ DIY electrical work is perfectly legal...

2/ Adding sockets in a bedroom is not notifiable under Part P building regulations....

3/ You as a DIY'er can do the work perfectly legally with no possible way of breaking any statutory laws...

4/ As an untrained person a DIY'er would not be expected to know what all of the current wiring regulations are, nor be aware of which colours are obsolete or current..

5/ providing you are competent enough to do the work to a reasonably safe standard, and the cable is not physically damaged then all you are going to do is make your home safer as extension leads generally add more hazards and dangers than a change or cable colour!!!!

Guinness

 

[wilbydoughboy]

Thanks for your advice. I swapped my old coloured cable for a length of the new colours and 2 stickers . I swapped 25 metres of old cable for 5 metres of new so not a bad deal and I will have peace of mind knowing I havent broken any codes.

 

[Andy™]

swapped old for new... yours may now be fully compliant, but i bet someone is getting a 10 year old socket installed tomorrow...

 

[ProDave]

Sell old coloured cable on ebay. (Used to sell for more than new cable)

With the proceeds, buy a drum of new coloured cable and spend the change on a  :Y

 

[Nicky Tesla]

Just dont have a glass of wine and try fitting a new gas boiler cos you might not wake up in the morning to remark on it.

 

[Sidewinder]

To be honest, a "spark" working today to BS7671 could still install a new socket using the old coloured cables and still comply with BS7671, if they though really hard about what they were doing, and, understood the regulations.

There is a box on an EIC labelled "departures", in there one could put that as the whole property was wired in black/red, you considered it safer to make the modification in the old colours thus a departure from the current version of BS7671, but, not any more dangerous, one could argue safer, than using the "new" colours.

 

[Nicky Tesla]

+1   +no need for the 2 version sticker