Capping

[stringy]

Been in the trade 33years and cant believe youre having a discussion about whether to cap cables or not, ive always capped cables up in their prescribed zones and consider not capping to be very unproffesional, capping protects the cable during erection from allsorts not just plasterers trowels, its easier to cap up than fix with clips, trust me i do it every day. sorry to harp on but not capping cables is a big NO NO for me, best regards daveGuiness DrinkGuiness Drink

do you not clip your cable to the wall? just cap over the loose cables?

ive never done it that way

 

[heathelect]

do you not clip your cable to the wall? just cap over the loose cables?ive never done it that way

YES JUST CAP OVER THE CABLES, CAPPING SUPPORTS THE CABLE, THATS THE WAY ITS ALWAYS BEEN DONE. IN FACT I STILL CANT BELIEVE THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT CAPPING ALL THE CONTRACTORS IVE WORKED FOR HAVE ALWAYS USED CAPPING, AND NO ONE WILL EVER CONVICE ME THAT UNPROTECTED CABLES BEHIND PLASTERBOARD IS OK

 

[stringy]

yet another thing to add to my list that my boss has tolds me thats wrong then.

might need another pad at this rate haha

 

[Zeespark]

Hia guys my thrupny pence worth here. I actually cap using 20/25mm round plastic conduit when I can. I know its more work for me in theory, but I use a chasing machine. The space in the conduit allows myself or others after me to add sockets, switches etc without having to ruin the decoration of the room if I were to simply bed the cables in with plaster.

If I have to 'clip' say a 10mm 6491X I simply use 12/13mm metal capping. To fix it, I run a line down each side of the capping with a pen/pencil and then drill and plug a series of number 6 roundhead screws.

Finniky and pedantic yes, but I believe in what I do.

Andy Guiness Drink

 

[Robbo]

Those capping nails are a thumb bruiser. Tip is to start them off in a piece of wood (or door frame ) to get the little washer moving. Then pull them out and whack em in the wall. You dont have them flying around the room like torpedos then.

Anyone know for a capping nail gun? Gotta be worth an investment.

 

[kme]

Think the "split" pulsa does that job mate.

Damned expensive bit of kit, though.

I want a digicat first:x

 

[sparkyork]

why cap up on new builds tho seriously, your not getting any protection out of it, soon as you nail of drill its straight through it.

you got 30ma rcd anyway (most situations) so again total protection, rather than some nice white floppy crap that makes the cables look nice!! clearly if asked then yes fit it but why waste your time if not requested. unless protecction from plaster its self. ive seen plenty of damaged cables behind capping to appreciate its useless ness.

oval or round conduit howvere is useful tho. when on a big job in lincoln we used chasing machine and installed 25mm oval conduit took a while to do the 1st fix's but seemed more worth while. sept when the floors and ceiling were concrete and they decided there was gonna be no access to ceiling void it all seems a bit pointless

 

[Carter]

but.....

522.6.1 IMPACT

Wiring systems shall be selected & erected so as to minimize the damage arising from mechanical stress, e.g. by impact, penetration, tension or compression during installation, use or maintenance.

Will continue to use it, prefer metal to plastic even though it's a real finger shredder without biggish tinsnips to work it.

 

[sparkyrj]

i always use plastic capping on new walls as its quick and easy to just cut in the box run cables to box and then cover with capping to keep it in place.on blockwork walls i always use the galvanised nails used for roofing felt etc . they work very well.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

i always use plastic capping on new walls as its quick and easy to just cut in the box run cables to box and then cover with capping to keep it in place.on blockwork walls i always use the galvanised nails used for roofing felt etc . they work very well.

I find these type nails do the trick nicely.. 'extra large head!'

They are 40mm long & have a 10mm dia head.

If you are fixing on new build with any sort of modern soft inner wall brick...

they just bang in a treat.

older walls either ok in the mortar, other wise just drill & plug!

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

but.....522.6.1 IMPACT

Wiring systems shall be selected & erected so as to minimize the damage arising from mechanical stress, e.g. by impact, penetration, tension or compression during installation, use or maintenance.

Will continue to use it, prefer metal to plastic even though it's a real finger shredder without biggish tinsnips to work it.

agreed' there Carter!

I am a stick in the mud metal capping man!

tried plastic once or twice... but if whack it with your hammer banging nails in..

can crack plastic! :_| :_| :_|

sort of defeats the object of using it if it breaks!? ?:| :|

 

[Nicky Tesla]

here we go, another example of people acting like a flock of sheep and just copying what they have seen from other people who have just copied what they have seen, and not actually have any idea why they are doing it.

Another example is when plasterers skim the wrong side of the plasterboard and convince themselves there is a good reason for it, simply because they have been doing it for years and find other plasterers doing the same...just like sheep....

1. The reason is as stated earlier, in case a plasterers trowel, or wheelbarrow etc damages the cable. This is ok on a big job where nobody knows each other and a plasterer will not give a toss if the cable is damaged or not, as long as he can get his own job done. In domestic cases with your usual workmates or at your relatives house this should not be a problem.

2.Yes the other one is that the plasticiser in the cable USED to leech out (check out the green goo). These days the plasticiser is supposed to be affected by polystyrene. There are some types of plasterboard these days that are backed with polystyrene for insulation purposes.

3.It was said that the capping was put in for protection after it has been plastered, but nails and drills can go through capping like butter. This is illustrated by the fact that you have to hammer nails through the capping when putting it up in the first place. To protect cable by capping the regs say that it would have to be earthed (when have you ever seen that) or be of such strength as not to allow easy penetration by nails etc.

I like the " thats a town hall job " expression

 

[heathelect]

Hia guys my thrupny pence worth here. I actually cap using 20/25mm round plastic conduit when I can. I know its more work for me in theory, but I use a chasing machine. The space in the conduit allows myself or others after me to add sockets, switches etc without having to ruin the decoration of the room if I were to simply bed the cables in with plaster. If I have to 'clip' say a 10mm 6491X I simply use 12/13mm metal capping. To fix it, I run a line down each side of the capping with a pen/pencil and then drill and plug a series of number 6 roundhead screws.

Finniky and pedantic yes, but I believe in what I do.

Andy Guiness Drink

Finniky and pedantic yes and takes too much time to do apart from the cost

:_| :_| :_|

 

[Mr Sworld]

To protect cable by capping the regs say that it would have to be earthed (when have you ever seen that) or be of such strength as not to allow easy penetration by nails etc.

While I agree with the rest of your post Nicky, I have to say that you cannot use capping as protection under the '50mm Rule'.

It must be earthed metal conduit.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

here we go, another example of people acting like a flock of sheep and just copying what they have seen from other people who have just copied what they have seen, and not actually have any idea why they are doing it.Another example is when plasterers skim the wrong side of the plasterboard and convince themselves there is a good reason for it, simply because they have been doing it for years and find other plasterers doing the same...just like sheep....

1. The reason is as stated earlier, in case a plasterers trowel, or wheelbarrow etc damages the cable. This is ok on a big job where nobody knows each other and a plasterer will not give a toss if the cable is damaged or not, as long as he can get his own job done. In domestic cases with your usual workmates or at your relatives house this should not be a problem.

2.Yes the other one is that the plasticiser in the cable USED to leech out (check out the green goo). These days the plasticiser is supposed to be affected by polystyrene. There are some types of plasterboard these days that are backed with polystyrene for insulation purposes.

3.It was said that the capping was put in for protection after it has been plastered, but nails and drills can go through capping like butter. This is illustrated by the fact that you have to hammer nails through the capping when putting it up in the first place. To protect cable by capping the regs say that it would have to be earthed (when have you ever seen that) or be of such strength as not to allow easy penetration by nails etc.

I like the " thats a town hall job " expression

The metal capping can actually reduce the risk of penetration with a nail.

because when Diy-Bob at a later date wants to put his picture up....

The capping won't STOP a nail going through....

but a chunk of metal going up the wall can be easier for him to detect with his

 

[Nicky Tesla]

Conduit is a word that can describe many things, but say conduit to an electrician and he will picture the round metal or plastic pipework which is sold as such. But actually. even the pvc sheath on t&e cable is a type of conduit, but that like the capping is also susceptible to penetration.

There is a new cable which has an aluminum covering under the pvc sheath a bit like firetuf and data cable, the idea being that it is earthed and any nails penetrating the cable touches a live conductor and will be shorted by the earthed cover. I dont think it will work unless the cable is on an rcd cct cos the high amperage required for an mcb to trip might blow away the aluminium shield, if it is not thick enough.

 

[septiclecky]

While I agree with the rest of your post Nicky, I have to say that you cannot use capping as protection under the '50mm Rule'.It must be earthed metal conduit.

And then it would have to be galvanised as if not couple of years down the line nice brown marks coming through the plaster where the conduit has started to rust if not.

 

[Mr Sworld]

Very true.

Or paint it in red oxide! :^O

 

[The Godfather]

Modern day capping does not seem as thick as it use to be.

Can anyone else confirm this?

regards

The Godfather

 

[heathelect]

Yeh i agree capping is thinner now than it used to be, but still neccessary to protect cables during erection, and it looks proffesional as oppose to just clipping, and it can be reused in the future to pass cables through, if cables are just clipped theres no way you can install extra or new cables without making a mess. regards dave Guiness DrinkGuiness DrinkGuiness DrinkGuiness DrinkGuiness Drink