Cicuit Splitting

[user 31927]

I live in a 1968 detached house and I am doing some renovations. I have found that the whole house is currently run off one circuit and I would like to split it in two. I am cutting in the boxes and running the cables but I have spoken to two different electricians and they have different answers. I would like to split the circuits so that one circuit covers the front of the house (Living room, 2 bedrooms) and the second circuit would cover the back of the house (Bedroom, Kitchen and bedroom) One sparky said that is fine and the other says that it has to be split upstairs and downstairs. Do the regs say that it has to be upstairs-downstairs or can I split front and back.

The reason why I want to do front and back circuits is that the ground floor is a concrete base so all the cables run through the floor space. As I am renovating I have the floorboards up so I would like to do the front half of the house in one hit.

Thanks

 

[Sharpend]

Front and back is fine. 

 

[Evans Electric]

Its your house Mikey  ,  splitting front & back is fine  , as Sharpie says ,  I'm guessing there is already a third circuit  doing upstairs .   

Some Sparks seem to have some rigid ideas sometimes .

 

[Doc Hudson]

 the other says that it has to be split upstairs and downstairs. 

The person who said that is without doubt a complete an utter plonker. They obviously have little or no knowledge of BS7671 wiring regulations. You can split circuits however you want to suit installation considerations.  Whichever method you choose to divide your circuits, basic things you must consider are; Ensure all circuits are independent of each other. Have correctly selected cable sizes and protective devices. Are clearly labelled and identified so you know where every circuit accessory is powered from. Try to avoid having circuits covering large a physical floor area, as this can become a pain if you loose an excessive number of accessories if a circuit trips off. Test all of the new wiring to ensure the physical circuit characteristics comply with BS7671. Loads of modern properties are split left/right or front/back, there is an argument that these methods are better than up/down as you can maintain some power on each floor.

Doc H.         

 

[kerching]

Front and back is no problem.

the other electrician is a pillock