Raising plug sockets question

[Blue Fox]

Hello all,

got a call today to go round an old ladies house and raise all her plug sockets as shee is having trouble bending down to plug and unplug things. Not been to look yet but assuming the sockets are on a ring I was thinking of fitting patress boxes over the existing backboxes and connecting the original socket faces if they are ok onto all of those spuring off up to the new raised sockets in mini trunking so every socket efectivly has a spur coming from it. What do you think? Trying to keep it cheaper for her and that seems a lot easier than extending the rings up the wall and means if she moves out it would be simple to remove the raised sockets of someone wanted to and has the added advantage of mo not needing to worry about fitting rcds etc.

 

[Zeespark]

Mate best practice is to check if there is enough slack, if there is, fine otherwise rewire the circuit.

AndyGuiness Drink

 

[Blue Fox]

Hello,

Yeah I appreciate what would be best but I would be very suprised if she would want her sockets ring rewired just so she can have her plug sockets raised 15"

 

[Zeespark]

By 15 inches or to 15 inches?

AndyGuiness Drink

 

[Evans Electric]

Thats how I did it for a polio victim couple of years ago. Did the same with the light switches which were surface patresses, blank plate on the switch , 10 inches of mini-trunking to patress and original switch where she could reach it.

Cost was an important issue so rewiring was out of the question . Didn't look that nice but she had enough to put up with without worrying about some bits of mini-trunking.

Deke

 

[Blue Fox]

By 15 inches or to 15 inches?AndyGuiness Drink

Hello Zeesy, that was just a guess on the height. I get the impression she isn't the most mobile person and wants them all at a convenient height. Just seems like a simple cost effective solution for her. If it was a young family intending on staying in the house for life then I would push the rewire and bury in the walls etc.

 

[Lee321]

what does he need slack for? !

ditch the yt method headbang

how expensive can chopping in new back boxes at the height be!

 

[green-hornet]

You have to remember some people can ill afford expensive work, in this instance I see nothing wrong in blank plates over exsisting sockets and mini trunking and pattress boxes.

Not very nice to look at but a safe cheap alternative, to redecorations and dust.

 

[a1spark]

Hi Blue Fox...that all seems o.k. with me........price is always a deciding factor !

By the way..not too sure about ommitting the rcd though........all general sockets need

30mA protection under the 17th Ed. irrespective of how the cable is installed.

a1spark

 

[batty]

I would think you need to RCD protect them too as you effectively are installing a new socket but thats not the end of the world as you could put a seperate one in.

batty

 

[Blue Fox]

Oh Ar$e how did I manage to forget about that. Lets hope she has a nice shiney new dual rcd consumer unit installed then ha ha, if not will probably just fit stand alone rcd for that circuit.

 

[green-hornet]

Oh Ar$e how did I manage to forget about that. Lets hope she has a nice shiney new dual rcd consumer unit installed then ha ha, if not will probably just fit stand alone rcd for that circuit.

Good lad:^O

 

[a1spark]

Dont want to spoil your day Blue Fox but I hope there are also no P-E or N-E I/R faults on the ring.....cos you Know how RCDs hate them !

Best of Luck .....a1spark.

 

[Andy™]

Dont want to spoil your day Blue Fox but I hope there are also no P-E or N-E I/R faults on the ring.....cos you Know how RCDs hate them ! Best of Luck .....a1spark.

then use RCD sockets! since new wiring is surface, they dont need RCD'd!

although it may end up cheaper to find the fault

 

[a1spark]

then use RCD sockets! since new wiring is surface, they dont need RCD'd! although it may end up cheaper to find the fault

?:| Surely your not suggesting that you would carry out this install and use RCD sockets if you were aware that there was for instance a P-E I/R issue on the circuit you were altering ??????..surely you would have to rectify the problem before proceeding ?...I know I would......its not a matter of it being cheaper to find the fault...it would be a matter of not proceeding with the work until you have found the fault Andy 1

a1spark

 

[jl-heating]

generally i would think lounge and bedroom would need altering..

i would plug an extension in and mount it at 3 foot for her. surely its only for the hoover ?

other than that get some remote control timed adapters that plug in 15 pound for 3 .

she could turn on the lamps,radio,etc etc by a remote control.

just an idea and lots cheaper .

 

[Andy™]

but your not making the circuit any more dangerous. yes, the fault should be found, but if they dont want you to do that, then the other option is RCD sockets

 

[jl-heating]

u cant leave a fault and add an alteration. ??

surely you are making it worse by adding more load ? there fore needs fixing ... it not even an option really..

fix then add

 

[a1spark]

but your not making the circuit any more dangerous. yes, the fault should be found, but if they dont want you to do that, then the other option is RCD sockets

We will have to agree to disagree on that one then !

...What would you put on the Minor Works cert in the P-E I/R box ?

a1spark

 

[Andy™]

your not adding more load.... since you moving a socket, how can load increase.

its not much different to a DB change. if there is a fault on existing wiring, then the customer doesnt have to get it fixed. although if its a serious fault then it will not be reconnected (as stated in my T&C's) and i would try and get them correct it