Electrical Advice

[Mark A]

Hi chaps,

I've accidentally nibbled two cables in a ceiling with an oscillating tool...

Our house is in the process of being rewired so there's currently no safety risk, and I can access the cables from above.

Can I get away with using junction boxes, or would replacing the entire cables be best?

One is an earth (either oil supply or water) if that makes a difference.

Cheers,
Mark - feeling like a numpty.

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[Mark A]

Forgot to mention that my electrician is on holiday; though I'd prefer to sort it myself if I can

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[RobinBHM]

I think all JB's have to be accessible, so no good in ceiling void any more (could be wrong Im a wood butcher).

I believe maintenance free junctions boxes are acceptable so you could use wago connectors in an enclosure.

 

[n0legs]

Just to be clear.
New cable not yet commissioned?
New cable connected and commissioned?
Old cable, to be ditched later?

Robin's right. JBs need to be maintenance free now if inaccessible. Quite why a traditional type JB needs maintenance I'll never know?????

 

[Mark A]

Just to be clear.
New cable not yet commissioned?
New cable connected and commissioned?
Old cable, to be ditched later?

Robin's right. JBs need to be maintenance free now if inaccessible. Quite why a traditional type JB needs maintenance I'll never know?????

They're new cables not yet commissioned.

 

[n0legs]

Just to be clear.
New cable not yet commissioned?
New cable connected and commissioned?
Old cable, to be ditched later?

Robin's right. JBs need to be maintenance free now if inaccessible. Quite why a traditional type JB needs maintenance I'll never know?????

They're new cables not yet commissioned.

Tell the spark and have him replace it.
You could change it out yourself to be honest. What's the deal with the spark, are you doing some donkey work to keep costs down?

 

[Mark A]

I do help out where I can (chasing walls, drilling joists etc); though embarrassment is the reason I would like to fix it myself - I'd feel a right plonker if I have to tell him I damaged some cables!

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[n0legs]

I'd feel a right plonker if I have to tell him I damaged some cables!

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An honest man garners more respect than a foolish one :wink:

If you're confident of pulling in a replacement, of exactly the same size/type, then go for it.

 

[HappyHacker]

If one of the cables is green/yellow for the earth bond to the water or oil it needs to be a continuous cable with no joins. You can use a crimp joint plus heat shrink but it needs to be a proper copper crimp, using a proper calibrated crimp tool, not one of the auto plastic types of connector.

Maintenance free joints can be put in inaccessible locations as the joints are spring loaded and should never work loose. Traditional screw terminals are OK if you can get to the junction box in the future and it is obvious where it is, screw connections can become loose over time with copper creeping under heat/cold cycles of use, this in turn causes a poor connection and more heat untill something melts/burns.

I have spent many a happy hour trying to find faults in hidden junction boxes, taking up carpets and lots of floor boards
in the process.

Don't worry about appearing a plonker we have all done something similar or worse I am sure your electrician will prefer to know what has happened and will probably be able to fix it quicker and cheaper than replacing the whole cable.

 

[Lons]

You have to tell him even if you fix it yourself as he will need to test and certify the installation when he commissions it.
Will be even more embarassing if you don't tell him and it throws up a fault which he has to locate, more expensive to boot. :lol:

 

[Mark A]

I did a bit of reading up on this yesterday and came to the conclusion it will be cheaper and easier for my electrician to fix the cables than me replacing them completely. Fortunately there's plenty of spare cable coiled up at the socket so it shouldn't take too long to sort out.

Thanks for the advice!

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