Electrical question - help appreciated

M

MulberrySt

Registered User
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Hi everyone,
I am in the middle of a house build (via a contractor). I was looking at the first fix wiring this morning and there are a few issues that I've seen that I'd appreciate some opinions on!
They are:
- power cables, tv wires and phone lines all bundled together throughout,
- the power cables aren't conduited and there don't seem to be any plans to do this (I read in an earlier post that insulation and cables shouldn't be in contact),
- holes drilled in the joists at ceiling level are not centred,
- some of the cabling for hanging lights doesn't seem securely fitted: could this be a problem down the line?
- the cabling for the electric gates is entering directly into a junction box in the living room, apparently it will then be linked up to the dist. box via other cabling. Is this standard practice?
Anyone's expertise in this area would help me greatly! Thank you.
 
I'm not an expert (as my other posts will testify to!), but the carpenter on our build got the electrician to drill near the top of the ceiling joists as the weight bears on the bottom of the joist.
 
-The holes in the joists are best drilled centre of the joist to stop the lads screwing through the cables when they are slabbing the ceiling or screwing boards down from upstairs.

-The cables should be in conduit if there is polystyrene type insulation (aeroboard) as it ruins the cable, but there is no need for conduit if the cables are dropped down internal partition walls or external walls which are battened and slabbed provided there is no polystyrene present. Its probably unlikely that you have polystyrene type insulation.

-Ideally the tv coaxes and phone line should be ran separately from the other circuits and its probably not a good sign that they are being ran together (its against the Rules), but if it was my house I wouldn't be too worried about it.

-Junction box for the gates is fine so long as its done tastefully, i.e. no great big dirty industrial boxes in your living room. The box could be to cover the hole where they drilled out to the garden, or the run might be too long for a coil of cable to do in one go. Its also a good idea to have a junction box there separating the cable going outside from the cable inside, it makes fault finding a lot easier.
 
Also, in relation to hanging lights, these should not hang from the cables, the central roses should be secured to the ceiling. So these wires being unsecured is fine.
 
Leo said:
Also, in relation to hanging lights, these should not hang from the cables, the central roses should be secured to the ceiling. So these wires being unsecured is fine.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah I meant to say, my other limited bit of knowledge is to get a carpenter to put some bridging around the hanging light cables if the lights are heavy, as you will want something to screw them on to.
 
Is it ok if the wires have no conduit and I am drylining the external walls with the polyisocyanurate insulation (I am dabbing and sticking the slabs!!)?
 
Only an issue with polystyrene as far as I'm aware, but your insullation provider should know for sure and it would be advisable to check.
 
My electrician will soon begin 1st fix. He asked me to go with the timber rather than metal stud to support the wires to the hollow core on the ground floor ceiling. I am wondering what size of lats to support the wires ? Are 2 x 1 inch timber lats sufficent in size to nail onto the hollowcore ?
 
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