UK Armored cable under the house

[ionionascu]

Hi. We had some building work done to the house a few years ago and we got an armored 10mm 3 core under the house, that comes from the consumer unit on one side of the house, all the way to the other side of the house. This cable is not connected to something and I am thinking about getting an electrician to use it to take power to a garage I have at the back of the garden. Can someone please tell me whether this cable can be used at all for this given that it is simply sitting on ground, under the house? (my house is a classic house build in the 1920s). Thank you.

 

[pc1966]

If the cable is still in good condition then it should be fine for use with a typical garage or out house, though it would need another length joined on to bring it out far enough. You can get proper armour cable joining kits that even allow such a joint to be buried.

However, you should get someone in to do an 500V IR (insulation resistance) test on it first to see if it really is in good condition and also check the R1+R2 (cable conductor + armour looped together) is in keeping with the cable specification to show the armour has not rusted away either.

See if there are any sparkys on this site near you, they should be able to take a look and quote for the job as there could well be other factors depending on your power supply arrangement and the specifics of what you are planning to have in the garage.

 

[ionionascu]

Thank you for your answer, @pc1966 . We have not decided on this, but one other option we have is to ask an electrician whether this cable could be used for a 7kw electric car charger. My only concern is that the cable itself is simply lying on the ground under the house and was not clipped to the joists or other structures under the house and I do not know whether there are any regulations around this.

 

[Julie.]

Thank you for your answer, @pc1966 . We have not decided on this, but one other option we have is to ask an electrician whether this cable could be used for a 7kw electric car charger. My only concern is that the cable itself is simply lying on the ground under the house and was not clipped to the joists or other structures under the house and I do not know whether there are any regulations around this.

So do you mean it is just lying on the ground in the floor void rather than buried?

From your initial question I thought you meant it was buried below the building.

 

[ionionascu]

So do you mean it is just lying on the ground in the floor void rather than buried?

From your initial question I thought you meant it was buried below the building.

Yes. Lying on the ground, under the floor. The two ends are accessible, but there is no access to, for example, clip it to something.

 

[Julie.]

Yes. Lying on the ground, under the floor. The two ends are accessible, but there is no access to, for example, clip it to something.

There isn't an absolute requirement to clip cable, however it must be supported, which being on the ground would be, if it was accessible then it would need some restraint to prevent it being pulled away etc.

However the ends where it comes up from the surface into the house/room needs to be supported properly, it shouldn't self-support.

If both ends are accessible you may be able to provide proper support, and perhaps rather than extending you could use it to pull the longer cable through.

If its going to be for an EVCP - note that these must be fitted with communication and most often a special transformer which must be fitted at the meter - so cable for EVCP tends to be combination type (power plus signal) you existing cable may not be suitable.

 

[timhoward]

If its going to be for an EVCP - note that these must be fitted with communication and most often a special transformer which must be fitted at the meter - so cable for EVCP tends to be combination type (power plus signal) you existing cable may not be suitable.

Completely true, but there are also wireless options, so it might not be a total show-stopper.