Discuss Is it legal/complient to not bury armoured cable, but to run under hedge instead? in the Electrical Wiring, Theories and Regulations area at ElectriciansForums.net
OK, I have an electrician working at my house next week. He claims he is certified ( ie can self certify for building regs etc ). I believe him, most of his work to date has been of a good standard.
He is putting power into a workshop at the rear of our garden. He is replacing our house distribution board ( which had the old fuse box ) and putting a separate rcb into the workshop.
He is running armoured cable under the hedge of our garden. There is no fence so just under the hedge.
What concerns me is that he does not feel the need to bury the cable.
The question is - is it breaking any regulations to not bury it. It is visible, but unlikely to be disturbed.
Can I get into trouble for any reason?
Should I accept this decision?
I know BS7671 gives depths for burying cables, but does it imply you have to bury it?
If he is certified he should be happy to show you a card and certify his work.Forgive me as I dont have a copy of the regs handy but he is right about not having to bury it unless there is normal traffic flow either by foot or vehicle.For instance it would be against regs not to bury it if it were running across the lawn or driveway. There is always liberal use of the word should as apposed to must in the regs just to confuse. Personally I would prefer to see a cable and know its there rather than discovering it after you have moved on with a spade when I want to remove the hedge for instance. There is also the cost of burying a cable to half a metre and back filling it with sand and ballast which by the sound of it maybe unneccesary. Its you're bill after all.
I think i would be happier with a buried cable, rather than left loose and un supported under a hedge.
Yes, digging 500mm down is a pain, but with warning tape abovethe cable in the trench, there shouldn't be an issue of it becoming damaged, especially with just a garden spade.
I would have to agree with grumpy17, it is only where damage is likely to occur to the cable ie traffic/pedestrians that it would need to be protected by burying. In some cases the cable would be more sceptical to damage by being buried in areas subject to gardening.
Hi MCROWLEY
You wouldnt get in trouble its his install and ownus is on him as hes certifying it ! I would however bury it and place a brick either side of the SWA cable with a concrete block ontop with warning tape on top ! i know its personal preff but unless its clipped to a wall cables under hedges etc can become covered in leafs/twigs etc and if its your neybours hedge or you move and someone desides to chainsaw or dig etc the hedge out to put up a fence then its not good !
Just my thoughts
Regards
Kung.
Depending on the distance from the house to the workshop theres no reason why you couldnt run it overhead on catenary wire - far cheaper than having to bury it.
Depending on the distance from the house to the workshop theres no reason why you couldnt run it overhead on catenary wire - far cheaper than having to bury it.
I think personally we would bury the cable, and like someelse has said protect with a slab and tape, there is No substitute for safety no matter what the cost.
I can understand your point johnnyb but the power companies might beg to differ as they still transport high voltage cables on pylons rather than burying them !!, and why ? - the expense. Pylons are still safe though - allegedly - lol
If you dig and refill the trench i am sure your electrician won't mind in the least putting the swa cable in it. I would think that, in a non cultivated area, a depth of greater than one spade depth and warning tape would be quite sufficient.
For safeties sake, running the cable through 6 inch high posts and putting kick boards in front is a good way to do this. That way if you or a future occupier have a dog they won't bite into the cable. Plus it's unlikey to get moved.
For safeties sake, running the cable through 6 inch high posts and putting kick boards in front is a good way to do this. That way if you or a future occupier have a dog they won't bite into the cable. Plus it's unlikey to get moved.
That sounds a real neat solution- have you used it before? Would you cleat the swa to the top of the post and to the board or drill the post feed the swa thru and cleat to the board at the specced spacing? What sized posts are good - 2"x2" ? cheers.
Just a late note - Got to agree with the safety first aspect, either bury, suspend, or stoutly protect cable. Black SWA is not easy to see along the bottom of a hedge, and over time becomes both covered with litter and gets pushed up off the ground by new growth. Last year I came upon a seriously mangled SWA that had done battle with a petrol hedgecutter.
If you would rather the man, drop the cable in the ground state this to him, and pay for the extra work, simples.
Or the best and most cost effective way would be to do as pushrod says, dig the trench yourself and get him to drop the cable.
Also i dont think you will be needing an RCD db in the garage if your house has been up graded to 17th ie your consumer unit, just throw in a standard board as the circuit utilised from the house would be RCD protected.
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Reply to Is it legal/complient to not bury armoured cable, but to run under hedge instead? in the Electrical Wiring, Theories and Regulations area at ElectriciansForums.net
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