Need some basic help

[Diy9999]

Hello,

I am not an electrician. So I don't know if I have join the right forum, or if I am allowed to join the forum. My only credential is that I play sports with an electrician.

Anyway, I am interested in doing some basic DIY around the house that involves some minor work in relation to existing electrical wiring.

Right now I am renovating a shower room. I will be replacing a power shower (not heated electric shower) with a thermalstatic valve. So I will end up with an unneeded live wire behind the plaster board. I wonder if anyone can give some advise as to what I can do with this wire ? Obvious just leaving it there, even tapped up and protected, doesn't feel safe because the water pipes might leak or burst.

The wire was installed as part of a bathrrom to shower room conversion done by a retail shop many years ago. It is connected to the same circuit as the ceiling lights on the same floor of the house. Although it doesn't come with any switch to turn the current off.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[mrloy99]

Hello,

I am not an electrician. So I don't know if I have join the right forum, or if I am allowed to join the forum. My only credential is that I play sports with an electrician.

Anyway, I am interested in doing some basic DIY around the house that involves some minor work in relation to existing electrical wiring.

Right now I am renovating a shower room. I will be replacing a power shower (not heated electric shower) with a thermalstatic valve. So I will end up with an unneeded live wire behind the plaster board. I wonder if anyone can give some advise as to what I can do with this wire ? Obvious just leaving it there, even tapped up and protected, doesn't feel safe because the water pipes might leak or burst.

The wire was installed as part of a bathrrom to shower room conversion done by a retail shop many years ago. It is connected to the same circuit as the ceiling lights on the same floor of the house. Although it doesn't come with any switch to turn the current off.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

I'm sure the resounding reply here will be "get an electrician"Perhaps your
sporting friend can help you.If your roofspace is accessable,you could probably physically trace the wire back.It will either go to a junction box,or more likely to one of the lights,probably the bathroom light or maybe even to bathroom fan isolator.It should be a simple matter for an electrician with a test device,to locate the origin where it can then be disconnected.If it proves impossable to trace back,the cable could be terminated within a BS approved waterproof enclosure,which could then be further sealed with silicon before it gets buried in the wall.

 

[Diy9999]

Thanks for a quick response. My pull cord switch does look like it was worked on previously. So the wire could be coming from there. Although the power to the shower is permanently on irrespective of whether the shower room light is on or not.

I was looking for an option of leaving the wire in place and you have answer that perfectly. Since it will take just as much work to leave it in place as to disconnect it, I'll just disconnect it. Once I have it disconnected, is it against building regulations just to leave the wire there, or must I physically remove the wire ? Sorry for the dumb questions.

 

[mrloy99]

Thanks for a quick response. My pull cord switch does look like it was worked on previously. So the wire could be coming from there. Although the power to the shower is permanently on irrespective of whether the shower room light is on or not.

I was looking for an option of leaving the wire in place and you have answer that perfectly. Since it will take just as much work to leave it in place as to disconnect it, I'll just disconnect it. Once I have it disconnected, is it against building regulations just to leave the wire there, or must I physically remove the wire ? Sorry for the dumb questions.

No dumb questions here,say what you want,we are here to help aech other.It is highly unlikely that the cable comes from your pullcord switch as normally it would be just breaking the live supply and not the neutral.So it is quite likely the power comes from the bathroom light .Depending on what kind of lighting fixture you have,the cables are possably made off into a junction box above the ceiling.Is there access above the ceiling or do you have a flat roof?Once you totally disconnect the cable,it can stay there,but you might want to tape it up to make it safe should someone at a future date reconnect the cable unknowingly.Of course it is always safer to remove completely but this may not prove practicable.Some of the other members here might like to caution you at this stage that all work done in a bathroom is notifiable,but I'm not sure if this applies to removing this cable?????

 

[Spudnik]

As long as no new electrical items, or circuits are altered in the bathroom then there is no need to notify.

However, i would not be happy leaving a hidden live cable buried in the wall, so i can only suggest that you try and trace it and remove it.