Wiring Advice pls........

[vicar]

Morning all,

This looks like the place to get some correct info for my building project.

Hence the name Vicar we are renovating an old church.

My question is i have 97 m2 upstairs and would like to know if i can have 1 ring main to service the 4 upstairs bedrooms & gallery hallways my electrician said i should be splitting it into 2 rings i cant find out if it has to be split or not as some of the wiring on this ring is allready done by myself and was unaware i would need to split the ring its a pain as some of the walls are allready plasterboarded.

Is this nesessary i.e a limit to how many sockets on a ring or area to total sockets?

The downstairs area is 180 m2 and we have split the rings into 3 he said it was due to the loading on 1 ring main & long cable runs.

The kitchen will be a separate ring.

Also here in scotland the height of our switches should be between 900 & 1100 mm from FF level my question is what about the underfloor heating controls and the controls for the HRV system or any other control panels do they have to be at the same height or can they be higher on the walls.

I know that the switch & socket heights are for disabled access but cant imagine that the switches and controls would all have to go in the same row on the wall? or do they my electrician thought controls could be at 5ft high from FF level to pass building control but im not sure & thought i would ask here before i called my unhelpfull council.

Many thanks in advance for any advice,

Rgds.........

The Vicar.

 

[DurhamSparky]

Best Advice...!! LISTEN to your Sparky he is telling you good advice,

2 rings sounds better for the upstairs as if you were to develop a fault on the single ring it would take all the power out upstairs...!!

i would split bedrooms and hallway

(unfortunately i cant comment on scottish regs for switches etc.)

 

[keith915]

an A1 ring ( using 2.5mm cable) has a floor area limit of 100m2.

So your on the limit.

My personal preference would be to have 2 Rings due to slow deterioration of the circuit in future.

 

[JUD]

an A1 ring ( using 2.5mm cable) has a floor area limit of 100m2.

So your on the limit.

My personal preference would be to have 2 Rings due to slow deterioration of the circuit in future.

It also has a maximum circuit length with regards to voltage drop. In most cases at an ambient temperature of <30°C this is 98m and I suspect this is what your sparky is concerned about as he has mentioned long cable runs.

 

[Spudnik]

Im not sure on Scottish regs, however, in England Part M only applies to new builds or commercial premises - new or refurbed.

 

[lincs1sparky]

Hi Vicar,
It sounds you ave a good electrcian looking sfter your best interests, as I do not know your profession I will assume you are not an electrician.
Why have you bothered to employ an electrician?
It takes several years and hrd learning to be complete your apprenticeship, register with a gverning body like the NICEIC or NAPPIT or any of theother bodies, spend thousands on test equipment, attend regular updates to maintain status, hae once a year to be inspected and yu still do not trust your electrician, I suggest ou either get rid of your electrician and employ another or go to college your self.

 

[DurhamSparky]

sparks work is good... stick with his advice..!!

 

[mayfair]

Come on lads at least he's got a sparky on the job the blokes just asking a question. I note a lot of coments that seem abrasive to peps asking q's. We all know were qualified and do loads a training but were just tradesmen ............. not demi gods, think the high and mighty stance is wrong way to go (personally)

 

[lincs1sparky]

Apologies to all for high and mighty stance, and do please ask questions.
It is just hard enough to do a job, ensure correct materials used, calculations worked out, conformity ensured, certificates issued, job registration for Part P. My point is, if your customer is judging your professional opinion as an electrician, should we judge the advice of the original electricain has given. Further more does the customer fully understand, volt drop, earth falut loop impedance values, the need to minimise disruption in the event of a fault by limiting the amount of socket outlets per circuit,also excluding floor area maximum value the potential on large cct's to overload and the need to balance loads over rings etc.

 

[lincs1sparky]

Hi Vicar,

Once again my apologies for the abrasive attitude, and you are correct for asking mounting heights etc.
Regards Lincs1sparky.

 

[mayfair]

If we are asked for a second opinion by a customer i think we should take a look at the facts and advise on the work to our understanding of the regs dont mean were right and he's wrong. Surely we've all looked at a job and thought to ourselves easy that! just need x and x and x and its sorted, maybe couple a hours....................................6 hours later lol

 

[lincs1sparky]

Sorry to seem to be judging people for replying to genuine questions, nor people for asking them. However we are skilled like many other professions, routinely tested to make sure our knowledge is up to date. If the customer is lacking in confidence with his electrician, perhaps he is the wrong one for the job.

 

[mayfair]

Sorry to seem to be judging people for replying to genuine questions, nor people for asking them. However we are skilled like many other professions, routinely tested to make sure our knowledge is up to date. If the customer is lacking in confidence with his electrician, perhaps he is the wrong one for the job.

Your right m8. Think everyone is edgy at the moment the financial situation that exists causes us all a bit of a headache. Were all busy minding our backs, totally understandable

 

[Phil]

welcome to the forum

 

[vicar]

Hi All,
Thanks for all your input with regards to my questions regarding my wiring.

It may seam i question the knowledge of my electrician but to be fair im looking for a second opinion with regards to discussed issues.

Re: Amount of sockets ,voltage drop and amount of circuits/sockets.

All i am doing is gaining the knowledge from your forum so i can be sure what he is telling me is what you guys would know ensuring me its correct information i guess this is what forums are for.

So im fully aware now all the info he has told me is correct and you have now assured me i have a first class electrician working on my project and feel quite sure he knows what he is talking about and i wil be sure to to tell him you all think so as i did mention i was on here asking technical questions.

FYI in scotland its between 900mm & 1100mm for switches & min 450mm for a socket being 350mm from an internal corner no rules on floor sockets & controls can be a maximum of 1200mm if you ask the council nicely.

If you would be so kind as to answer some other question regarding spot lights can i have your advice to the correct distances from wall to spot lights and distances between lights i have 2 16m2 ceilings my electrician wont commit to answer this issue.

I was planning a ring of lights around the outside perimiter and a smaller few inside on a seperate ring with LEDS also mounting 2 pendent lights for the table center of the windows.

Also can anyone recommend releasable pendant fittings as we dont want them hanging permenetly.

Any advce would be welcome i look forward to your replies......

Many thanks in advance.

Tv.....