power sockets

[Anonymous]

hello, i was hoping for a bit of advice about relocating the sockets in our 1890 terrace. Currently the sockets are stuck onto the skirting at floor level. This means i cant put furniture near the room edges and it can be tricky to get plugs into the sockets because they are so close to the ground.
I want to put them in near flush with the wall ( i presume they should go into the wall rather than the skirting even though it is quite deep. Do i have to pull the entire skirting board off so i can sink the cable into the plaster behind? if so whats the best way of doing this without destroying the wall.

any advice appreciated. as you may be able to tell i am a complete DIY novice.

 

[Anonymous]

I believe that new wiring and rewires have to put sockets at waist height anyway so they are accessible to people who can't bend or are wheel chair users.

I know and understand the problem you face though -- I've been driven to using extension cables to avoid the shoulder wrenching or furniture removal needed to unplug something!

 

[Anonymous]

Waist-high power sockets.
Just what one needs to get that authentic period look.

 

[Anonymous]

Amy - if you're a complete novice you really shouldn't be considering doing this work yourself. Quite apart from the dangers, the law now states that electrical installations like this must be done by a "competent person" - in other words, a registered electrician. If it's not, then it must be inspected by your local Building Control department - at substantial cost to you.
If you're going to have to spend money anyway, I really think you should get an electrician in to do the work.

 

[Anonymous]

Regulations that apply to new installs dont all apply to situations like this. No need to put them in silly places half way up the wall. As long as youre able to rewire a socket safely, all should be ok. If not, best not.

Its simply a matter of what fits, since your tails will be pretty short. I dont know whether the existing wiring is on top of the skirting, below sockets, in the plaster or what, so I dont know what you can and cant do without exnteding tails. Hopefully you should be able to flush mount the sockets just above the skirting.

If you have to extend tails, anything not having an unscrewable inspection hatch should be crimped or soldered rather than screwed, and insulated.

If the wiring is plastered over, hopefully you can gouge a vertical channel out behind the skirting without needing to remove skirting, so the tails can come up behind the board. Just a case of going carefully and watchfully so you dont carve up the cable, and temporarily putting some metal tool over the wires where they come out so your channelling chisel hits the metal and not the cable. A stone chisel or even a 33p poundland wood chisel and hammer would do for plaster. Dont use a decent wood chisel, it'd be ruined.

NT