Should I be listed?

[Zebra]

Oh yes, anyone who knows what they're doing will have had no problems. It was just that the explanation on their website said that the common terminal was for the neutral conductor. There's no neutral in a switch. Perhaps they meant the blue conductor, but it's not a neutral. And you still wouldn't put the blue in the common anyway.

 

[Zebra]

If your electrician is what my mother-in-law used to call "a proper man"

I hope she wasn't in the habit of checking!

 

[Flyfisher]

Oh yes, anyone who knows what they're doing will have had no problems. It was just that the explanation on their website said that the common terminal was for the neutral conductor. There's no neutral in a switch. Perhaps they meant the blue conductor, but it's not a neutral. And you still wouldn't put the blue in the common anyway.

I recall reading about lighting cables with two red cores (now two brown ones presumably) for wiring light switches, but I've never actually seen it for sale. Does such a thing really exist?

I'm sure I've also read that that when using standard cable colours, the blue core should be sleeved with brown tape in order to identify the fact that it will be a 'live' wire when the switch is on, but am not sure about the formal regulatory position on this . . . Not that I would ever trust a bit of brown tape to indicate a live wire, in fact I don't even like relying on red or brown wires based on some of the things I've uncovered over the years!

 

[davidbrac]

....................But money talks, and when there's a limited supply it tends to become a rather one-sided conversation.
And it means that we can afford the odd little luxury like some repro light switches which we've sourced from a lovely little (not big enough to qualify for VAT!) firm based in a Wiltshire farm. It's called http://www.periodpattresses.com.
...................

Just look at the price of those pattresses, l just made some in walnut for a friend, wait till l tell him the saving he's made, l may get a pint or two tonight

This is what they say about wiring a light switch
The LOOPING terminal is used to connect the EARTH wire.
The COMMON terminal is used to connect the NEUTRAL wire. (Sometimes labelled C on other switches).
The 1 WAY terminal is used to connect the LIVE wire when used as just a 1 way switch. This means there is only 1 switch to control the lighting circuit. (Sometimes labelled L1 on other switches).
The 2 WAY terminal is used to connect other switches in a circuit with more than one switch controlling the lighting circuit. (Sometimes labelled L2 on other switches).
If in doubt, always consult a qualified electrician

If in doubt don't write instructions yourself get an electrician to do it - there is no neutral in a light switch

ups just noted Zebra had pointed this out already

 

[Zebra]

I've never seen the two-brown-cores cable. I don't think it's something that the wholesalers usually stock, although the manufacturers may well make it.
Yes it is in the Regs that you are supposed to indicate with brown sleeving any conductor which is used as a live conductor but is not a live colour. Our firm always notes it on tests, and then gets the essentially pointless job of putting it right. Pointless because if you know enough to be in the back of a switch, you probably know it's live.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Gosh, so many comments tonight, all with some significance----Moo I think I made a comment about a 'tight budget' so not really too polite not to mention £'s!!
Relieved to hear that you are succumbing to the use of CEMENT in a situation very similar to ours---cheapo paint falling off the back of our property with blown bricks to be dealt with--will post pics tomorrow.

Wise words from Zebra--worth noting!!! :wink:

As for LBC --all I can say is that after our time in Chelsea by the Sea, watching gut rip and strip time and time again as properties changed hands where's the sense?
A couple of weeks ago when we were there I saw a house on the Green being 'done 'yet again must be third time in the 10 years we've known it.

Love the sound of your black Elder Moo--is it the same as a plant by the name of Sambucca? (sp)

 

[Flyfisher]

Quick question... If my house is around 300 years old should it be listed? All of the old houses in my village are listed, including my next door neighbour, so I am wondering if perhaps my house was just too boring for it to be listed when the others were

Just to bring things back on topic (boring, I know :wink: ), it's probably impossible to know why your house isn't listed because it could be for so many reasons. I certainly wouldn't assume it's because of any lack of significance, though that is one possibility of course. Our house dates back to 1550 but it wasn't listed until the late 80s, whereupon it was deemed worthy of being G2* listed. Perhaps it was simply missed during previous listing exercises - who knows?

 

[plasticpigeon]

I bought my switches from this guy, he has put his prices up a little, they used to be £20 but they are still much cheaper much cheaper than period pattresses.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOGGLE-LI...al_Electrical_Fittings_MJ&hash=item5d4c82555a

 

[Penners]

it's probably impossible to know why your house isn't listed because it could be for so many reasons. I certainly wouldn't assume it's because of any lack of significance

I agree. We've heard repeated reports on this forum that the original listing process was sometimes pretty haphazard, and simply a "drive-by" in some cases. I suspect houses that didn't immediately jump out as being pre-Victorian may often have been missed. Our own Georgian cottage is a case in point (although, to be fair, when I first saw it I immediately assumed it was Victorian).

 

[88v8]

I bought my switches from this guy, he has put his prices up a little, they used to be £20 but they are still much cheaper much cheaper than period pattresses.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOGGLE-LI...al_Electrical_Fittings_MJ&hash=item5d4c82555a

Mmm, interesting, although I have so many originals in stock I doubt I shall ever need repros.
I read somewhere that Clipsal are no longer being imported ?... so if he is buying them from Aussie that would explain the cost. I fitted one in our previous house to replace a small original switch I didn't want to leave. The wiring terminals are 'wrong' compared to a proper brass switch, and the 'click' was very soggy. Looks the part though, and apparently complies with something called The Wiring Regulations.

Ivr

 

[fluffytail10]

Is it possible to simple get one feature of your home listed? My lovely old pamment floor, worn into troughs by 100s of years of footsteps is so worth preserving, but the rest of the house has been renovated to death.

 

[LadyArowana]

Is it possible to simple get one feature of your home listed? My lovely old pamment floor, worn into troughs by 100s of years of footsteps is so worth preserving, but the rest of the house has been renovated to death.

I don't think so, and even a place that is substantially intact will require a lot of work/ documentation to get listed.

 

[Keithj]

They listed some gateposts at the old place down Church Lane.

If your pamments are particularly interesting, then they may be a reason to list the house. Ours is listed, apparently, because of the form of the upstairs.

 

[Flyfisher]

I doubt that a specific feature could be listed as its importance is likely to also depend on its immediate surroundings, hence the concept of 'curtilage listed', but I'm only guessing.

Specific features can influence the listing grade though. We were told that the star on our G2* listing was due to a specific staircase with hand-cut balusters.

 

[Penners]

Is it possible to simple get one feature of your home listed? My lovely old pamment floor, worn into troughs by 100s of years of footsteps is so worth preserving, but the rest of the house has been renovated to death.

The answer, as I understand it, is no. The listing may specifically mention one or more features that have caused the building to be listed, but that doesn't mean that only those features are listed.

If listing takes place, then normally the whole building and its curtilage (as mention by FF) is included.