Sockets

[tony]

Craig,

you are not mounting the socket into the skirting

you are mounting a flush metal box flush with the surface of the skirting and then fiiting the socket to this, this is perfectly acceptable

Many old houses will still have wooden made fuse boards, not great but still working

you do get sockets on the market that can be virtually invisible, you paper/paint over most of the socket and cover with a clear plastic front, these are also available for switches

 

[middi]

The problem with sutface sockets on skirting boards is that they keep getting clobbered and broken.

 

[tony]

I never had a problem with broken sockets on skirting boards,and ive fitted them to hundreds of houses,while carrying out rewires.

regards

tony

 

[Gervase]

Fitting 'em is one thing - living with 'em with manic hooverers and the like is quite another. They do get knocked and cracked with boring regularity.

 

[Geoffrey]

I hadn't thought about them being knocked but have come round to thinking they'll be nicest recessed anyway. As we've got to have wiring chipped in all over the place, we might as well get the sockets done as well.

 

[NT]

If youre doing surface mount, putting them atop the skirting looks much better than mounting them on the skirting. Not only do they stick out less, but the proud skirt below makes them look even less stickyout. And of course theyre just above hoover height in most cases.


NT

 

[tony]

Gervase,

I have fitted hundreds as stated before and been back to most of the houses over the years to add stuff, power to garage , new electrical installation for new kitchen extra lights etc, and owners have never mentioned damaged sockets.

People need to know that you dont push the hoover until it hits the skirting, a bit of common sense.

regards

tony

 

[Lime]

Gervase,

I have fitted hundreds as stated before and been back to most of the houses over the years to add stuff, power to garage , new electrical installation for new kitchen extra lights etc, and owners have never mentioned damaged sockets.

People need to know that you dont push the hoover until it hits the skirting, a bit of common sense.

regards

tony

I have fitted hundreds of sockets to skirting boards (a long time ago) and they rarely got broken.
It does depend on how they are fitted however.
Selecting the wrong (exposed) position for a socket was the main problem in most instances but also the tightness of the wood screws made a lot of difference too. Some electricians would tighten until the plastic or ceramic was heard to crack.
The chief breakage problem in many houses was the "tree" of adaptors that used to sprout from a single socket placed near the first electric appliance.
When that type of house was rewired the original socket positon was often abandoned because of it's poor position.