Questions tagged [uk]
Questions specific to DIY projects in the United Kingdom. Use with any relevant project tags (i.e. [electrical])
130
questions
3
votes
1answer
80 views
Do doors with overlapping swings violate building regulations in the UK?
I am buying a new build property in Salisbury, UK and the cloakroom door swing overlaps the kitchen door swing, so if someone is coming out of the cloakroom at the same time as someone coming out of ...
0
votes
2answers
251 views
How to safely cap a wire coming from a wall
I'm in the UK. I have taken two electric radiators off the wall, one behind where my fridge goes, and one behind a set of shelves. Each radiator has a standard (live/neutral/earth) wire coming out of ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
What is this object on my exterior wall?
This object is attached to the exterior wall of my three-year-old, estate built house. It sits immediately above the patio doors and internally, on the same wall, there is a black cable protruding ...
1
vote
2answers
157 views
Fused switches…where do they go?
As I know some systems and terminology are different worldwide, I will start off the post by saying I live in the UK.
There are a number of fused switches in my flat. Some of them I know what they ...
0
votes
1answer
226 views
DIY copper lamp earthing
I'm planning on building a copper pipe based lamp along the lines of this: https://www.instructables.com/id/Copper-Pipe-Table-Lamp/
I currently have a lamp holder terminal of this brand: https://s-...
1
vote
2answers
163 views
What sort of lock do I need?
Would anybody know what sort of lock do I need based on this pictures? I'll dissemble it if that's impossible, but I wanted to avoid having to do the work twice and just buy the replacement.
I'm ...
1
vote
2answers
129 views
Do I need to install a local ground point for a secondary consumer unit in my shed?
I've just installed outdoor sockets on the side of my brick shed, where previously we just had a double socket inside the shed itself. The original socket in the shed is on a spur from the ring main ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Dimmer dims the lights about once a second
I have a dimmer (Richmond/Zano GRID500) that, when turned up to full brightness, dims the lights on and off at a rate of about 1 Hz.
Turning the brightness down just a bit makes the blinking stop.
...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
In a one-way dimmer, can C and L1 terminals be swapped?
In a one-way dimmer switch, does it matter which way round the C and L1 terminals are connected (both electrically and in terms of UK wiring regs)?
For context, I have a dimmer that's wired the ...
0
votes
0answers
64 views
Is one failed test enough evidence to replace an RCBO?
The consumer unit in my shed (in the UK) has an RCBO.
I pushed the test button and the breaker did not trip.
I then reset and rearmed the breaker using the lever. It now trips every time I push the ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
How to spec buried wiring to a garden workshop
In the next few weeks, I'm installing a wooden garden workshop, 25 metres from the house at the bottom of the garden. I will need an electricity supply to it, and I'm trying to figure out exactly what ...
0
votes
3answers
100 views
How to wire a USA 50amp 2 phase double pole breaker supply for a UK 240v high capacity shower pump
I have recently moved to the USA from Scotland. I brought with me a "Waterfall" 3 bar shower pump, operating on UK 240V, 50Hz A/C,rated at 4 A, 850W, IPX2.
In our house we have a disused 50amp supply ...
4
votes
2answers
250 views
Light switch position in the room
I'm trying to place a light switch in a sensible place in a new room being built as part of an extension. I know that according to the building regulations, the switch must be at least 300 mm from ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
Is this paint lead based?
In my cellar there’s a thin layer of crumbling paint directly on brick.
I am concerned that it might be lead based, and I need a better mask than a cheap dust mask. The house is old, Victorian (early ...
1
vote
0answers
83 views
Connect washing machine drain pipe to existing outlet
I am trying to install a washing machine next to our boiler. I don't have an SDS drill so I'm trying to get away with not drilling a hole in the cavity wall. There's an existing hole through the wall ...
1
vote
1answer
81 views
Does FENSA certificate prove that bay window meets structural requirements?
I am in the process of buying a house. One concern raised by the surveyor was that the replacement plastic bay window frames may not be adequate to carry the load of the wall (the original wooden ...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
Replacing light fixture UK unable to determine which wire is which
We had our kitchen redone within the last year, part of that was adding a new light fitting which was to be replaced later in the year.
That time is now, I've just taken the old one off which has ...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
Replacing dual light switch
I’ve the following set of wires:
And this dual light switch:
The switch controls light and fan, how to connect it to those wires?
Update
The old witch was connected in the following manner:
0
votes
3answers
90 views
Cutting off electrical supply to replace consumer unit
I have a 1946-built semidetached house in the UK, which has a standard 10-way consumer unit installed. Now, after having a new extension built, I need to replace it with another CU (10-way isn't ...
0
votes
1answer
184 views
How do I ground this metal switch faceplate? (UK electrical)
I'm replacing a plastic light switch with a metal one - so need to ground it.
Have done this before - where backbox has been metal, so easy to run a flywire from switch to grounding point on metal ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
What are these connectors on UK plug socket internal wiring?
My friend is renovating an old house in the UK. I was interested to notice that all of the (removed) mains sockets had these plastic terminals on the ends of the wiring coming out of the wall. I've ...
1
vote
2answers
631 views
Convert wall light to 3 pin plug
I'd like to put a couple of wall lights outside my garage but I don't want to wire this into the mains electricity as I want to connect them to a plug so I can control it with IFTTT.
Can I simply buy ...
0
votes
2answers
67 views
(UK) Timber stud sizes and types, 38mm vs 50mm
Can anyone clarify why some shops sell 50mm thick studs, while others sell 38mm ones? I'm having a hard time finding explanations for this.
Some sites even list both sizes!
I need to build a stud ...
4
votes
1answer
376 views
What are electrical rings?
I was mulling buying a powerline adapter, when I read this, from Which magazine.
There's one major caveat, however - powerline adapters won't work if your home electrical circuit is split over more ...
2
votes
1answer
610 views
Damaged oven plug, possible unsafe installation
I have an oven that was installed prior to moving into the property. It was connected to a regular UK plug socket via a regular plug. Recently power to the oven has been cutting out and it sounded ...
-1
votes
1answer
116 views
How do I correctly identify the purpose of a wire?
I have recently moved into a new home. When I tried to have internet set up, I realized there was no phone/internet socket.
I eventually realized that there were four TV/aerial sockets next to each ...
1
vote
1answer
221 views
How do I tell if an electrician is “qualified” in the UK?
(All of this is with regard to living in England, UK).
My wife and I bought a house recently, and it clearly needs a bit of work on the electrics and a number of other jobs which would affect ...
1
vote
2answers
510 views
Safety of clamping two solid core wires in a ring circuit socket
I just bought a house in the UK for the first time and have discovered the joys of ring circuits. One of the
double sockets in the house was faulty (switch would always stay on). I took it off the ...
1
vote
1answer
183 views
Interior 30s wall construction
can anyone identify the materials in this wall? It's an interior wall in a 1930s UK house. Obviously ... bricks, and the outside is some kind of lime plaster I think. What is the black material?
2
votes
1answer
215 views
How difficult/costly would it be to extend a 400V 3-phase domestic supply 150m down a garden in the UK?
I do a lot of technology work for a large country house in the UK. We're currently looking at getting electricity 150m up the garden.
Despite being a residential property, the electrical supply ...
1
vote
2answers
637 views
How feasible is a brick veneer fake wall?
We want to brick veneer our chimney breast (Which has a TV mounted to it) but I had a thought that would allow us to hide the wires, brick veneer the wall and also keep the wall behind in a clean ...
2
votes
0answers
995 views
Boiler issue diagnostic steps for a layperson (E37/E99)
I'm having some boiler woes which seem to have stumped my landlord's plumber, and I'm wondering if there's any clues people more experienced with this setup may recognise, or any recommended ...
2
votes
1answer
357 views
Cable choice for kitchen. Maximum demand and diversity
I'm trying to calculate and chose the correct cable to rewire my kitchen. The general vibe for creating final ring circuits is to use 2.5mm Twin & Earth apart from the cooker.
I've been reading ...
0
votes
1answer
461 views
One of my 3 pin socket is not working
I have a dual 3 pin plug socket which one of them is not working now. Previously, all I had to do was to kind of palm-slap onto the plug of my laptop a couple of times to get it working and sometimes ...
3
votes
3answers
5k views
Joining two 10mm twin and earth cables
I've had an electrician install some new wiring for me for our new electric car charger. It is 10mm twin and earth. He's had to join two of these together, he hasn't fully finished yet, but I'm ...
0
votes
0answers
60 views
Ventilation for Garage below house
We have built a garage into our new build 4 story town house (garage and upper floor plans attached) which sits below the main house in its foot print. The floor above the garage is beam and block ...
17
votes
2answers
20k views
Is there supposed to be a gap between the wall and the roof?
We bought a new house last year. Going up to the loft we noticed there is a considerable gap (5-6 cm) between the roof and the wall, like this:
Is it supposed to be like that?
It's freezing up there ...
5
votes
1answer
241 views
Mains wires aren't paired, is this a problem?
I'm wanting to add another socket outlet to my ring main, on the opposite side of the wall to an existing socket outlet.
When I've removed the old socket the live and neutral wires aren't paired (...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
40 to 50 Volts on Generator (Neutral to Earth) “Normal”?
We recently installed a new generator (Mosa GE6000SX) and during the troubleshooting process for something else, the electrician noticed that when the generator was running but disconnected with no ...
1
vote
2answers
192 views
Is whitewood timber suitable for loft boarding?
I'm planning to part board my loft (an area about 2.5m by 2.5m) for storage and it seems like the norm is to use tongue and groove chipboard like this. However I have some concerns about it;
The ...
0
votes
1answer
125 views
How do I unlock this electrical meter cabinet?
I have my electricity meter reading inside this box, which I am unable to open. Any idea how to open this?
3
votes
1answer
5k views
Is it OK in the UK for mains sockets to be mounted upside-down?
This isn't about any work I'm doing, but just out of interest. I noticed that at my University, some standard mains power sockets at desk height had been mounted upside-down, because there was not ...
1
vote
1answer
4k views
Can I use Wago connectors to extend a ring main?
I need to extend a 32Amp ring-main. Can I use Wago connectors to tap and extend the existing ring?
2
votes
1answer
838 views
Light switch connected to Smoke Alarm
So my light switch is connected to my smoke alarm in such a way that the smoke alarm isn't on/charging unless the light in the room is also on.
I live in the United Kingdom. This is an upstairs ...
1
vote
2answers
77 views
How to cover this wall ventilation?
I recently moved into a house where each of the three bedrooms contained one of these:
I'm guessing it's used for ventilation. Problem is, winter is coming and I don't particularly enjoy having a ...
0
votes
1answer
158 views
Is building regulations approval needed for replacing gas fire with log burner
Currently selling my house and the buyer has come back demanding building regulations approval for some work we did replacing a gas fire with a log burner built into an existing chimney.
We did the ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
Y Plan Sundial - 150V on orange wire, boiler stays on in heating only mode
I have a Sundial Y-plan configuration. The 3 port midposition valve is a Honeywell V4073A and have a Worcester Greenstar 18ri.
After replacing an older 3 port valve which had become stuck with the ...
1
vote
2answers
137 views
Dishwasher - valve on water pipe designed as not to be opened
I'm connecting dishwasher in my new place and I'm baffled by the valve on the pipe. I swear it looks like it was designed so that it won't be opened. Unless it doesn't turn... but this is ball type.
...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Is it safe to replace a lamp's UK 5 amp round 3 pin plug with a 13 amp rectangular 3 pin plug?
UK electrical question.
I've recently come into a nice pair of lamps. Unfortunately, their plugs are 5 amp and 250v with 3 round pins (BS546A). I do not have round pin sockets in my home. Is it safe ...
0
votes
1answer
641 views
how to open windows without handles or locks
some of my smaller top windows can't be opened as there is no handle or lock.
Anyone knows how these can be made to open? How do I remove them in the first place?
A few shots here http://imgur.com/a/...
