good morning, my house is currently being rewired, the plasterer arrived sunday morning (contracted by electrician) and promptly stated he could not carry out the work as the chasing was deep enough enough to allow plastering. was straight up with me, suggested it did not look like a good job to him and also that capping or conduit would have helped and left. I have done some research on here and understand that capping not legally required if cable RCD protected but most electricians here state it is good practice anyway. the cables are very poorly secured using cable clips to the brick. some cables overlapping. he has only chased the plaster as far as the brick. did not bother to remove any loose bits of plaster nor hoover any dust out of the chases.
I have told him I am unhappy with the workmanship and have stopped work and have a meeting with him this evening.
Any suggestions on what rework I should be asking for? chase further into the brick? use capping anyway?
thanks for your help.
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Capping is good practice but not necessary. All cables should be flat, not twisted or overlapping and securely clipped with clips roughly a hammer length apart.
If the plaster is thin and cables protrude, the wall should be chased sufficiently so that no cable is visible when replastered.
Also another trade slating workmanship of another is very poor practice. As I’m sure fault could be found with his work aswell
You are completely correct in your assumption that if protected by an RCD need not be protected by capping or conduit. BS7671 18th ed (the relevant reg's) 522.6.202 describes how the cables must lie with-in prescribed zone and 522.6.203 confirm that protection by RCD is required. Capping and conduit are not required. However it is good practise to use these so that, should replacement cables be needed they can be pulled through. Capping and conduit also ensure the cable insulation is protected from the plasterer's sharp edged tools. To be fair to your electrician, s/he may have omitted these to meet your budget. Either way, an calm and honest conversation with your electrician may avoid an expensive misunderstanding if a better chase and capping will resolve the issue.
Hi Andrew-45,
With regards to the depth of the chases for light switch and socket drops, I usually set my wall chaser to about 15mm depth and then chisel out so there is a nice flat surface for clipping cables. Usually down to the brickwork is enough but that depends on how thick the old rough coat and plaster coat are. Obviously need to be deeper where the back boxes for the accessories are. Any loose bits of brick/block or plaster should be removed so the filler has something solid to bond to. Capping is not essential just good protection for the cables from the plasterers tools. I tend to use capping on an installation where the whole of the internal wall has been hacked off back to the brick/block to protect the cables during the scratch coat but where a wall is being chased and made good (chase filled) not really necessary. There is no reason why the cables should be crossing over each other in the chase, they should all be straight.
I hope this is of some help to you.
Regards
Chris Wilson
