Ready to hire?

Post your job in minutes, browse real reviews and choose who to speak to.Post a job

Need some tips or advice?

Electrical

Moving plug, aerial and phone/broadband socket

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 3.17 PM

Hi, I'm interested in moving this row of sockets down by around 25-30cm. It is quite an eyesore from all angles and so high. I want to move it a lot lower so it's concealed behind the TV unit. Photo of sockets - blue line for new position: https://imgur.com/9ONjCV8 Photo of sockets with plugs: https://imgur.com/4rz3gPN I wanted to know if this is a job that's complicated or straightforward for an electrician. I know moving plug sockets is quite common, but I wasn't sure for the phone and aerial sockets. The wall is plasterboard. I'd really appreciate an idea of the amount of labour and cost a job like this would usually cost. This is a modern flat (built 2007ish) and uses electrical storage heaters. Thanks for your help.

Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?

1 Answer

Anonymous user

Hi Milanista. The reason they are at that height is because Part M of the Building Regulations requires electrical accessories to be placed in a zone between 450mm and 1200m above floor level. They could be lowered, as there is no prohibition on altering the heights, however, it would depend on whether there is sufficient slack length in the cables as to whether they can be lowered without having to splice the cables. As its dot-and-dab plasterboard it would be easy to cut new holes in the plasterboard to fix the back boxes in position then its a matter of pulling the wires down to the new positions. That's the ideal situation. If the cables aren't long enough they have to be spliced and that is the unknown. If the telephone point is a master socket that may not be possible anyway as it belongs to the telephone company, usually BT, and they would have to move it. Not cheap if BT get involved. There would also be a need to re-plaster the old holes. Hope this helps. Roy

Answered26 November 2020