Bedroom socket

[Ouchmythumb]

Hello friends...
The wiring in my house will need replacing in a few years. I wont be doing that!! I have a new consumer unit installed a few years ago and currently my electrics are sound. In my bedroom I have an old fashioned wall mounted socket. It's a right faff and I have a 4 way extension running from it which is a nightmare. I'm decorating the bedroom.so I thought hmmm "you got to go."

I have chased I two nice Appleby 35mm backboxes into my lath and plaster walls and left the old socket in situ with two wires feeding old socket. Yhe two new double sockets are called A and B.

Please tell me if what I am doing is right...
I have taken 2.5mm TC&E cable from socket B and run it to socket A (like a spur). Originally I wanted to remove the other two cables from the old socket and feed it into the new socket A. So I would then have Ring and Spur all coming from Socket A but darn if I can bend my hand into a Z shape to get them up through the skirting and along the lath... so I plan to use a 30amp junction and connectnring to it and then spur to Socket A which in turn is feeding Socket B? Please let me know if this is Ok...?

Thanks...

 

[terryplumb]

Why not fit a double socket in the position of the existing socket ,and the second socket right next to it ?
Surely that would be simple to wire up ?

 

[Ouchmythumb]

Hi
1. When I can see it, the existing wall mounted socket is not nice to look at.. the reson I cant see it is because the headboard of my king size bed sits right over the centre of it which is why I have a 4 way ext lead.

2. The wires feeding the existing double socket is a mare to get to... so feeding a new cable through the skirting to the existing socket is so awkward I would need a hand like E.T just to get the cable up.

3. I would prefer a socket either side of the headboard as I'm tired of having to plug the old Dears iphone in my 4 way.

Regards.

 

[JohnD]

Have you taken up a floorboard so you can get at the cables?

What route do the cables take?

Is the wall built on top of the floorboards?

If you have a long drill you can drill down behind the skirting and poke or fish the cable through.

Photos or diagrams would help visualise your situation.

 

[Ouchmythumb]

Hi
Yes I have taken up a few floorboards.
Yes the wall for my sockets is built on top of floorboards so they are a little difficult to get to.
I did use a super longe drill bit to drill down the back of the skirting ... my issue is that it was a masonry drill bit so didn't go through the floor. But I have created a decent gap with a chisle.
Another issue I have is the joist. It's so tight against the wall that after drilling through it. I would then have to try and get to the wire and some how pull it up and through gap. I could try to do this from the room next door but its carpeted and not worth the pain and suffering from wife and child (kids bedrim) my floor is timber sanded varnished floor so nice and easy to get too. In the end I notched out top of joist and intend to use a notching plate over the top. I will provide photos shortly.

 

[Ouchmythumb]

Here is a cave man drawing if that helps

 

[Ouchmythumb]

Puc of old socket and socket A

 

[AndyPRK]

1. Well the most complaint (ish) option is to fit a blank plate over the existing socket and use it as a junction to join all 4 cables. But that's ugly.
2. your proposal. I think the regs say you shouldn't spur from a spur. But IRL its not going to be an issue in a bedroom.
3a. you could take 2 new cables down (one from each socket - even if B passes thru A untouched.) And then join the 4 in a junction under floor
3b. As 3a, but add another cable between the new sockets so that are within a ring. Have 2 junctions under the floor and maintain the ring thru the new sockets. More complient with the regs, but for me 2 junctions under the floor on a ring is asking for reliability problems in the future.

Are the existing cables stranded? stranded bits of cooper or one solid core as modern 2.5mm

 

[Mottie]

Can you not split the cables to old socket, put one to socket A and one to socket B and then a new cable between the two to complete the ring or just put both cables to socket A and then a single cable to socket B as a spur? * I’m not an electrician!

 

[AndyPRK]

Having seen the pics, I would solder the existing wires (as a temp joint) to one of the new cables, tape over it slightly and use that as a draw to pull the old cables into the new box A.


Then have B a spur from A with one cable

 

[JohnD]

Here is a cave man drawing if that helpsView attachment 204540

In your drawing you only show one cable going to the old socket. Is that really true? On a ring, and usually on a radial, there will be two cables.

If the cable route you show is accurate, it will reach new socket "A" without needing a junction box, if you pull it down into the floor and reroute it.

 

[Ouchmythumb]

@AndyPRK I am 99 % sure that existing cables are solid. I haven't removed them yet though. Soldering and bringing up cables through the wall is not an option because access is tight. I would have preferred yo have done that but going up into the skirt rather is going to be harder then coming down. So now I'm left with spuring off a spur from a junction box for two bedside wall sockets...

@Mottie I'm not sure I can do that again pushing the old cables back up the skirt would be a difficult thing...

 

[Ouchmythumb]

@JohnD I did think that about the drawing... so I have posted a pic of old socket which shows two cables..

 

[JohnD]

ah, and they both come from the left

So you could put them both into socket A, maintaining the ring, and run a new spur to socket B in new cable.

Junction boxes are undesirable, and junction boxes hidden in the floor are very undesirable.

 

[Ouchmythumb]

@JohnD that's what I wanted to do Originally.
Two cables from old socket to socket A then spur from socket B into socket A.

Bu then I realised that the access would be so tight that I would end up taking the skirting board off which I didn't want to do.

So i went for plan b which was to terminate ring into a junction box, then spur of to socket A then connect A and B via spur as well....