Home DIY

tidy job!

do regs allow for mains cables to be joined behind a plug face plate?

no, a BS1363 socket outlet is not to be used as a junction box for crimping cables within the backbox.

if, however the final distribution circuit can be re-engineered to meet BS7671 so that the circuit conductors are terminated in the allocated terminals, then extension of circuits is allowed.

crimped, although routinely carried out in practice, is frowned upon as has been shown to be a cause of loosening > higher resistance > higher temperature > combustion

Ok thanks, tbh that's what I expected. Do you have any other suggestions as to overcome this problem?

I've read about crimping being a contentious issue. I suggested it as it's the most compact method of joining the cables, other than soldering.

can't really give any more advice via a word model, other than have a good professional look at it and ensure modifications meet BS7671 AMD3

13amp....it is a big one. This was done by a fucking allegedly qualified electrical person.

Just put the cables together in a bucket of water. All the current will get nice and friendly in there.

I'm after some advice.
We have a turn of century terrace where the staircase is oriented across the width of the house. The master BR is at the front of the house. In the master BR there is a closet in the space above the stairwell. This closet is a strange triangular shape owing to the fact that the floor of the closet is the ceiling of the stairwell. get me?
I'd like to put some shelving in the triangular bit. I have some leftover 18mm ply left over from another project. I am thinking of fixing four ply corner supports to the walls with evenly spaced drilled holes, so that the shelves can be adjustable, like kitchen cabinets or an ikea wardrobe.
Access to the space is such that prefabrication will be difficult. Am I setting myself up for an exercise in frustration, owing to the fact that the walls won't be true or flat? Any tips for 'truing' the space before I start? I am a dab hand at wood but no good at plaster.
Thanks.

Similar problem at a previous house: I resorted to battens shaped on one side to the profile of the wall using a spoke shave - doubtless there is a more modern power tool that will do the job, but shavings are much easier to clear up than dust. Said battens varied from 1/4" to 1. 1/4" thick, and allowed a ply panel to be fitted true, or at least as close enough, screwing through the ply and batten into the wall.
The biggest problem I found was drilling into Victorian brick - carbide masonry drills were good for no more than two holes...

Cheers @MrE
did you scribe lines on the battens or how did you get the right profile?

Can you use twin slot strips on the back

You can shim them out to get them level or they will deform a little to follow a wonky wall (I have a turn of the century terrace too)

I would strongly favour trying to prefabricate something in that situation, unless it's absolutely impossible. If you want the shelves to be adjustable then the supports that they sit in/on have to be parallel all the way up. I would suggest building a liner (basically a big box) for the cupboard that is properly square and lifting it into the space (with temporary triangulation struts if needed to keep it square). If you can't lift it in whole, then could you build it, check that it's all square, dismantle it as much as needed, lift the sides/back into the space with shims to level and square it and then add any cross bracing to keep it in shape. If you've got a router you could also use recessed shelf support strips to maximise the width of the shelves.

Screwed the battens to the wall - packed with wedges / scrap to give vertical - marked a constant distance from the wall to give a guideline - remove screws and cut to line.

thanks for all the input, guys.
@aggi, i installed those to support shelving above our washing machine, and agree that they would be a good option. I'm not sure what's behind what would be the supporting wall however, whereas I'm sure there are studs in the other two walls.
I really don't think that prefab is possible, that was my first thought as well. I'll take a closer look tonight to see how I could squeeze it in. also, given that the floor of the space is sloping, I will struggle to support a liner box in the right location while fitting.
I'm going to check just how wonky the wall is but I think the @MrE method is a winner.

@ffm the shelf support strips are a great shout. thanks for that!

A quick alternative to MrE's technique: rather than shaving lots of material off the wide face of a batten to make it fit perfectly to the wall, you could just pack it our behind with scrap/shims to make it vertical and screw it to the wall (i.e., as in MrE's diagram, but then just leave it there). Then cover up all the scrap/shims, by shaping a thin (6mm) bit of wood that you then nail to the side of the batten i.e., the face that faces the viewer in MrE's diagram. Essentially you'd be boxing in the scrap behind the batten. Add a bit of painters mate/caulk and a slick of paint and it will look neat enough.

Anyone got a plumber recommendation for SE13?

Er isn't there a forum plumber...

Yup. He's busy.

In that case wait till he can fit you in. If it is an emergency,....

Have had my fill of shit plumbers.

Need a faulty pressure release valve replaced

I go on holiday for nearly three weeks next Wednesday so need to get it fixed before we go...

can anyone recommend a good roofer in North London?

^ similar to the above.

standard victorian mid terrace property. i need the facia board and sofit replaced on the front and also the rear facia replaced.

so new facias basically and reinstal the existing guttering. scaffolding is already in place so its probably dead easy.

got quoted £252. does this sound reasonable?

Good roofers are pricy, so this seems reasonable to me, even if its a relatively quick job.

Architectural Roofing in Chingford are very good. Not the cheapest, but I'm more interested in having the job done properly than having bodge jobs done.