I honestly think this knowledge should be taught at school, I reckon a lot of accidents from DIYers drilling into live cables could be avoided if this was more known about.
Some colleges charge you more than £11000 (extensive course) in electrical installation and they don't teach the same way as you do. They take your money for the 3 days extensive course without any prior knowledge of electrical installation and at the end they give you certificate. Anyway, I wish I saw your videos in my early years. I spent 3 years studying electrical installation and the teachers just talk talk and talk. Your videos are only between 5 and 10 minutes and they are very clear and you are explaining it in a very simple way. My advice to anyone studying or working within the field of electrical installation should subscribe to his channel. Good luck to everyone
Gary was always a great tutor. I remember him from my college days. Great clear explanations and provided a 1st rate education for myself and many other sparks in the industry.
Have issues with 150 from corner in a wall especially in a kitchen,as most units have fixing brackets in this range .it's just very bad practice.find your video's a great form of knowledge and straight forward.👍
I agree with you totally. I'm an intruder alarm engineer with over 40 years experience and 99% of all alarm detectors are corner mounted at ceiling height. I would deem this wiring zone as bad practice.
Hi Gaz , nice informative video as usual from you but I would like to remind you and others that the socket and switch heights that you mentioned only apply to new builds only......if you are rewiring an existing house or flat you can fit the sockets and switch at any height you wish All the best......👍
It's so interesting how other countries wire houses. In the USA we can zig zag our wire if we wanted to but we have to be at least 1-1/4 inch from the edge of the framing.
I've seen this on the TH-cam video Pure Living for Life. Very strange, as it means drilling through cable is much more likely. Is there a prescribed depth though?
Which is why builders should provide home owners as built drawings showing exactly where the cables are installed. It is a statutory requirement under the CDM Regulations but they never provide them. I simply do not understand why the HSE do not prosecute developers for breach of their obligations under the regulations.
Just before the 17th edition i told the iet that zones were useless and only known about to electricians.I also told them to make it a regulation that prescribed zones should be added info on the consumer unit for the customer .Instead they changed the regs delaying the book .You have me to thank for rcds on cables in walls
Wow people who fit skirting boards really need to understand BS7671. I have a house with cables running down through the corner of a room and into the floor. The skirting board has been nailed in at the end as you would expect. At this corner, nails missed the cables by millimeters.
One job I went to, cables where run in the 150mm zone at the top of a kitchen wall which had a low ceiling and the kitchen fitter drilled all his cupboard fixing holes in to the zone.
Great video. There seems to be a grey area for cables in walls that are deeper than 50mm say in a structural 6” stud partition. In these circumstances can cable routes take deviations from the prescribed zones?
Never been a fan of the zones or horizontal. Mr DIY & most trades have no idea of the zones, expecting wiring on the vertical above or below the switchgear. Plenty of people still using nails to install coving, so not a good idea to run it in the 150mm from ceiling zone. Cabinets being built into corners, tv brackets, shelves, etc.. If absolutely necessary & vertical chases can’t be put in, I’ll often opt for a surface mount above the skirting/plate rail or below coving. Any horizontal chases are installed using galv conduit... but it’s extremely rare they are unavoidable
Coving does not cost much and a diyer can even put up. Could you not have surface mounted wires covered by coving ? Also is it permissible to thread cable behind existing coving as unless someone has gone bonkers with the fixing adhesive there would be a nice channel to thread the cable through albeit it could not be clipped
@@electricalstuff259 I'm aware of how to install coving. Many aren't experienced though. I recall a friend installing his coving that drove nails under and above the plaster coving to support it while it set.
@@electricalstuff259 Are you a troll for gods sake? I simply said I never understood that particular safe zone. And there is nothing that defines using nails to secure coving as "not doing the job properly". Go somewhere else and troll.
Great Video Gaz, Thank you. If you were to do an EICR on a property whereby the switch accessory or the wiring does NOT conform to the prescribed zones in accordance with BS7671 , what would be the code you personally would give for the switch and cable being in an non prescribed zone?
Where the light switch is by the door, there's a very small return, is that classed as one where you could come 150 off? Or does it need to be the corners of the building
Gaz do you have a video showing bathroom zones? Once again thanks for posting this video. I hope these come in handy when I start my level 2 in September.
Hi. Most of my videos are aimed at the level 2 course you are starting in September 👍. At the moment I don’t have a video on bathroom zones. All the best with your studies thanks for commenting Gaz
Love the videos. They are very helpful as I am an apprentice electrician. My question is....if I am running my cable down to a light switch from the ceiling in a stud/plasterboard wall. Does the cable need to be supported via clipping? Or is it fine to leave it hanging on its own if there are no joists in the zone of the cable?
+Liam Rushton Hi thanks for the comments. The circuit will need RCD protection (30mA or less) unless it’s installed with an earth metallic sheath... with any cable it will need supporting in accordance with BS 7671... in short yes it need supporting. Thanks and all the best GSH Electrical
Lots of cables are run in insulation free cavities in walls and certainly are not clipped. Artisan just did one in a porch wall for one of those new irritating noisy ringo door bells
Brilliant and informative video. I've been wondering how to route power to a wall mounted TV in my kitchen and dreaded having to lift the chipboard flooring in the bedroom above it to drop the cable back down from the ceiling. If I understand you correctly, I can simply spur upwards from a floor level kitchen socket and then horizontally across the same wall at the height where I want to fit the TV power socket (hidden behind the TV) ?
Can you surface mount cables in conduit at 150mm from the floor ? Example behind kitchen units, knowing there is a visible capping and no skirting boards to be fitted
So if there is a concrete floor and a solid wall and you want to install sockets, you would have to run the cables down to each socket from the ceiling or horizintally from each socket. I assume you wouldn't be able to run the cable from the first socket down to floor level, along the wall at low level and then up to the next socket.
#GSHElectrical Hello .. can i use your video for education and learning purpose because we in iraq use the (bs) as main standard installation in our country and if not contain Copyright but it will use as fair reuse of media content and will be glad if use it .
Hi, quick question are you allowed to go horizontal and vertical or vice versa for a cable run. For example a customer wants a socket adding or moving to the right and dropped down a meter. Can you run the cable by going right from the socket and then vertical? Thanks
great video i live in a property built appx 30yr ago and sockets seem to be around 300mm up from floor and light switches about 1 4m up from floor... before persons with limited reach were considered! anyway I wanted to add a spur socket and would connect horizontally to existing socket am I ok to follow the same height from floor as the existing? or do i have to go that min 450mm from floor? any advice appreciated
Those corner zones are helpful but how many chippys know about them and where do you think they screw the skirting in the corners,yes you guessed it inside 150mm
When i do skirting i never screw at at a corner as i have mitred the joint and as i want some wiggle room to make a 90 on none perfectly aligned walls i screw about a foot and a half back from the end. If i screws in the corners and the walls weren't perfect 90 my mitres would have no chance of meeting. Any gap between wall and skirting in these corners gets some painters mate
Hello. I need some help. My house garage door was wired 20g for the door opener. But I bought a new opener that was designed to use 22g. Which I didn't know before I bought it. If you can tell me how can I get it to work. It can't take the signal when I connected it. Can I use resistors to make it work?
Hi I have a question, if the cable is more then 50mm deep and outside the safe zone with an RCD is this okay? I’m running cables vertically down for outside lights then drilling though. Cables will be behind dot and dab then plastered but I’m gonna chase the cable slightly deeper.
All my sockets in my house are a lot less than 450mm from the floor and most of the light switches are over 1200mm from the floor its a 1930s built house
Hi. If your rewiring a house that is not being used by someone of limited reach then you can use the original heights. If it’s a new build or extension then these heights apply. Thanks for commenting and watching GSH Electrical 🙌.
GSH Electrical thanks very much for your reply it is very helpful. What are the old heights for sockets and switches please? When drilling through beams do we still have to use the new regulation for this? Length X 0.25 for the no drilling zone and length X 0.4 for the drilling zone?
Hi, thanks for making these videos, they're very informative! The diagrams showed prescribed zones on the other side of the walls to where the switch/outlet was, is it acceptable to sink a cable in the wall from the opposite side and bring it into the back of a box (e.g. think adding a socket to a tiled kitchen, can the cable be dropped in a room beside the kitchen and then into the outlet so not disturbing the tiles etc?). Thanks again!
+Stephen Harrison Hi. If you bring a cable buried down a wall it must go to an accessory on that wall as described in the video. So the best way around your issue is to flush a box in on the wall you want to bring your cable down and the drill through to your new socket. Hope this helps and keep watching GSH Electrical
I have dot and dab wall in my living room (external wall). I want to add a double socket on a spur to go behind my wall mounted TV. Coming from the double socket which is already installed 450mm above the floor, I would need to come up and across to the right. I understand that cables can't be run diagonally. How should I best tackle this? I assume that I would need to come up from the double socket, all the way to within 150mm of the ceiling, across to the right and then down to the new socket behind the TV? I'm not sure how I would achieve this unless I am removing sections of the plasterboard? Also how would I stop the cable from running diagonally? Would it need to be installed in conduit attached to the brick/block? Thanks in advance.
Thinking about it, I should be fine to come across to the right horizontally from the original socket and then straight up to behind the TV? I am still unsure about how to attach the cable in the wall to stop it running diagonally though?
+rR P Hi thanks for the question. Sadly I have never used a tool to trace cables in a wall. Keep watching and sorry I was no help this time, all the best GSH Electrical.
Joiners just tend to use a drill and always seem to find them. Best thing is, after they find them and had the celebration flash they will still stick the wall unit on.
Hi. Our learners take 3 years to get to level 3 in the evening to get to competent persons levels. There are quicker and easier routes but we focus on standards and ability so hence 3 year program. Contact your local college for their advice thanks again Gaz
I honestly think this knowledge should be taught at school, I reckon a lot of accidents from DIYers drilling into live cables could be avoided if this was more known about.
Great point 👍🏻
Some colleges charge you more than £11000 (extensive course) in electrical installation and they don't teach the same way as you do.
They take your money for the 3 days extensive course without any prior knowledge of electrical installation and at the end they give you certificate.
Anyway, I wish I saw your videos in my early years.
I spent 3 years studying electrical installation and the teachers just talk talk and talk.
Your videos are only between 5 and 10 minutes and they are very clear and you are explaining it in a very simple way.
My advice to anyone studying or working within the field of electrical installation should subscribe to his channel.
Good luck to everyone
Wow thanks for taking the time to send such a wonderful message of support. All the best and thanks again Gaz
Gary was always a great tutor. I remember him from my college days. Great clear explanations and provided a 1st rate education for myself and many other sparks in the industry.
Every trade should be taught this as part of their health and safety training! Nice video thanks a lot 👍🏼
This is literally the best video I've ever watched. I hate drilling holes in plasterboard but now I can do it with a degree of confidence.
This video is great for other trades to understand where cables 'could' be.
Such a humble and clear instructor I really enjoy your videos its helped me alot you make it easy to digest
Thanks for the support 👍🏻
Typically excellent training video. Crisp, focused, sticks to the point.
Heights of Switches, Sockets & Consumer Units - Part M of the Building Regulations Explained
th-cam.com/video/Zy5Qg6kPXgU/w-d-xo.html
Great man very clear regulation of bs7671
+Clyde Patos
Hi. Many thanks for the kind words GSH Electrical
Thank you, very useful to a carpenter planning a new kitchen!
Have issues with 150 from corner in a wall especially in a kitchen,as most units have fixing brackets in this range .it's just very bad practice.find your video's a great form of knowledge and straight forward.👍
Thanks for watching 👍🏻
I agree with you totally. I'm an intruder alarm engineer with over 40 years experience and 99% of all alarm detectors are corner mounted at ceiling height. I would deem this wiring zone as bad practice.
Hi Gaz , nice informative video as usual from you but I would like to remind you and others that the socket and switch heights that you mentioned only apply to new builds only......if you are rewiring an existing house or flat you can fit the sockets and switch at any height you wish
All the best......👍
True 👍
Truly excellent video.
Thanks
1milion thanx for the educative videos.big respect from algeria
Thanks 👍
Cables can also be installed within 150mm of where two walls meet, i.e. an external corner.
👍
It's so interesting how other countries wire houses. In the USA we can zig zag our wire if we wanted to but we have to be at least 1-1/4 inch from the edge of the framing.
I've seen this on the TH-cam video Pure Living for Life. Very strange, as it means drilling through cable is much more likely.
Is there a prescribed depth though?
Which is why builders should provide home owners as built drawings showing exactly where the cables are installed. It is a statutory requirement under the CDM Regulations but they never provide them. I simply do not understand why the HSE do not prosecute developers for breach of their obligations under the regulations.
Just before the 17th edition i told the iet that zones were useless and only known about to electricians.I also told them to make it a regulation that prescribed zones should be added info on the consumer unit for the customer .Instead they changed the regs delaying the book .You have me to thank for rcds on cables in walls
It’s an exam question hence the video Raith 👍🏻
Wow people who fit skirting boards really need to understand BS7671. I have a house with cables running down through the corner of a room and into the floor. The skirting board has been nailed in at the end as you would expect. At this corner, nails missed the cables by millimeters.
Useful information thanks for sharing useful information prescribe way
Outstanding video .Well done
One job I went to, cables where run in the 150mm zone at the top of a kitchen wall which had a low ceiling and the kitchen fitter drilled all his cupboard fixing holes in to the zone.
I am sure he blessed himself first
Nice one Gaz. 👍
I saw a cable once installed diagonally with catastrophic consequence
Sadly they are out there 🤦🏻♂️
Great video. There seems to be a grey area for cables in walls that are deeper than 50mm say in a structural 6” stud partition. In these circumstances can cable routes take deviations from the prescribed zones?
Never been a fan of the zones or horizontal. Mr DIY & most trades have no idea of the zones, expecting wiring on the vertical above or below the switchgear.
Plenty of people still using nails to install coving, so not a good idea to run it in the 150mm from ceiling zone. Cabinets being built into corners, tv brackets, shelves, etc..
If absolutely necessary & vertical chases can’t be put in, I’ll often opt for a surface mount above the skirting/plate rail or below coving.
Any horizontal chases are installed using galv conduit... but it’s extremely rare they are unavoidable
Thanks for taking the time to comment in such detail 👍. Gaz
Coving does not cost much and a diyer can even put up. Could you not have surface mounted wires covered by coving ? Also is it permissible to thread cable behind existing coving as unless someone has gone bonkers with the fixing adhesive there would be a nice channel to thread the cable through albeit it could not be clipped
That's fine on Celine but people do put coving up and corner shelves it's a bit of a grey area
I've never understood the 150 mm from ceiling safe zone. Given that many nail coving in that area.
And kitchen wall units!
Who pins coving? Just give it a full spread all the way along the edges and suction will hold it up
@@electricalstuff259
I'm aware of how to install coving. Many aren't experienced though. I recall a friend installing his coving that drove nails under and above the plaster coving to support it while it set.
@@martinw245 Don't think electrical regs should have to account for others doing the job wrong
@@electricalstuff259 Are you a troll for gods sake? I simply said I never understood that particular safe zone. And there is nothing that defines using nails to secure coving as "not doing the job properly".
Go somewhere else and troll.
Hi a great and informative video again.
Great Video Gaz, Thank you. If you were to do an EICR on a property whereby the switch accessory or the wiring does NOT conform to the prescribed zones in accordance with BS7671 , what would be the code you personally would give for the switch and cable being in an non prescribed zone?
Good video👍🏻
Great videos
One question
If sockets fitted in new extension to old building will they be at the new heights or can they match original in older part
Hi. New heights to comply with building regulations 👍. Thanks for commenting and watching GSH Electrical
Thanks for your help
One electrician said yes other no
Superb videos, is there a playlist I can watch all these lighting related videos? Or all these wiring lesson videos?
Thanks 👍
Where the light switch is by the door, there's a very small return, is that classed as one where you could come 150 off? Or does it need to be the corners of the building
Good question. Have you found the answer? 🤔
Gaz do you have a video showing bathroom zones? Once again thanks for posting this video.
I hope these come in handy when I start my level 2 in September.
Hi. Most of my videos are aimed at the level 2 course you are starting in September 👍. At the moment I don’t have a video on bathroom zones. All the best with your studies thanks for commenting Gaz
It is 450mm to the centre line, not the bottom
Love the videos. They are very helpful as I am an apprentice electrician. My question is....if I am running my cable down to a light switch from the ceiling in a stud/plasterboard wall. Does the cable need to be supported via clipping? Or is it fine to leave it hanging on its own if there are no joists in the zone of the cable?
+Liam Rushton
Hi thanks for the comments. The circuit will need RCD protection (30mA or less) unless it’s installed with an earth metallic sheath... with any cable it will need supporting in accordance with BS 7671... in short yes it need supporting. Thanks and all the best GSH Electrical
Lots of cables are run in insulation free cavities in walls and certainly are not clipped. Artisan just did one in a porch wall for one of those new irritating noisy ringo door bells
Yes
Brilliant and informative video. I've been wondering how to route power to a wall mounted TV in my kitchen and dreaded having to lift the chipboard flooring in the bedroom above it to drop the cable back down from the ceiling. If I understand you correctly, I can simply spur upwards from a floor level kitchen socket and then horizontally across the same wall at the height where I want to fit the TV power socket (hidden behind the TV) ?
Brilliant vid
Quick question
Does the same rule apply to meter tails, 150mm from the ceiling or corner of the room? Thank you
Can you surface mount cables in conduit at 150mm from the floor ? Example behind kitchen units, knowing there is a visible capping and no skirting boards to be fitted
👍
So if there is a concrete floor and a solid wall and you want to install sockets, you would have to run the cables down to each socket from the ceiling or horizintally from each socket. I assume you wouldn't be able to run the cable from the first socket down to floor level, along the wall at low level and then up to the next socket.
Definitely not
#GSHElectrical
Hello .. can i use your video for education and learning purpose because we in iraq use the (bs) as main standard installation in our country and if not contain Copyright but it will use as fair reuse of media content and will be glad if use it .
Thanks 😁👍
@@GSHElectrical
So it mean i can use some of yours videos , good 😄😄😄
What about stud walls? Running a kitchen ring in and drilling through each stud across each socket etc. Do zones fully apply?
What about the kitchen top sockets. Does the sockets on top of the kitchen also have to be within 120 cm
and 45 cm.
Can you run a spur cable at a 45 degree angle from an existing supply down to a new accessory? Is this outside current regulation?
I come across a lot of 1950/1960 properties where I find cables behind skirting boards. Was this previously an acceptable cable zone?
They still do it in many countries.
How about floor sockets? What is the regulations for having floor sockets in the U.K.
Hi, quick question are you allowed to go horizontal and vertical or vice versa for a cable run. For example a customer wants a socket adding or moving to the right and dropped down a meter. Can you run the cable by going right from the socket and then vertical? Thanks
Good question and i hope you liked your answer
great video i live in a property built appx 30yr ago and sockets seem to be around 300mm up from floor and light switches about 1 4m up from floor... before persons with limited reach were considered! anyway I wanted to add a spur socket and would connect horizontally to existing socket am I ok to follow the same height from floor as the existing? or do i have to go that min 450mm from floor? any advice appreciated
Heights of Switches, Sockets & Consumer Units - Part M of the Building Regulations
th-cam.com/video/CVECKXhTJAM/w-d-xo.html
👍🏻
Those corner zones are helpful but how many chippys know about them and where do you think they screw the skirting in the corners,yes you guessed it inside 150mm
Hi. Again I understand your point but this is an exam question and therefore has to be covered. Thanks for all your questions Gaz
When i do skirting i never screw at at a corner as i have mitred the joint and as i want some wiggle room to make a 90 on none perfectly aligned walls i screw about a foot and a half back from the end. If i screws in the corners and the walls weren't perfect 90 my mitres would have no chance of meeting. Any gap between wall and skirting in these corners gets some painters mate
What about a sloping ceiling in a loft conversion
Is this twin and earth cable require conduit on instaling on timber behind drywals?
Adelin AndoMedia quick answer... NO
Does this apply to cooker isolation switches ? Don't want it so low a 3 year old kid can reach it.
Hello. I need some help.
My house garage door was wired 20g for the door opener. But I bought a new opener that was designed to use 22g. Which I didn't know before I bought it.
If you can tell me how can I get it to work. It can't take the signal when I connected it. Can I use resistors to make it work?
Hi I have a question, if the cable is more then 50mm deep and outside the safe zone with an RCD is this okay? I’m running cables vertically down for outside lights then drilling though. Cables will be behind dot and dab then plastered but I’m gonna chase the cable slightly deeper.
All my sockets in my house are a lot less than 450mm from the floor and most of the light switches are over 1200mm from the floor its a 1930s built house
Is there an underground wiring video
Do these regs apply to commercial installs as well?
Hi. If PVC cable are installed in the fabric of the building then YES. Thanks Gaz 👍
Is it same for oldy.house about 10pyears old victorian
Need to put up tv wall.mount
Does the BS7671 apply to rewiring an old house or just need builds? 45cm sounds like the socket would look ugly at that height?
Hi. If your rewiring a house that is not being used by someone of limited reach then you can use the original heights. If it’s a new build or extension then these heights apply. Thanks for commenting and watching GSH Electrical 🙌.
GSH Electrical thanks very much for your reply it is very helpful. What are the old heights for sockets and switches please? When drilling through beams do we still have to use the new regulation for this? Length X 0.25 for the no drilling zone and length X 0.4 for the drilling zone?
Hi, thanks for making these videos, they're very informative! The diagrams showed prescribed zones on the other side of the walls to where the switch/outlet was, is it acceptable to sink a cable in the wall from the opposite side and bring it into the back of a box (e.g. think adding a socket to a tiled kitchen, can the cable be dropped in a room beside the kitchen and then into the outlet so not disturbing the tiles etc?). Thanks again!
+Stephen Harrison
Hi. If you bring a cable buried down a wall it must go to an accessory on that wall as described in the video. So the best way around your issue is to flush a box in on the wall you want to bring your cable down and the drill through to your new socket. Hope this helps and keep watching GSH Electrical
I have dot and dab wall in my living room (external wall). I want to add a double socket on a spur to go behind my wall mounted TV. Coming from the double socket which is already installed 450mm above the floor, I would need to come up and across to the right. I understand that cables can't be run diagonally. How should I best tackle this? I assume that I would need to come up from the double socket, all the way to within 150mm of the ceiling, across to the right and then down to the new socket behind the TV? I'm not sure how I would achieve this unless I am removing sections of the plasterboard? Also how would I stop the cable from running diagonally? Would it need to be installed in conduit attached to the brick/block? Thanks in advance.
Thinking about it, I should be fine to come across to the right horizontally from the original socket and then straight up to behind the TV? I am still unsure about how to attach the cable in the wall to stop it running diagonally though?
Hi have these limits changed under new regs
Hi no change 👍
Question can u run a armoured cable in a stud wall brick with plywood stud wall
Yes
The information on the height of socket-outlets is incorrect. It should be 450mm to the centre line of the accessory, not the bottom
Totally agree 👍🏻
teach me more knowledge everyone
What tool do you use to trace cables in walls?
+rR P
Hi thanks for the question. Sadly I have never used a tool to trace cables in a wall. Keep watching and sorry I was no help this time, all the best GSH Electrical.
Joiners just tend to use a drill and always seem to find them. Best thing is, after they find them and had the celebration flash they will still stick the wall unit on.
What about the floor ?
Hi to what extent would I have to be qualified to install electrics in domestic dwellings thanks
Hi. Our learners take 3 years to get to level 3 in the evening to get to competent persons levels. There are quicker and easier routes but we focus on standards and ability so hence 3 year program. Contact your local college for their advice thanks again Gaz
But this method not econemic