Date   : Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:52:06 EDT
From   : AlembicPrs@... (AlembicPrs@...)
Subject: Leccy @ Acorn World '09

Ring or radial....  My house was checked and some re-wiring done two  years 
ago, by qualified electricians. New consumer units installed (the rain had  
been leaking over the old fuse boxes). Last remaining rubber cables 
removed. All  circuits are radial, and we have at least 13 socket outlets on one 
radial  circuit (and some of those outlets are double ones).  I was told that 
one  could have as many sockets on the one radial as required, subject to 
the amount  of floor area involved. Also, that we could keep, and indeed have 
kept, our 2  amp round pin and 5 amp round pin socket outlets (brown and 
surface  mounted). 
 
So we have a mixture of 13amp square pin, and 2 amp and 5 amp round pin.  
Most at floor level, or just above. Mind you, we had to get several quotes 
from  different firms, before we could find one that was neither exhorbitant, 
nor  wanted to rip all the sockets and wiring out. Most of our wiring was 
twin and  earth pvc, done in the 1960s, but still o.k. and so has been left. 
But some of  the lighting circuits had reverted to twin and no earth mid run, 
which caused a  bit of fun. Both at light fitting, and at fuseboard, they 
appeared eartherd,but  there was no continuity. Had to rewire them. Also it 
transpired that there was a  pseudo ring somewhere, and for a few days we had 
a fusebox that would only cut  the power if all the breakers were off. The 
electricians never quite got that  sorted, nor  did they manage to get our 
two way and threeway lighting  circuits to work fully, but at least we got 
certified, and have new consumer  units, and earth protection, etc. 
 
No one ever managed to trace all the wiring, though I had tried in the  
past. The house is 700 years old, with very thick walls, and cables that vanish 
 into holes never to re-appear.
 
By the way, I have never understood why we can't have socket outlets in  
bathrooms, etc, yet France and Gernmany, for example, have no such qualms. As 
to  the regulations about lighting in a bathroom, I have given up trying to 
work out  if the recessed ceiling lights I had installed (before the great 
re-wire)  actually conform. One bathroom has a very low ceiling, and one 
other has the  light just outside the (enclosed) shower unit. The electricians 
seemed happy,  however.
 
David Bolton
(who has wired up offices and houses in the past)