I need to get mains power up into my loft. It’s a mid terrace house with brick boundary walls and internal stud walls.

I (naively) thought I could just run some cable down the inside of the stud wall and wire into the plug socket in said wall but of course the horizontal bits of wood (battens?) will block that.

Only option now seems to be use an existing plug socket in an upstairs room and run cable up the corner of the room inside some plastic trunking (which the wife’s not too keen on!)

Any great suggestions from the hive mind?!

get a sparkie in

get a sparkie in

+lots

it’ll make a bit of mess, but you could make a hole in the wall to expose part of the nogging (horizontal timber) and then chop a bit of it out? then patch it up

pete – you can do that but never notch the noggin – you need to drill a hole in the middle of it to thread the cable thru – otherwise its too close to the surface and its too easy to hammer a nail into it. Thats the way I would do it but it makes a right mess of the wall – or cut a channel in the plaster of the external wall and bury the cable in the plaster under shielding

How much power do you need, and what for? If it’s for lighting there will be cabling up there already for the ceiling lights below. Should be straightforward to add to that for a loft light.

plug suggestion is by far the easiest.
Scrape a channel in plasterboard/plaster insert cable plaster over and redecorate.
Re sparkie would you get one in to plug in an extension lead?

if you’re just sticking the cable in a chase you need to sheathe it really.

as the sassenach says, cut the plasterboard away around the noggin, drill a hole in the centre of the noggin and run the cable loosely (so that if you hit it with a drill it will fall away from the bit – taught wires are easier to drill through). Repair with a plasterboard piece filling your nicely cut hole and skim finish.

agreed – the cable needs to be nice and deep. you could drill it but that means making a hole big enough to get your drill in. you could chisel a deep-ish notch, and glue a bit of wood back in to close it up and brace it like this. still left with a big hole though

as the sassenach says

No, as usual, TJ is wrong……does he ever get anything right ?

Whilst drilling through the noggin is preferable, there are ways round if you notch it, ie, cable/pipe protectors :

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Cable_Accessories_Index/Necessities~Cable_Protection/index.html

You could do it by just cutting out a small piece, rather than having to cut enough plasterboard to get your arm and a drill in.

Thanks all!

Power is for a CCTV recorder and monitor so not a huge power drain but more than a lighting circuit would be safe to provide.

Think the channel idea is best and then decorate over. I’ve only just decorated the room though 🙁

I’m happy to pay for a sparkie but I can’t think how he/she would do anything different

Unless I am missing something , measure where the socket is, then go up the loft and drill into the stud horizontal, then take the socket out the wall, go up the loft with a plumb line and drop it down the hole.
, get yer mrs to shout when she sees the line and tie yer cable to the line , pull the cable through, (remember and turn the leccy off)

double post

whilst you might not be able to use the lighting circuit, could you thread an extra cable down where the ring for the upstairs lights starts? might already be a conduit\similar there

Hmmm….

Mid terrace house, power in the loft….. high powered lights, irrigation systems, etc ??

😉

Thanks all!

Power is for a CCTV recorder and monitor so not a huge power drain but more than a lighting circuit would be safe to provide.

Think the channel idea is best and then decorate over. I’ve only just decorated the room though

I’m happy to pay for a sparkie but I can’t think how he/she would do anything different

cctv realy is it rated above 1.5kw????

decorate over what size cable would you use??
What protection would you use??
What test would you do to prove safe??

Do anything differant perhaps?? well perhaps it would be done in a safe manner and certificated or would you prefer to listen to a nurse!!

Sorry I am alot precious on this sort of subject I have had to test instalations post toddlers loosing there lives for what saving a few QUID

Jeezo I’m getting a bit of a kicking for suggesting a safer method that the person who posted before me.

yep and they let my just plug in an extension lead and plaster over the top of it go with little comment as well
More improtantly WTF are you doing with a CCTV monitor and recorder in your attic 😯

I’m getting a bit of a kicking

It’s in the rules :

“All forum users shall be expected to give TandemJeremy a kicking on a regular basis. Any forum users not doing so, shall at the first instance be issued with a warning, and if they persist to repeat the offence, will generally receive a 48 hour suspension”

It’s there mate, in the rules……..hard but fair.

Bastards. Mutter mumble grumble

cctv realy is it rated above 1.5kw????

I thought a standard (5 Amp) lighting circuit was intended to take 1.2kW max? And this is the total load, so if there are say 15x 60W bulbs on it already (probably a bit much especially with trend towards energy efficient bulbs) – then there would only be 300W “left over” to play with. However I’d have expected that was enough for a CCTV system… …certainly when I’ve put an aerial booster up there I just tapped into the lighting circuit.

Beware that modifications to electrics now need bits of paper to satisfy building control and surveyors when you come to sell up…

Go up outside of rear wall instead? If you have a socket in the rear wall of house, drill out from there (drill slightly down to keep water from running in, and seal exit), clip cable neatly up rear wall and enter loft under eves. Job done, no mess.

neil – needing armoured waterproof cable? And opens a whole nother can of worms

May well do…would have to check the regs. May be okay with it in conduit, either way it’s a simple solution if a socket exists in the rear wall, and it’s neat and tidy in my view.

Have you not got an airing cupboard/built in cupboard or similar where you could run the conduit up the wall?

More improtantly WTF are you doing with a CCTV monitor and recorder in your attic

I reckon he’s spying on the hottie next door 😯

TandemJeremy – Member
neil – needing armoured waterproof cable? And opens a whole nother can of worms

Realy where in the regs does it say that???

ever heard of FP200 / Firetough cables

Na doubt it

Ploy I was guessing that the circuit was protected by a 6 amp BS60898 MCB that is what is fitted nowadays but as I am sure you all know fuses and circuit breakers operate on a “logrithmic time scale” so a 6 amp breaker does not trip at 6 amps. Sorry no regs to hand so I cannot quote times.

Again sorry if you do not know what you are doing do not risk it just because lights go on and off as required is what you doing safe?? Do you have a good earth value Z’s so circuits disconnect in the correct time etc

No one plays with GAS and you can smell it as for electricity nuff said

mleh. Electricity doesnt leak out of the socket if its left switched on 😉

salad dodger hence my question mark — I thought you cannot run an ordinary twin an earth on an outside wall and it would need some special cable but not sure which hence the question mark.

More improtantly WTF are you doing with a CCTV monitor and recorder in your attic

Coz if some scrotes break in and the recorder & display is in the spare room they’ll just nick it won’t they?!

Much better idea re: the airing cupboard. There’s a socket in there already so I can just take a cable up from there 🙂

skunk ?????????? mmmmmmmm

Would be nice- I need to relax after crawling in the attic for 90mins!

Power socket disconnected (presume it belonged to the old immersion heater) 🙁

So then Saladdodger, after succeeding in scaring me a little how much should I expect to pay a sparkie?!

RicB’s loft after the sparkie has finished providing the extra power supply :

Them “scrotes” don’t know who they’re messin’ with.

my sparkie charges 60 quid for every job he does.. only outlay will be some 3 core cable a fused spur and a double socket so 60 quid should see it done.

saladdodger – not sure why the time dependence of fuses / breakers is relevant to the OP’s problem. You are surely not suggesting he takes his lighting circuit right to the limits? I’m obviously used to “out of date” systems – but there is a good chance the OP’s system will be old style too.

I kind of agree with you on the safety stuff (although quite frankly gas safety is over rated, and competence not that guaranteed by registration!) but equally its understanding that makes an installation safe not some test values (which are only relevant at a point in time). But the hard bit of what the OP is trying to do is not the electrickery its the cosmetics – and not all sparkies are going to do a good job of that bit.