Yo.

Doing some decorating and have a couple of redundant electrical switches and an old thermostat we want gone.

They were all supposedly made safe/disconnected a few years back and are just sitting there doing nothing.

I’ve tested them with my magic pen and there is still voltage there so clearly they weren’t made redundant.

A light switch recently.

Ideally, I want to remove the old switch plates and basically fill over for decorating.

Can this be done safely by a lowly woodworker like myself without becoming moderately dead?

Any tips for going about it or get a man/woman in?
I could cap the ends I’m sure but don’t want future problems.

Try and trace the source to an accessible point, cut and terminate the wires there in a junction box ideally. (Obviously trace the fuse first so you can isolate the circuit and not cook yourself 😆 ) Then you can bury the wires and fill over. If you cant do that then just fit blanking plates to the pattress boxes, dont just bury live wires in the wall as the next DIY’er would have no idea where they were.

As above. You shouldn’t leave live wires in walls with no sign of them being there.

The cables need to be removed really. All hidden cables need to be in a “safe zone” and the safe zone for those would be created by the visible light switch plate acting as an indicator. If you hide that bit then the safe zone goes with it. Best you can do for an easy option is to put a choc block or wago on the wire and a blanking plate over the hole which you can then paint. Obviously isolate the power at the fuse box first.

Cheers all.
I’d like to completely remove trace for a nice clean finish but will have to accept my limited electrical experience and maybe just blank them off.

Usually the wires run vertically so check in the back of the box to see what direction they go. sometimes hidden behind door architraves. Get above them – first floor or attic and lift boards till you can find where the wires run down the wall. Cut and fix into a junction box there.

If you have a wire detector you can trace the cable (it should be straight up). I use a Bosch jobbie.

Then if it isn’t too much effort pull the carpet in the room directly above, and pop up the board (if it’s the loft above even easier). From there you should be able to trace the wire back to where it is connected, either a pendant or junction box. Disconnect it there. Depending if you have to remove furniture likely a 30min job. Once disconnected you maybe able to pull it up the cavity and remove. Much better than just leaving it there even if disconnected.

Make sure you isolate before you fiddle!

Easy once you get the confidence to do it. Sparky will likely charge you half a day, so if you get one in batch up some jobs for them.

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