Earthing the cable protection

Slugster · Post by **Slugster** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:06 pm

If I've chased out channels for electrical cabling and covered them with steel to prevent damage to the cables, should I earth the steel?

The steel is quite thick about 1mm and it's firmly screwed to the wall. Folk have said that if somebody does manage to get a drill though it they deserve to get fried.

But being more serious about it, is there a small chance that the drill bit would only knick the live core and not the earth as well thus leaving the drill bit live?

If I earthed the plating, this should trip the RCD when the drill touches the current.

Thanks

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:08 pm

Is the steel Galvanised?

I'd earth it to be on the safe side, you should be able to do this with a couple of rust resistant bolts and some wire.

Slugster · Post by **Slugster** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:28 pm

Yes it is.

I was guessing it wouldn't hurt to earth it...

sparkydude · Post by **sparkydude** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:18 am

was this protection , proper cable capping or did you just buy some galv steel sheet?

Slugster · Post by **Slugster** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:08 pm

Just galvanised sheet. It's about 4" wide and is drilled/screwed to the wall.

I just wanted to make sure somebody didn't stick a nail / drill into the cable.

It's a good 1mm thick and pretty tough.

But I am documenting all the cable runs for every room as well.

sparkydude · Post by **sparkydude** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:36 pm

i see, hope you protected the edges of the sheet with galvanising paint or else the rust might bleed through your plaster. There is no reason to bond this protection as it is not an exposed conductive part. Nothing like a bit of over engineering a solution to a problem is there

Nick

Slugster · Post by **Slugster** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:59 pm

Sparky,

I wish there was a "Oh b*llox" smilie

but this is the closest I could find.

You know I didn't do that LOL...

I hope that because the house is dry and I've blobed the board on instead of a wet plaster job I'll get away with it.

Again I'll take this away for the next time - if I live that long

Thanks for clearing up about earthing the plates.

Cheers

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:05 pm

You should get away with it as you have dot and dabbed over it

It's unlikely that the plasterboard is actually touching the steel and so it should not show through if it rusts.

Hinton Heating · Post by **Hinton Heating** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:05 pm

this has always surprised me, why cables arn't protected in such a manner as standard, but a flimsy plastic nail over cover is good enough...

thats never gonna stop anything... guess they hope the earthing will protect against shock, but doesn't help with repairing the cable after someone has drilled thro it!

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:12 pm

Hinton Heating wrote:this has always suprised me, why cables arn't peotected in such a manner as standard, but a flimsy plastic nail over cover is good enougth...

thats never gonna stop anything... guess they hope the earthing will protect against shock, but doesn't help with repairing the cable after someone has drilled thro it!

Capping is only there to protect the cable whilst plastering over the cables.

Electricians and most tradesmen have a good idea of where the permitted zones are and where cables are likely to run. Most diyer's don't unfortunately.

The next time I do any serious wiring ( I will inform BC ) I am going to use the oval shaped plastic conduit, it looks like a damn good idea to me

Hinton Heating · Post by **Hinton Heating** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:24 pm

I must admit, I've only ever drilled through one cable, and that was because it was installed at an angle leading to a wall light!

Slugster · Post by **Slugster** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:32 pm

Again this is an example of my anal retentiveness.

I know where the cables are so I'm actually doing this for the benefit of the next lot who buy the place

Here's a typical installation. The isolator switch is for the underfloor heating.

I use an angle grinder to cut a 2" wide channel an 1" deep. I thne dig it out with the mutli hammer.

I like to have plenty of space for the cables.

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:37 pm

To be fair you have done a good job there, with the best of intentions!

Not many people will go to that kind of trouble!

There is no chance of anyone accidentally drilling through those cables.

If you were dot and dabbing it, you could of just clipped the cable to the brick, there would of been no need to chase out the channels.

I like what you have done to be honest, it looks pretty good to me

Slugster · Post by **Slugster** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:44 pm

I did wonder about doing that - but it sounded very wrong.

To be honest even if I'd had known I didn't need to do it, I probably would still have done it.

Not because I know better, it's just I'm an anal idiot. And this house is a hobby not an investment.

Thanks for the kind words

sparkydude · Post by **sparkydude** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:11 pm

Yep typical OTT approach to DIY wiring LOL But i must admit a lot better than a hell of a lot of other jobs i have seen done by diyers. Well done even if it is WAY WAY WAY WAY OTT LoL

Nick