flexible conduit, CAN YOU WIRE A HOUSE WITH IT?

[vmgbarra]

also them damed diy cowboys wont touch singles, we all know they love t+e

 

[PEG]

1 I have never seen orange conduit
2 yes the original outlay and first fix is a little more expensive, but second fix is quicker
3 the customer always wants something extra once the floor is down, now you can give them what they want.
I used to be set in my ways thinking t+e was great until I saw eu installations

I see your point to a degree,but the argument that the customer can be "given what they want" does not hold true. They will invariably desire fixed,new feeds and switching points which will require chasing out anyway,so the fitment of flexible conduit or not,is academic. The future flexibility of these systems,can be down to previous installers care,or even luck. I have encountered steel conduit that had capacity for additional conductors,yet required stripping down due to poor initial installation. Also,now and again,i have slipped in a new/extra cable through plastic capping,which was never intended for this "future proofing..." For years i have struggled to sell any of my "hinged skirting board accessible containment system" ...:smartass:

 

[mainlinedirect]

Hi you can wire a house in flexible conduit and singles. it is called "Copex" but it will be a much better idear to wire it in HG PVC conduit or metal using crampet's as a fixing to inside the wall make sure there is a inspection box at the end of every two lengths ie, 6mtrs for ease of pulling the singles through I hope this helps

 

[uksparks]

What is people's obsession with wiring houses to make it easier next time, come on face it, you rewire a house now, if in 40+ years you want to rewire, just channel it all out and start again. It bugs me this obsession people have, yeah ok it's nice to help the next guy but Im dammed if I'm going to be using conduit in walls etc, clip it, skim it, sign it off!

 

[davesparks]

1 I have never seen orange conduit
2 yes the original outlay and first fix is a little more expensive, but second fix is quicker
3 the customer always wants something extra once the floor is down, now you can give them what they want.
I used to be set in my ways thinking t+e was great until I saw eu installations

How does wiring in flexi conduit help when the customer wants something extra after the floors have gone down?
You won't have a conduit at the place where they want the extra point, you'll still have to have the floor up to run the extra conduit and join it in to the conduit system.

 

[shanky887614]

What is people's obsession with wiring houses to make it easier next time, come on face it, you rewire a house now, if in 40+ years you want to rewire, just channel it all out and start again. It bugs me this obsession people have, yeah ok it's nice to help the next guy but Im dammed if I'm going to be using conduit in walls etc, clip it, skim it, sign it off!

the only thing I would make rewireable is data points etc, gigabyte ethernet is common

that is around 125MB

other countries have faster wifi than this so it would be nice to upgrade in the future without having to redecorate

 

[davesparks]

What is people's obsession with wiring houses to make it easier next time, come on face it, you rewire a house now, if in 40+ years you want to rewire, just channel it all out and start again. It bugs me this obsession people have, yeah ok it's nice to help the next guy but Im dammed if I'm going to be using conduit in walls etc, clip it, skim it, sign it off!

A lot of is were taught to do a job to the best of our abilities, and to maintain the highest possible standards.
Heck I was taught that cables should never be able to come into significant contact with wet plaster, hence the capping/conduit.

And there is every possibility that it will be you who has to come back and replace a cable when the homeowner has had a go at putting a picture up or some shelves.

I think having the attitude of doing your job and everyone who follows you can hang is disgusting and shortsighted.

 

[R G]

To be honest I don't think there will be much meat left in the joists when you've pulled through 6 x 25mm diameter flexible conduits ...

 

[Adam W]

1 I have never seen orange conduit
2 yes the original outlay and first fix is a little more expensive, but second fix is quicker
3 the customer always wants something extra once the floor is down, now you can give them what they want.
I used to be set in my ways thinking t+e was great until I saw eu installations

Orange is the standard colour for electrical conduit, as blue is for drinking water, yellow for gas, red for firefighting water etc. In practice it's rarely used, presumably because orange pipes everywhere would look awful.

While technically there's nothing to say you can't wire a house in singles in flexible conduit, there's little to gain for the extra it would cost and extra time it would take.
I've heard other people stipulating an installation 'has to be rewireable', well every installation has to be rewireable as per BS7671, it's just that some installations are more rewireable than others.
Presumably as with most domestic properties the plan is to wire it up and then leave it for 30 - 40 years until the next rewire - you're not going to be expected to pull fresh cables in every year and IMO once every 30 - 40 years isn't too often to have to do a bit of making good.

It's good to innovate and think about things, but there are reasons most domestic properties are wired in T&E - it's not just because electricians are stuck in their ways.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

A lot of is were taught to do a job to the best of our abilities, and to maintain the highest possible standards.
Heck I was taught that cables should never be able to come into significant contact with wet plaster, hence the capping/conduit.

And there is every possibility that it will be you who has to come back and replace a cable when the homeowner has had a go at putting a picture up or some shelves.

I think having the attitude of doing your job and everyone who follows you can hang is disgusting and shortsighted.

Not sure why you were taught that, maybe just seen as good practise, capping was to protect against a trowel not plaster. I think a long long long time ago (maybe with rubber cable?) it may have figured.

not sure. Maybe an old un can correct me .....

 

[R G]

The thing is that Gilflex is impossible to rewire , I had a whole estate with it and it wouldn't budge an inch , I can only think if given a run with a couple of bends flexible conduit would be the same , actually I have found that wiring up flexible conduit is tight and I have had to wire it straight then install it ..

As regards capping , channel its just good practice really , I personally use oval capping/conduit myself , each to his own....

 

[shanky887614]

The thing is that Gilflex is impossible to rewire , I had a whole estate with it and it wouldn't budge an inch , I can only think if given a run with a couple of bends flexible conduit would be the same , actually I have found that wiring up flexible conduit is tight and I have had to wire it straight then install it ..

flexible conduit Is crap, we use it to wire inverters from trunking, usually you need someone to hold it straight while you pull cables through it, goodluck rewiring flexi in a wall etc.


you want smooth or non at all, plastic conduit with ****loads of couplers is a lot better

 

[mayfair]

You dont see the advantage then you must be blind m8 ive just rewired a large bar and only had to do 1 yes thats 1 chase the rest of the singles pulled straight through the 15 year old flexible conduit....simples

Steel conduit is a world apart from the cheap nd nasty flexible conduit that seems to be popular at the moment.

I guess if you used a good strong flexible conduit you could do it, but I don't really see the advantage?

 

[davesparks]

You dont see the advantage then you must be blind m8 ive just rewired a large bar and only had to do 1 yes thats 1 chase the rest of the singles pulled straight through the 15 year old flexible conduit....simples

I've rewired plenty of houses where I've not had to cut any chases due to just pulling new twins down existing conduit drops, but can't say it would have been any easier if it had been done in flexible conduit.

Why did a 15year old installation need a point for point (I assume due to the reuse of conduits) rewire?

 

[7029 dave]

Weather it be conduit, oval tube, yes an even capping, gilflex, copex, if installed correctly you have an good chance to pull through.!!

 

[GMES]

Weather it be conduit, oval tube, yes an even capping, gilflex, copex, if installed correctly you have an good chance to pull through.!!

Bit cold outside!!!

 

[GMES]

Only kidding Dave, couldn't resist

 

[7029 dave]

Bit cold outside!!!

No not the grammar police. lol

 

[GMES]

No not the grammar police. lol

Yes sorry,never again because I will come unstuck very quickly if I go down that road

 

[trev]

I was once asked to give a rewire price on a pyro install. I gave them 2 prices, one for pyro and one for T&E.
Surprisingly they took the T&E price.