metal capping not needed according to 17th

[Ryan O'Toole]

Is metal capping required on a new installation in a house to protect the cables if a rcd is used ? According to two lads who i work with have done there 17th ed last week it is not needed so is it only for protexting cables while been plastered ?

 

[PEG]

It is not required. Favoured,specified,preferred,but not required. Careful plasterers negate its use...:icon12:

 

[polo1]

Never has been "required", but good practice to avoid cable damage from flying plasterers!

 

[Ryan O'Toole]

So its not a requirement but more to stop any damage while been plastered so doesnt really offer mexhanical protection when plastered

 

[Andy78]

Is metal capping required on a new installation in a house to protect the cables if a rcd is used ? According to two lads who i work with have done there 17th ed last week it is not needed so is it only for protexting cables while been plastered ?

As already said, never required but often used.
It cannot be used as mechanical protection for the cables if not RCD protected and buried less than 50mm

 

[Guest125]

Yep. Never has been required. Is not classed as mechanical protection.

 

[amlu]

if someone was to bang a nail the capping wont help. but it will make extracting the cable for repair much harder.
i`m filling my chases with some bonding coat, no cables on show when plasterer comes do his job, no problems later.

 

[VoltzElectrical]

if someone was to bang a nail the capping wont help. but it will make extracting the cable for repair much harder.
i`m filling my chases with some bonding coat, no cables on show when plasterer comes do his job, no problems later.

That's what I do on the very few domestic jobs I do/ have done.

 

[electroyd]

capping is pointless really, but is something most electricians like myself like to do.
i thought there was once a reg, for reasonable protection from the plasterers trowel.

 

[Paul.M]

I always thought it was a rule of thumb or best practice, If the width of the chase is greater than 3/4 of the width of the plasters trowel capping is needed???

 

[Anthony S]

It would be wise to use plastic capping on bare inners leafs that are going to be floated. It keeps the cables tidy and together (if there is more than one) and gives enough protection against a trowel, its common sense really.

 

[Guest77]

Is metal capping required on a new installation in a house to protect the cables if a rcd is used ? According to two lads who i work with have done there 17th ed last week it is not needed so is it only for protexting cables while been plastered ?

Are you in Training?

 

[Guest125]

Sorry...

 

[Sintra]

We always install capping when we wire in singles however.

Singles require a proper containment system!!

 

[Anthony S]

We always install capping when we wire in singles however.

wtf lol

 

[Guest77]

We always install capping when we wire in singles however.

Gasp ??????????

 

[Anthony S]

Gasp ??????????

This is coming from a Qualified Electrician with NIC Approved Contractor Status lol

 

[Guest77]

This is coming from a Qualified Electrician with NIC Approved Contractor Status lol

Yep, I have just picked myself off the floor lol, shocking it really is double gasp

 

[Anthony S]

Yep, I have just picked myself off the floor lol, shocking it really is double gasp

That D Skelton is missing it all tonight

 

[Sintra]

Absolutely terrible that anyone would think this in acceptable practice.

 

[Guest125]

Omg fellas. Really? Sometimes it is too easy on here.

 

[GMES]

Well I have heard it all now, I think the trainee section should snap this fella up sharpish not!!

 

[ian.settle1]

We always install capping when we wire in singles however.

Barman, a couple of pints of what he is drinking please!

 

[Sintra]

Omg fellas. Really? Sometimes it is too easy on here.

So what are you saying? That you're trolling again?

 

[Dcf]

whats wrong with putting a bit of conduit in so you can actually get the wires pulled in/out without bashing the house into submission?
just a thought.

 

[electroyd]

We always install capping when we wire in singles however.

Quality!
Must be a wind up merchant lol

 

[Marvo]

We always install capping when we wire in singles however.

Omg fellas. Really? Sometimes it is too easy on here.

Bad move. Two options here, either you are making a genuine statement and are clueless about installation techniques or you're making false statements which means you're trolling. Either way you're on thin ice so don't do it again.

Please be warned!!

Threads and posts get indexed by search engines and misleading statements like this end up carrying weight in Google search results because they supposedly come from professional electricians. If you want to start some banter keep it in the Chit Chat forum where it belongs not in the Electrical forums. Also if there's threads closed and posts deleted and your trolling is the cause of it then you'll be shown the door.

 

[trev]

whats wrong with putting a bit of conduit in so you can actually get the wires pulled in/out without bashing the house into submission?
just a thought.

And how exactly do you propose to hide a bloody great lump of metal conduit?
Obviously plastic oval conduit is a different thing entirely but you're still cutting a chase.

 

[electroyd]

whats wrong with putting a bit of conduit in so you can actually get the wires pulled in/out without bashing the house into submission?
just a thought.

Well thats the beauty of the oval tube.
i find capping easier to fix however, and keeps cables neat and tidy and secure.

 

[Guest125]

Bad move. Two options here, either you are making a genuine statement and are clueless about installation techniques or you're making false statements which means you're trolling. Either way you're on thin ice so don't do it again.

Please be warned!!

Threads and posts get indexed by search engines and misleading statements like this end up carrying weight in Google search results because they supposedly come from professional electricians. If you want to start some banter keep it in the Chit Chat forum where it belongs not in the Electrical forums. Also if there's threads closed and posts deleted and your trolling is the cause of it then you'll be shown the door.

Please accept my apology. I did not think of it that way. TBH I really thought it was an obvious joke and thought it would be taken as such.

I have edited my post and made it clear why.

let me be clear. This is absolutely not acceptable practice and should never be followed.

 

[trev]

capping is pointless really, but is something most electricians like myself like to do.

We do? Really?

 

[electroyd]

We do? Really?

well its all about good practice isnt it. not saying theres anything wrong with cable clips.
I guess it depends on whos patching up and making good.
I will continue using it, its up to you guys and girls what you do

 

[trev]

Imho it's good practice to keep all chases as slim as possible. To me it's pointless widening a potential 15mm chase for the sake of a pointless bit of capping when there's not a chance in hell of a plasterer's float going anywhere near your cable, bare walls are usually dot and dabbed round my neck of the woods so it's pointless there too, there are alternatives in a commercial setting too.
I just don't like the stuff. If specced I'll happily put it in but I avoid it where ever I can

 

[davesparks]

The way I was taught is to use plastic capping on new walls and oval conduit in chases in existing walls.
There is no sense in cutting chases wider than they need to be just to put capping in, yet I've seen so many people do this.

When we finally got a chasing machine we would cut 24mm wide chases and use 25mm oval, with the aid of a bit of tile batten it would tap into the chase an wedge tight with no need for any further fixing. It made the whole process pretty quick.

 

[TJ Anderson]

The way I was taught is to use plastic capping on new walls and oval conduit in chases in existing walls.

I was taught exactly the same, the only thing I clip only for is for dot and dab plasterboard.

 

[Tidy Max]

How do you guys fix the oval conduit to the wall? I have never used it and tend to use capping on jobs where i don't know the plasterer and when working along side a couple of plasterers i know locally then as Trev said, i prefer and they prefer a small neat chase!

 

[trev]

Jam it in mate, a wall chaser helps a lot but you need very efficient dust removal.

 

[Anthony S]

I've had the makita chaser and hoover a few years now and its still spot on.

 

[davesparks]

How do you guys fix the oval conduit to the wall? I have never used it and tend to use capping on jobs where i don't know the plasterer and when working along side a couple of plasterers i know locally then as Trev said, i prefer and they prefer a small neat chase!

Either a chase slightly narrower than the conduit and put a black on the conduit then give the block a good tap, or a couple of capping nails either side of the pipe, or for the narrower oval then a 2.5mm T&E clip or two works.

 

[Tidy Max]

Interesting, how much is a length of oval then and what sizes does it come in? Might buy some tomorrow and give it a try.
Middleton Electrical Services has never needed to rewire a drop but you never know it may happen at some point so i think i may give these oval shenanigans a whirl!

 

[davesparks]

13, 16, 20 and 25mm wide are the usual sizes, as for price I couldn't say off the top of my head

 

[Marvo]

I don't do domestic work so it's not a big deal but I've never seen oval conduit, I don't think it's available locally. Is it fairly new in the UK or has it been around a while?

 

[davesparks]

It's been around longer than capping has, once upon a time it was made of steel but now it's plastic

 

[tomspark93]

Interesting to see how others do it. We go to the effort of drilling, plugging and fixing the oval to the wall with galvanised steel band on new builds and existing properties

 

[davesparks]

Interesting to see how others do it. We go to the effort of drilling, plugging and fixing the oval to the wall with galvanised steel band on. Ew builds and existing.

Sod that for a lark, I'm in this game to make money!

 

[123]

This side of the pond its 20mm conduit that's generally used, chased into the wall of course. You'd get some strange looks if you turned up with capping or just clipped them into the track.

 

[123]

Interesting to see how others do it. We go to the effort of drilling, plugging and fixing the oval to the wall with galvanised steel band on new builds and existing properties

Either wedge it in or a little bit of bonding will do the trick in a hell of a lot less time

 

[electroyd]

Interesting to see how others do it. We go to the effort of drilling, plugging and fixing the oval to the wall with galvanised steel band on. Ew builds and existing.

i guess others work as tight to the regs as possible to save time and money. if you dont fit capping and use clips its a massive time saving as well as a cash saving of not buying the stuff,
its understandable.
my working practice includes pointless waste of time capping

 

[davesparks]

i guess others work as tight to the regs as possible to save time and money. if you dont fit capping and use clips its a massive time saving as well as a cash saving of not buying the stuff,
its understandable.
my working practice includes pointless waste of time capping

I've found oval conduit to be quicker than clipping in to chases. I use capping on new/unplastered walls.

There's no sense using capping in chases as you have to make the chases so much wider.

 

[tomspark93]

Clipping on existing houses is so hit and miss. the gobbo is either to hard to take a clip or so soft the cable just flops out and don't get me start with thermo****e blocks.