UK Nicked wires from screws

[littlespark]

We were always taught to run cables through the joist in the centre of where a floorboard edge is, and screw it down at the outer edges.

 

[AlexBuz]

if the cables were installed since c.1975, they should be min. 2" below top of joist, so unless you've used 3" or longer screws , fat chance of hitting a cable. best solution is to lift board/s and have a look see.

Thanks for the tip, I've lifted the boards and unfortunately it seems that I've hit some cables which were right under the floorboard and all bundled together.... The screws were 60mm so about 2.36 inch. Is that a regulation in the UK to have them at least 2" below the joist?

How much would this cost to fix any idea? I've just notified the landlord who will get an electrician to check it and I'm hoping it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg

 

[MJPD29]

It's impossible to estimate how much without seeing it, depending on where its hit it may either be rewired (best option) or as a last resort a joint could be made. How many did you hit?

 

[nicebutdim]

Did something subsequently happen that made you think about the possibility of having hit a cable?

 

[brianmoooore]

The screws were 60mm so about 2.36 inch. Is that a regulation in the UK to have them at least 2" below the joist?

There's no reg. as such. The 50mm refers to how far a cable has to be away from the surface a cable has to be for it to be acceptable for it not to be protected by an RCD.
The holes for cables should be drilled in the 'neutral axis' of a joist, which in practice, means the middle, but this is a structural building regulation, not an electrical one. If the house has been rewired, an electrician is going to use existing holes if they are anywhere near the right place and size. It would be bad practice, from a structural point of view, to drill a new hole in the neutral axis if it comes close to overlapping an existing one in the horizontal plane, nearby.

 

[buzzlightyear]

How much would this cost to fix any idea? I've just notified the landlord who will get an electrician to check it and I'm hoping it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg

Ooops, the shirt of your back and sell your body to the landlord.

 

[7029 dave]

Why did you not speak to your L/L about it, before you did it yourself.
Hard lesson learned I'm afraid.

 

[DPG]

Important lesson learned it seems. As above, you really shouldn't do this sort of thing without speaking to your landlord first.