Power Tripped Whilst Drilling a Wall Restores ok, but is it Safe? Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[P&J]

Extremely stupid of me I know, but I was hanging a wall clock in the kitchen (in a hurry) using a corded drill plugged into a socket directly below the clock.

I was drilling through the brick wall when the drill suddenly stopped working, and the RCD on the consumer unit tripped. I also had the drill plugged in to a circuit breaker.

I'm not sure what or if any damage was done to the wiring as it is buried in the wall, however power restored ok on the consumer unit (it doesn't trip) and socket testers on the socket below the drill line light up green (no errors found).

I'm conscious however that even if all seems ok there could still be an underlying issue which might be dangerous.

I'm arranging an electrician to inspect and test, but in the meantime, I'm just wondering:

• (1) What might have happened given the power seems to have restored ok?

• (2) Are there any specific tests and checks I need to ensure the electrician carries out?

• (3) Would the electrician be able to inspect and safety test from the wires at the socket, or would they need to hack into the brick wall to inspect the cable also?

Again, I know this was majorly stupid, I just want to make sure I now go about making sure everything is safe and any problems resolved.

Thanks in advance

[Mr White]

It is not possible to say exactly what you have done, any tests will probably show as clear, but I would suspect you have punctured the cable, and since the electrician does not have x-ray vision, you could save your self time and money by switching off the sockets and accessing the cable.
Even if it is only a small puncture damp will get in and if it doesn't corrode the wire it will (eventually) create a path to earth which when found you will say "Oh, yeah, I did that when I went to put up a clock"