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should the mains be boxed in?

Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:36 pm
by fkings12
Is it against any regulation to leave the electric mains and fuse box totally exposed when a complete rewiring is carried out - i.e. not boxed in?

Explanation: My mother has just had her house totally refurbished and completely rewired with the assistance of a council grant. An old cupboard where the electric mains & fuse were located was completely removed. Now the electric mains and a new fuse box installed are completely exposed. The work has been signed-off and an electrical wiring certificate was given to my mother. Did I mention that my mother is a retired old lady?

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:43 am
by kbrownie
Hi fkings12,
Simple answer is no,
You can box it in if you wish to but no requirements to do so, good workmanship should be carried out and the council do have duty of care as does the person who signed it off.
The requirements are that it is placed in a position that will be safe from enviromental effects (ie flooding) and in a safe position that means it can not be tampered with by children.
So as frustrating as it is I don't think legally they have done anything wrong as long as it is safe and no conductors are exposed.
May I suggest that you employ a joiner to build a cabinet for you or have a word with the council and see if they would be kind enough to resolve this issue.
Kind Regards
KB

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:39 pm
by jtc
KBrownie is spot on, as ugly and unfinished as it may look the job is technically correct providing no exposed conductors and the cables have been clipped and the fuse box doesn't have any broken cable entry points that you can get your fingers in( or various finger sized objects