DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice about what to do with the old conductors supplying a redundant CH thermostat on my hall wall. Its much older than the current boiler and the wiring isn't live so my assumption is there is no circuit back to the current boiler or CU and the wires have just been left connected to the thermostat. There is a blanking plate higher on the wall and i wonder if the wires from the thermostat merely lead to this and this was the termination point for the old wiring. If this is the case though why was the wiring to the thermostat not removed..

The wires are fed to the thermostat through a small hole in the hall wall plasterboard, how can i investigate where the wires lead if anywhere? And if they're no longer connected, i can easily remove the thermostat but then i have a hole and some conductors to deal with. What is the UK legislation on whether i have to use a blanking plate on this or can i re-plaster the wall with the wires left inside. The latter i'm sure is not acceptable.

Thanks for the help.

There are tools which inject a signal which you can then follow. However without such tools it can be hard. There is no magic cure and common sense is important.

I have been caught out, the idea of leaving cables for future use has caused many problems. Easy answer is to fit a back box and blanking plate. It depends where it is.

Ok i see, the wiring is red/black to the thermostat so is pre 2006 if i've got my colour change dates right! Its very tempting to cap off the wires and fill in the hole in the plaster, thats the most aesthetic option, the blanking plates are a bit ugly and it would be next to a light switch, no worse than the protrusive thermostat i suppose.

I'm starting to realise a lot of these jobs require specialist kit..