DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi folks,

I think I've drilled through the cable that runs to a single light switch. The only symptom is that the switch no longer works - nothing tripped. I used a cable finder, which reported nothing in the area that I drilled - the suspect hole is quite a way to the side of vertically above the switch.

The wall is plaster on (very old) brick, which gives little room for repair. Cutting a trench to get the entire cable out of the wall will be difficult (there's a mezzanine platform in the way). Access to the ceiling space will mean cutting through the lathe-and plaster - there's no way in from above (without removing carpet and floorboards).

The best I can think if is to identify the break (hopefully without cutting away too much plaster!) and using something like these and heatshrink to fix the break, then repairing the plaster and hoping that the repair can be hidden - is that viable?

Thanks - Adam...

You will have to remove more plaster than you think (To gain access to both ends of the core) but yes they are suitable.
If you have drilled trough more than 1 core and have to use multiple connectors I suggest you stagger the joint, otherwise you end up with one huge lump where all the connectors are.

What ever you do, electricity off first.

Mr White wrote:You will have to remove more plaster than you think (To gain access to both ends of the core) but yes they are suitable.
If you have drilled trough more than 1 core and have to use multiple connectors I suggest you stagger the joint, otherwise you end up with one huge lump where all the connectors are.

What ever you do, electricity off first.

Thanks Mr White.

Definitely just one conductor broken. Going to dig into the plaster now to see if I can find where...

Adam...