DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi Folks
Any Help! a friend has asked me to put in a few extra sockets in the kitchen AFTER finishing his new cabinets etc. The first thing he showed me was a couple of wires hanging out of a column at kitchen surface height where presumably a socket was. He doesnt know what they were but the cables were heavy duty not lighting gauge. Can it be this is part of a ring main and although disconnected that the electrics are working as two seperate radial circuits ending at the detached wires? ie the ring is broken at that point but the electrics still work or is that plain daft? Is this dangerous in its present situation?
The two cables lead upwards so could it also be that they are from the upstairs ring main? which leads me onto the next thing I presume surface height sockets coming off the downstairs ring main cant be spurred horizontally off another socket, am I right? As I say the cabinets are fitted and Im wondering how and where to chase out for the supply. How many spurs can I take off one ring main? and Lastly can I spur two double sockets off one if I had to.
Thanks J

you could be right about broken ring, in which case both cables will as you say be live as two radials, if so then the fuse / mcb rating will be 30/32A, but radials can only have max of 20A protection.
you can run horizontally between sockets it's an urban myth that you can't!
you can take an unlimited number of spurs from a ring circuit that was the idea of them originally, but only one double on each spur only 1 spur from each socket,
If you are qualified part p registered electrician you should know this , If not you will be breaking the law to carry out any of the above,
regards SPARX