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Is it necessary to have an earth put in for a small electrical job?

Posted by Miss Green, on
I have a small bit of rewiring to be done and 3 electricians who all seemed to know what they were talking about said that I now had to have an earth from the electric fuse box to the gas meter (which is not a problem as they are close by) but also to the water stop under the sink which involves going through walls etc and would be a lot of work and nuisance. Do they have to do this before they can fix the small job?

Les Ward

Hi Susan, like for like electrical repairs or replacements can usually be done without bringing the electrical installation up to current standards. Any new work should be done according to the current wiring regulations and this includes the earthing and circuit protection arrangements. Water and gas pipes should be bonded to the main earth terminal close to where they enter the dwelling. This is usually accomplished with earth clamps that fit round the pipes and 10mm square earth cable. Under fault conditions this helps ensure that dangerous voltages do not occur in pipe work in the property. This is an important safety measure but obviously can cause you additional expense and disruption to implement

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