Question about electrical wiring extension

[earnest]

Hi, an electrician suggesting drilling through 2 rooms, at the corner to add another plug.

Would this be fine? I would prefer bringing it from the top vertically. Any red flags with this suggestion?

             | room 2
             |
             |
             x
---------new-|
              door
-------------|

 

[Spectric]

Need more clarity, best practice is for cable runs to be vertical so they run upto or down to a socket, you can run cables horizontally between sockets providing they are in what is termed the permitted zone but personally I have always run vertical. You can have sockets back to back on each side of a wall but it sounds like this may not be what they are thinking going by in the corner.

at the corner

So if you have a socket in one room then fitting another in the room behind then that is ok, it does becomes a problem in new builds with thin stud walls as there can be insufficient depth to get a decent job. Just running a cable through a wall and then horizontal to a new socket is bad practice, just fit an extra socket where the cable comes through the wall.

 

[earnest]

So these are 2 perpendicular walls, the suggestion was to drill through the wall, diagonally, from the existing socket.

 

[Spectric]

the suggestion was to drill through the wall, diagonally, from the existing socket.

Why diagonally, is there a reason you cannot go straight through square to the wall to a new socket ?

 

[earnest]

Why diagonally, is there a reason you cannot go straight through square to the wall to a new socket ?

do you mean to follow the horizontal line across to the wall? there is a door there, i think it was the easiest approach with the least damage to the brick walls.

 

[Spectric]

do you mean to follow the horizontal line across to the wall?

No, just drill straight through the wall from an existing socket and not diagonally.

there is a door there

Yes vertical drops overcome any issues with doorways.

 

[Chris West]

The code calls for a zone of safety for wires run inside walls, they are to run vertically or horizontally from sockets and switches but not at an angle. Reason being that someone is less likely to drive a nail or a screw into a wall and accidentally hit a wire if it is understood the wires are in one plane or the other. Of course, this isn't fool proof but that is the rationale.

 

[earnest]

No, just drill straight through the wall from an existing socket and not diagonally.


Yes vertical drops overcome any issues with doorways.

I probably messed up the drawing.

The sockets are in different rooms, will attach a picture shortly