Re: Is a metal back box required to meet current regulations ?

["David Gumbrell" <david.gumbrell@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think you'd fall foul of the general principles of protection
against
thermal effect, and specifally the requirements 526-03 on enclosed
connections:

Every termination and joint in a live conductor or a PEN conductor shall be
made within one of the following or a combination thereof:-

(i) a suitable accessory complying with the appropriate British Standard
(ii) an equipment enclosure complying with the appropriate British Standard
(iii) a suitable enclosure of material complying with the relevant
glow-wire
test requirements of BS 6458-2.1
(iv) an enclousre formed or completed with building material considered to
be non-combustible when tested to BS 476-4
(v) an enclosure formed or completed by part of the building structure,
having the ignitability characteristic 'P' as specified in BS 476 Part 5.

So you could test your wood to BS 476 :-)

Cheers,

David



On 9/24/06, Chris Miles <chrismiles@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>   You dont need to have a metal back box, it can be plastic as well,
but
> you really dont want to put your circuit wires
> (live/neutral) next to any combustable material such as wood. You
could
> probably do it safe enough but there are
> regulatory bodies that might not take too kindly to it.
>
> It is legally mandatory though that the face plate be earthed if it
metal.
>
> Chris
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kevin Hawkins
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx <ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2006 4:34 PM
> Subject: [ukha_d] Is a metal back box required to meet current
regulations
> ?
>
> Does anyone know if a metal back box is mandatory behind a switch or a
> 2A plug socket say to meet current regulations or can a faceplate be
> attached directly to a wood cutout assuming the feedwire has an earth
> that is connected through to the faceplate ?
>
> K
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




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