In this case, you’ll need to add a spur from a ring circuit. Use the socket tester to check it’s correctly wired.Īlthough you can increase the number of sockets in a room by converting single sockets to doubles, there may be times where you need an extra socket where none exist already. If the new screws don’t fit the old box, use the original screws. Step 3Ĭonnect the red core or cores to the live terminal of the new faceplate, the black to the neutral terminal and the earth to the earth terminal. Run green / yellow sleeving over the earth core if you find it bare. If the insulation is heat damaged, cut back the cores and strip the ends. Loosen the terminal screws and free the cable cores. Keep the screws in case the new ones don’t fit. Unscrew the socket faceplate and pull it away from the wall. Use a socket tester to double check that it’s dead. Don’t plug it back in without dealing with the problem or the same thing will happen again. If the problem is scorching, it will usually have been caused by overloading the socket, or by loose connections in a plug. Check the socket is correctly wired using a socket tester.Ī socket can become damaged for a number of reasons: a blow can break the faceplate or overheating may cause scorching. Push in or turn the securing lugs so that they grip the rear face of the plasterboard firmly. Push the box back into the hole, feeding the cable through the opening. Step 3Ĭheck that the box fits snugly in the hole. Cut outwards from the holes, following the box outline, and remove the waste piece of plasterboard. Step 2Ĭheck the area’s free of hidden pipes or cables, then push and twist a screwdriver through at diagonally opposite corners of the outline so that you can insert the blade of a pad saw or plasterboard saw. Hold the box in place, use a spirit level to ensure it’s horizontal, and then draw around it in pencil. If you don’t have a stud finder, tap the wall gently with a hammer handle, listening for the hollow note to change when you tap over the framework. If you have a stud finder, use it to check that no framework will be in the way. But only do this if there’s enough room for it inside the mounting box all wiring connections must be accessible, not buried in the wall behind.ĭecide where you want to put the new switch or socket. Use a specially designed crimp or terminal block to attach a new short length of cable. If the cable isn’t long enough to reach the terminals of the new socket without straining, don’t be tempted to pull it. Use the socket tester to check it’s correctly wired. Screw the new box in place and then connect the cables to the terminals following step 3 above. Take the box away, check for hidden pipes or cables, and then drill and plug the wall behind. Then mark the fixing holes on the wall in pencil. Remove the knockout in the new surface mounting box and pass the cables through. Unscrew the faceplate and disconnect the cables from the terminals of the single socket mounting box.
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