Westerham Socket Fault-Find & Repair — Westerham
An RCD kept tripping at a house in Westerham. We traced the fault and rerouted the circuit to get the sockets working again, with no mess or redecorating.
What the customer needed
We got a call from Tulin in Westerham who had a really frustrating problem. Every time she tried to use a certain socket, the RCD switch in her consumer unit would trip, cutting power to a whole section of the house. This meant two sockets were completely unusable. After a bit of testing, it was clear there was a fault in the wiring itself, not with an appliance. The real headache was that the customer was in the middle of selling their house. The fault was located in a cable that ran under a brand-new tiled and heated bathroom floor. Tearing that up, or knocking holes in the ceiling below, was simply not an option. They needed a fix, but without any damage or redecorating.
The solution
Once we'd pinpointed the section of wire causing the issue, the first job was to make it safe by disconnecting it completely. The next bit was the tricky part: getting power back to the two dead sockets without wrecking the place. We found a working socket on the same wall, but it was right behind the meter cupboard. This is always a bit nerve-wracking because the main supply cable from the street is usually running in the cavity there. We had to drill very carefully, first from the inside into the wall cavity, and then from the outside in, to create a path. We then fished a new cable through the gap and connected it to the working socket via a 13A fused spur for safety. From there, we could run the new cable to the two sockets that had been out of action. This brought them back to life on a new, safe circuit, completely bypassing the original faulty wire under the floor. The best part? It was all done with no visible changes or damage to the walls.
How it turned out
In just half a day, the problem was completely sorted. Tulin had two working, fully-tested sockets again, and the RCD stopped tripping. Most importantly for her, the house was kept in perfect condition for the sale. We avoided a messy, expensive job of chasing walls or lifting a brand new floor, and provided a practical, safe solution that worked around the problem.
"Ned left everything clean and tidy once the job was completed"
More photos from this job
Common questions
An RCD, or Residual Current Device, is a safety switch in your consumer unit. It's designed to trip and cut the power instantly if it detects a fault, protecting you from a serious electric shock. It usually trips because of a faulty appliance or, like in this case, a problem with the wiring itself.
The damaged wire was buried under a tiled bathroom floor with underfloor heating. To replace it would have meant ripping up the expensive floor and then having it all re-done. As the customer was selling, this would have been costly and messy. Our solution was a much more practical and damage-free way to solve the problem.
A fused spur is basically a connection point with its own fuse. We used it here to safely take a new feed from an existing socket circuit. The fuse provides specific protection for the new bit of wiring we added, ensuring it's not overloaded.
Yes, completely. As long as it's done correctly by a qualified electrician. The new circuit is protected by its own fuse and is fully tested to make sure it complies with all wiring regulations. It's a standard and safe way to work around damaged cables that are hard to get to.
Got a job? Let's price it today.
Call, WhatsApp a photo, or send a quick message — we'll come back the same working day.