Adventures in shopfitting

tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Cue said:
Can't even tell that the original shell they gave you was a lawsuit waiting to happen!
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Only the retail area is fixed, the rest is still a shithole! Upstairs on the side we're keeping is all artexed, gonna be a right git to paint. Also when they fitted a kitchen worktop as their desk they decided, rather than cut the worktop, to cut the actual window frames out! So now we have some interesting holes to fill.
 
Goldilox

Goldilox

How do I edit this?
tek-monkey said:
Only the retail area is fixed, the rest is still a shithole! Upstairs on the side we're keeping is all artexed, gonna be a right git to paint. Also when they fitted a kitchen worktop as their desk they decided, rather than cut the worktop, to cut the actual window frames out! So now we have some interesting holes to fill.
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I'm assuming the counter would have been fitted to use for repair work back when it was Guitar & Son? Not that that's any excuse for butchering the window frame, instead of fitting it properly.

I've caught a glimpse of you working hard a couple of times when I've passed this week. Nice to see it taking shape :)
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Goldilox said:
I'm assuming the counter would have been fitted to use for repair work back when it was Guitar & Son? Not that that's any excuse for butchering the window frame, instead of fitting it properly.

I've caught a glimpse of you working hard a couple of times when I've passed this week. Nice to see it taking shape :)
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I dunno, it was in the front upstairs room on the right hand side? Was just a U shape balanced on some kitchen cabinets (which incidentally had nice walnut doors, they went on freecycle along with lots of other stuff the landlord couldn't be bothered to take) with very few screws holding it together.
 
Cue

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Daft thing really, when you buy a worktop you can get it cut to size and get little bits cut out of it I'm pretty sure.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
On my own today, so listening to early 90's metal and moving some ceiling lights. Had to resort to trunking which I'm not a fan of, but the ceiling is crumbling and I don't want to re-plaster!
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Today I removed 13 phone sockets, and associated wiring. Unfortunately the wiring from 2 different alarm systems still runs through the building and I can't tell the live from the dead. Is it normal to use phone wire (6 core) on every sensor on an alarm system? I have 7 wires I can't trace and 3 sensors they end up at, but all are 6 core phone wire. There is even a light switch that bridges a 6 core? I really don't understand this place, when I found a plug socket with 4 sets of wires in I just put the cover back on and backed away!
 
Cue

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
tek-monkey said:
Today I removed 13 phone sockets, and associated wiring. Unfortunately the wiring from 2 different alarm systems still runs through the building and I can't tell the live from the dead. Is it normal to use phone wire (6 core) on every sensor on an alarm system? I have 7 wires I can't trace and 3 sensors they end up at, but all are 6 core phone wire. There is even a light switch that bridges a 6 core? I really don't understand this place, when I found a plug socket with 4 sets of wires in I just put the cover back on and backed away!
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6 core is alarm wire. Phone wire is 4 core, ethernet is 8.

13 phone sockets though? Weird.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Cue said:
6 core is alarm wire. Phone wire is 4 core, ethernet is 8.

13 phone sockets though? Weird.
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Hmm, then they used alarm wire for phones! From what I can tell there were at least 5 real lines in, and each line had 2 sockets. Some sockets were also downstairs, I haven't touched the separate upstairs yet but I know there are at least 5 in there too.

There are also 2 alarm systems, only one is functional. Some of the wiring for the old one has been combined into the new one, so I've ended up having to leave several runs in place that I can't trace as they just disappear into a wall. Also found another random live wire, linked to the rear hallway light switch.

EDIT: Yup, just googled burglar alarm wire, that was running through most of the phone points. Not all, but certainly most!
 
Thehooperman

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
tek-monkey said:
Hmm, then they used alarm wire for phones! From what I can tell there were at least 5 real lines in, and each line had 2 sockets. Some sockets were also downstairs, I haven't touched the separate upstairs yet but I know there are at least 5 in there too.

There are also 2 alarm systems, only one is functional. Some of the wiring for the old one has been combined into the new one, so I've ended up having to leave several runs in place that I can't trace as they just disappear into a wall. Also found another random live wire, linked to the rear hallway light switch.

EDIT: Yup, just googled burglar alarm wire, that was running through most of the phone points. Not all, but certainly most!
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Not sure of the history of the building but if it had been used as any form of office it would more than likely have had its own small office phone system and then a few lines to connect to the outside world.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Thehooperman said:
Not sure of the history of the building but if it had been used as any form of office it would more than likely have had its own small office phone system and then a few lines to connect to the outside world.
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IIRC there is an odd looking grey box with BT on it in the other side, not been in there much though as it'll be a separate office space and we're concentrating on the shop.
 
tek-monkey

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Thehooperman said:
If you take a photo I'll probably be able to tell you if it's telecoms. Sounds like it will be.

Do you need a hand identifying the cabling?
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Thanks, had a night off tonight but will get a pic tomorrow.
The cables are all the same 6 core, I'm just not sure if they are used! Some are terminated together, which I'd assume wasn't needed unless are running something somewhere but who knows! Will get my multimeter out and see if I can get a reading, would a sensor still test live if the alarm is off? They still light up so I guess they are drawing power regardless?
 
Thehooperman

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
tek-monkey said:
Thanks, had a night off tonight but will get a pic tomorrow.
The cables are all the same 6 core, I'm just not sure if they are used! Some are terminated together, which I'd assume wasn't needed unless are running something somewhere but who knows! Will get my multimeter out and see if I can get a reading, would a sensor still test live if the alarm is off? They still light up so I guess they are drawing power regardless?
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Have you located the alarm unit box anywhere?

The alarm system is likely to be low voltage DC 12 or 24v if it is battery backed up or 12 or 24v AC if it isn't. Either way they are probably looking for a current path to the sensor and back so that the alarm goes off if the circuit is broken.

Your phones will be 50v DC if they're still connected to an office telephone switch or a BT type exchange.
 
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