Existing services traced before the first hammer
Why — act while you have leverage
Concealed pipes and cables do not announce themselves. Cutting one turns a day of demolition into a week of repair, and the damage is inside a wall you were about to finish.
What to look at
- Detector run over every wall to be opened, and the findings marked on it
- Circuits switched off and tested dead, not just switched
- Existing service drawings asked for before starting
How to check it yourself
Walk the walls with a cable and pipe detector before breaking, and mark what is found. Where drawings of the existing services exist, get them — in a flat the builder usually has them. Switch off and confirm dead rather than trusting a labelled board.
Where this comes from: IS 732 — Code of Practice for Electrical Wiring Installations; established trade practice for services tracing (indian standard or building code)
More demolition and civil alteration checks
- Photograph before this is covered
- Nothing structural is being cut, and it is in writing