my landlord opened up the ceiling in the hall outside my apartment to work on the electrical wiring. it has been a month now, and no one has closed up the ceiling yet, so all the wiring is exposed. the gas boiler is in very close proximity to the wires. is this a hazard?
To even ask that question means it's worth fixing. Better safe than sorry.
Tell your landlord about your concern and yes if it is hot near the wires and they are just romex type of wiring they are not rated at a high temperature near a boiler if it is more then 140 degrees and if the boiler is hot at that point it can cause the insulation of the wiring to break down. They should be removed or ran in conduit to protect them for the heat and if ran in conduit it should be a higher rated wire such as THHN the highest rating wire gets and that is good to 194 degrees. Would be better to re route them and get them away if not fixed soon. Drywall does act as a fire rated wall and takes the heat out to some degree.
If the insulation is still around the wire it is probably ok. If the copper is exposed it could be dangerous. It is better for them to repair it and be safe.
The hazard is sparks not the wiring, and then only in the presence of gas in the air. (If you smell gas, you've got worse worries.) If the cable jackets are intact and there are no loose connections, and the wiring is not where it might be accidentally damaged, it's not a major concern. Hiding the wires doesn't change much.
In the UK mains electricity system the AC 240 volt power is delivered down only one wire, the live or brown in the plug. The blue wire is a return wire to complete the circuit and has no measurable potential on it as it is should be at earth potential. If you wire them the wrong way round the device connected may still work OK , but there will be serious safety implications particularly in the case of a fault on the apparatus connected, like possible death by electrocution. The alternating current does not come down one wire one minute and the other the next just because it is called alternating and that is where your confusion arises, it only comes down one wire,the live wire. It is also essential for all the wiring in the building to be properly installed and tested so that the wiring polarity to the sockets is correct, I once touched a `fridge door at work and got lifted off my feet because an incorrectly wired socket and I don`t recommend that to anyone. Hope that helped as a basic guide, I`m sure some professionals will add their views as well! Best of luck, Bob.
