Hello we're attempting a rewire in our house and we've come up against a bit of a problem that we can't quite figure out.

The floor joist runs parallel with the front and rear walls of the property and there is only half an inch between the joist and the outer wall. I need to put an electrical socket on the outer walls and was wondering what is the best way to route the cables? I don't think that I can drill a hole in the centre of the joist and then bring the cable up to the socket because there is not enough clearance.

Hve you encountered this problem before and if so, what solution did you arrive at?

The best possible solution we've thought of is notching the top of the joist and then running the cable over the top of the joist and up in to the socket. I was thinking of protecting the cable with a safe plate. Does this work? And would it comply with regulation?

I have the same problem when I start to look at running the cables downstairs as well. Any advice on this would be great too!

Thanks in advance.

Once you have done your chase in the wall, chase in behind the floor joist too.  There is usually enough room once thats done.

Bearing in mind the permitted places to drill as above, you can usually also drill at an angle to help the cable 'flow' a little easier.

A notch on top with a safeplate would do, but is not ideal.