FL-02Check for hidden cables and pipes before drillingCables for outdoor lights, sockets, security lights and alarm boxes often run through exterior brick walls, and outside tap pipework can too. Run a detector over each marked spot, but still treat the wall as if something could be there — detectors miss deep cables, armoured cable, and anything outside the normal safe zones. Find your stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink) and check it turns before you start, so you can shut the water off fast if you hit a pipe. If you have any doubt at all, isolate the relevant circuit at the consumer unit before drilling.