Hi all
The electrician came around last week to test and sign off on the installation of the new circuits for my kitchen. There are now three extra bits of work that need doing - I set out these below along with my questions. Basically for each, I want to know: 1) can it be done? and 2) can I do it myself?
1) He put in a dual box when he started but realised that he didn't need one of the boxes. He put the switch for the cooker in the box nearest the side panel for the oven - see attached photo.
As you can see, there is about 1cm of space between the edge of the switch and the side panel for the oven housing. This is going to be a real pain when it comes to tiling. Ideally, I would like to move the switch to the other, empty box and fill in/remove the one that the switch is currently in, so I can tile easily. I forgot to ask my electrician about this when he was here. My guess is, it cannot be done as the cable obviously runs down the wall to the box where the socket is currently - so I just have to lump it and do what I can with the tiling. Is this correct?
2) I have a shallow larder unit. There is a gap of about 20cm between the back of the unit, and the wall (long story). There is a cover panel on the side. I have cut out a hole in the panel and put a socket in there. See below. The socket was installed and tested by the electrician. See pic. It's on a ring circuit.
What I can't show you, is that the cables running to and from this socket just hang down behind the larder unit. There is loads of slack in them - if I pulled that socket out from where it is now, I could pull it maybe 70-80cm. Anyway, I would like to put the microwave in the larder unit, and so want to put a new socket on the wall behind the larder unit. I will cut out a microwave-shaped hole in the back wall of the unit for this (god knows how!) The switch would be surface-mounted. I asked the electrician if I could do this and he said yes - just take a spur off the socket that you can see. Is this correct? Reading this forum, it would seem that because it is in the kitchen (albeit all hidden away behind units), I need a qualified electrician to do it. And if I can do it, could I not just add the new socket to the ring circuit? after all, there are lose cables hanging exactly where I want to put it.
3) As part of the installation, I asked the electrician to put in a new circuit for an induction hob, as well as a connection on the main kitchen circuit for a the ignition for a gas hob (we hadn't picked a hob when the electrician came). As it happens, we went for a gas hob so I've got a "spare" circuit in the kitchen, with a connection point under the hob unit and a switch on the wall. This is lucky, because I want to put a plinth heater under the hob unit. I asked my electrician if I could connect the heater to the connection point that was put there for an induction hob, and he said yes - connect it up, and replace the switch on the wall for a suitable fused switch. Again - am I actually allowed to do this, or is replacing a switch for a fused switch notifiable?
Thanks all. I know I'm basically double-checking what a qualified electrician has told me, but I just want to make sure I don't do something that could land me in trouble.
The electrician came around last week to test and sign off on the installation of the new circuits for my kitchen. There are now three extra bits of work that need doing - I set out these below along with my questions. Basically for each, I want to know: 1) can it be done? and 2) can I do it myself?
1) He put in a dual box when he started but realised that he didn't need one of the boxes. He put the switch for the cooker in the box nearest the side panel for the oven - see attached photo.
As you can see, there is about 1cm of space between the edge of the switch and the side panel for the oven housing. This is going to be a real pain when it comes to tiling. Ideally, I would like to move the switch to the other, empty box and fill in/remove the one that the switch is currently in, so I can tile easily. I forgot to ask my electrician about this when he was here. My guess is, it cannot be done as the cable obviously runs down the wall to the box where the socket is currently - so I just have to lump it and do what I can with the tiling. Is this correct?
2) I have a shallow larder unit. There is a gap of about 20cm between the back of the unit, and the wall (long story). There is a cover panel on the side. I have cut out a hole in the panel and put a socket in there. See below. The socket was installed and tested by the electrician. See pic. It's on a ring circuit.
What I can't show you, is that the cables running to and from this socket just hang down behind the larder unit. There is loads of slack in them - if I pulled that socket out from where it is now, I could pull it maybe 70-80cm. Anyway, I would like to put the microwave in the larder unit, and so want to put a new socket on the wall behind the larder unit. I will cut out a microwave-shaped hole in the back wall of the unit for this (god knows how!) The switch would be surface-mounted. I asked the electrician if I could do this and he said yes - just take a spur off the socket that you can see. Is this correct? Reading this forum, it would seem that because it is in the kitchen (albeit all hidden away behind units), I need a qualified electrician to do it. And if I can do it, could I not just add the new socket to the ring circuit? after all, there are lose cables hanging exactly where I want to put it.
3) As part of the installation, I asked the electrician to put in a new circuit for an induction hob, as well as a connection on the main kitchen circuit for a the ignition for a gas hob (we hadn't picked a hob when the electrician came). As it happens, we went for a gas hob so I've got a "spare" circuit in the kitchen, with a connection point under the hob unit and a switch on the wall. This is lucky, because I want to put a plinth heater under the hob unit. I asked my electrician if I could connect the heater to the connection point that was put there for an induction hob, and he said yes - connect it up, and replace the switch on the wall for a suitable fused switch. Again - am I actually allowed to do this, or is replacing a switch for a fused switch notifiable?
Thanks all. I know I'm basically double-checking what a qualified electrician has told me, but I just want to make sure I don't do something that could land me in trouble.
