Electricity Supply for Shed .. please advice!

[thesilentone]

Hi,
I have a brick shed in my back garden and have recently renovated the shed.
I need to take an electric supply into the shed, an electrician will be doing the work but i will be buying the bit's 'n' pieces needed.
I would appreciate some advice so I know my electrician won't rip me off.

The cable will be underground and i understand you can have to go 18inches?
This is not a problem I will dig up the flagging and make the route.
We have an outside light where the feed will be taken from, this to the shed in distance is about 12ft in a straight line.

Now what do i need for the job?
the electricity supply inside the shed will be used for lighting, hifi laptop (NOW AND AGAIN)?

Wht wires do i need what thickness? do i need to put the wires in a plastic pipe under the ground etc?, inside the shed do i need a box of some sort?
I will not be doing this myself but would like to plan in my head.

Thanks

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

So who is doing the work you or and electrician?
If your wanting socket-outlets in the shed a feed from the outside or any lighting circuit is unsuitable.
May I suggest you speak to the electrician about the materials required as they are going to fit them, inspect, test and certificate the work and as it comes under notifiable work it should be noitified to building controls.
The electrician may have to do this prior to work starting for approval unless they can self cert the work.

 

[Aragorn84]

For your spark to sign off the work, he really needs to have designed the circuits himself.

That doesnt stop you doing the grunt work to save some money, but it would need to be agreed with the spark before hand if your expecting him to sign off on it.

To answer your question, 4mm or 6mm SWA is probably what you'll need. I dont think it NEEDS to be buried in a conduit/pipe, but doing so might make things easier in the future if it ever needs replaced.

Depending on how your spark wires it up will depend if you need a "box" in the garage.

Ideally, you'd have a 2 (or more) way consumer unit in the garage being fed from an RCD protected breaker in the house, but you could in theory run an RCD protected spur from a ring final out to the shed and directly into some sockets...

Not sure what you mean by the outside light though? Is it wired up already? Or are you adding it?

 

[thesilentone]

Thanks for the reply.
The electrician is doing the work but any work in regards to digging I will do myself, save time and money.
There is an outside light (back of the house) which is connected to a switch so we can turn it on and off as we please, everyone seems to say that the the electricity supply will come from this, be taken underground and then into the shed.

Im just trying to get a rough price on how much it will cost what i will need before i call the electrician round so im not wasting anyones time.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I need to take an electric supply into the shed, an electrician will be doing the work but i will be buying the bit's 'n' pieces needed.

Madness - you'll pay more than he will. Let him supply the materials.

I would appreciate some advice so I know my electrician won't rip me off.

Better to find someone you can trust.

The cable will be underground and i understand you can have to go 18inches?

It depends, and there are other requirements, but since your electrician will have to sign legal documents to say that he did all the work, you will have to get him to tell you where and how deep to dig. He won't mind you doing the labouring work, but it must be under his direction and supervision.

We have an outside light where the feed will be taken from, this to the shed in distance is about 12ft in a straight line.

That may not be a suitable supply. But you have to let your electrician make the decision.

Now what do i need for the job?

You need what the person who has to sign a legal declaration to say that he designed it says you need.

the electricity supply inside the shed will be used for lighting, hifi laptop (NOW AND AGAIN)?

It doesn't matter how often.

Wht wires do i need what thickness?

Your electrician will know, and he must be allowed to specify.

do i need to put the wires in a plastic pipe under the ground etc?,

Your electrician will know, and he must be allowed to specify.

inside the shed do i need a box of some sort?

Your electrician will know, and he must be allowed to specify.

I will not be doing this myself

Then you must allow the electrician to do the job he will be signing to say he did.

but would like to plan in my head.

• //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=75416#75416
• http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Book/1.1.htm
• http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Charts/VoltageDrop.html
• http://web.archive.org/web/20080118063245/www.kevinboone.com/PF_electricity.html
• http://web.archive.org/web/20071013043715/www.kevinboone.com/PF_domesticinstallations.html
• //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:part-p[/list]

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There is an outside light (back of the house) which is connected to a switch so we can turn it on and off as we please, everyone seems to say that the the electricity supply will come from this, be taken underground and then into the shed.

You should stop talking to those everybodies and start talking to competent electricians.

need before i call the electrician round so im not wasting anyones time.

You have everything you need before you call electricians round.

 

[Aragorn84]

I guess it depends how that light is currently connected up to the house wiring, but i wouldnt regard that as the ideal scenario, and if the light is already spurred off a socket, taking another spur off that would likely contravene some regulations.

Get some sparks round for some quotes and then you have something to work with. You then can find out on here if the quotes and proposals are sensible.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If you are having sockets installed either a FCU from a socket outlet or a direct feed from you CU will do.
This type of installation I recommend direct feed from Consumer Unit on a RCBO if no RCD protection on the circuit.
Steel Wired Armoured cable is the desired cable to use, the size with what you intend to use will likely be 4mm2.
Don't take the feed from the light it may only be able to feed you 3-6Amps, that will not be enough.

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

Thanks for the reply.
The electrician is doing the work but any work in regards to digging I will do myself, save time and money.
There is an outside light (back of the house) which is connected to a switch so we can turn it on and off as we please, everyone seems to say that the the electricity supply will come from this, be taken underground and then into the shed.

Im just trying to get a rough price on how much it will cost what i will need before i call the electrician round so im not wasting anyones time.

Why don't you get the electrician round, tell him what you want, then let him tell you how he proposes to do it and his costs.

If you post the result of that conversation, somebody here will be able to advise you if that method seems ok and the cost seems reasonable.

Far easier, wouldn't you agree?

BTW, it seems as though the 'everyone' you refer to are all wrong and are probably sniggering up their sleeves at you.
For electrical work, listen to an electrician, not the voices in your head.

 

[thesilentone]

wow, some of you guys are pretty serious on here im just trying to build a picture in my head and get some prior knowledge from people who have the experience or know what they are talking about... that's what i thought forums were for.

Thanks to all who have replied much appreciated for your help.

 

[ricicle]

I need to take an electric supply into the shed, an electrician will be doing the work but i will be buying the bit's 'n' pieces needed.

That old chestnut

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

wow, some of you guys are pretty serious on here im just trying to build a picture in my head and get some prior knowledge from people who have the experience or know what they are talking about... that's what i thought forums were for.

Thanks to all who have replied much appreciated for your help.

Why bother wasting your time building a picture in your head?
If you get an electrician, he can explain everything to you in explicit terms. No need for ambiguous, conflicting info from a forum. Simples...

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

wow, some of you guys are pretty serious on here im just trying to build a picture in my head and get some prior knowledge from people who have the experience or know what they are talking about... that's what i thought forums were for.

Thanks to all who have replied much appreciated for your help.

You do right asking for advise but surely be honest, would it not be better to ask the skilled person who is helping you with this installation.

It'll cost you about 20-30 percent more for materials than an electrician buying from trade suppliers.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

I need to take an electric supply into the shed, an electrician will be doing the work but i will be buying the bit's 'n' pieces needed.

That old chestnut

thesilentone;
it is an old chestnut.

If you are doing the work yourself, it needs notifing and we can inform you how to go about that and best methods to install, but it's not really a DIY job as it will cost you more money to do it this way.
If you are using an electricain speak to him for advice and try get his trade account number/ref.