Moving a plug socket from one wall to another.. is it really that easy?

[reoreborn]

I've had a look around on the forum and found a few similar questions but nothing exactly the same.

I want to move a plug from one wall to the next (10m -ish). I called in an electrician who looked at it and quoted me at £260 then lowered it to £250. While we stood there he got a bit cocky and said "It's an easy job anybody can do it so it'll only take an hour". When I hear "Anybody can do it" I like to try it myself.

A day later I called another electrician who didn't come out but gave me a similar quote. He knows us from another job we had done and knows I'm a carer for a relative and that we don't have much money and said "To be honest you could do it yourself if you're semi competent at basic electricals. It's just like extending a lamp wire but a bit more complicated. You just take off the double socket, get a junction box. Wire the old sockets wires into a junction box, hide it behind a blank box, wire a 10m cable into the other end of the junction box, have the wire come out of the blank box, run it along the wall (or under the floorboards) to the new location and fit a new double socket".

Is this true? I believe I could do that. I have extended cables before (Lamps), replaced plug sockets etc. So.. is it really that easy or was he/I making it sound easier than it actually is.

Additional:
The current wall socket has two sets of cables going into the socket (Two live, two earth, two neutral). The socket works correctly and has had multiple checks.
If it's not as easy as above I think I'd just stick two 10m gangways in and have done

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

You just take off the double socket, get a junction box. Wire the old sockets wires into a junction box, hide it behind a blank box, wire a 10m cable into the other end of the junction box, have the wire come out of the blank box, run it along the wall (or under the floorboards) to the new location and fit a new double socket".

If the existing double socket is on the ring, you could simply retain that socket, and add a spur to your new socket.

 

[martygturner]

Its easy.. but... you have a ring circuit, that's the two sets of wires, it allows for 32amps to be drawn from all the sockets attached.

2. If you run a spur ie one length of wire to a new double socket you can only have 1 socket at the end of it, to prevent the new feed wire being overloaded.

3. The simplest way is to put in a deeper back box in and do all the connections behind the socket you want to come off of, a socket will take 3 conductors, but normally there is not enough room behind to get the wires in. If the back box of the socket is metal make sure you use rubber grommets on the knock outs for the wires.

4. Always make sure you isolate the circuit you are working on at the consumer unit and always test the socket first before use..using a tester for mixed polarity and earth continuity.

Adding a spur to a ring final circuit

How to add an extra socket outlet using a spur from an existing outlet

flameport.com

If you are not totally confident then I would suggest that a brief negotiation with a sparky may well reduce the bill, ie if its going under the floor do all the donkey work, lift the carpets take up the floor boards make the back box hole.

 

[Murdochcat]

Move it by 10 metres ?

 

[EFLImpudence]

2. If you run a spur ie one length of wire to a new double socket you can only have 1 socket at the end of it, to prevent the new feed wire being overloaded.

Unless, of course, you use wire which will not be overloaded; i.e. 4mm².

 

[ericmark]

1) Permitted routes in walls
2) How much cable already used, 106 meters is considered max for a ring final.
3) Testing.

If you want to follow the rules, then a meter like this is required, and cheapest I can find is £60, you could use a meter which does less, like this that is £30, but it does not time the RCD tripping, and the loop only good enough for a radial, so if you have the skill, to fit a socket and tick all the boxes will likely cost £90 for the first one, however most DIY people don't test, they trust to the lord.

If you install surface, with trunking etc, then T2 trunking around £3 a meter, not buried so permitted routes don't apply, fit a FCU (fused connection unit) where old socket was, and basic idea is a permanent extension lead, but that is very different to extending the ring final.

 

[blup]

Is this true? I believe I could do that. I have extended cables before (Lamps), replaced plug sockets etc. So.. is it really that easy or was he/I making it sound easier than it actually is.

Yes but you need to understand the basics including safety: check out YouTube there are plenty of practical videos. Terminating a socket is less fiddly than terminating a plug, but allow enough length for the cable and stripping back the outer sheath. Decide whether you want to hide the cable under the floor (potential obstacles ) or clip it direct to the skirting or above the skirting in trunking.

 

[JohnD]

If you are able to lift the floorboards, it is not very difficult. You will also need to chase out the wall for the new socket, and replaster, unless you are using a surface mounted box, in a garage or workshop.

There is no need to disconnect the old socket, that would probably be extra unnecessary work, and would leave you with one less potentially useful outlet, and extra plastering and redecoration.

 

[johnny2007]

You might be lucky and the cables run horizontally between sockets, giving you a chance to add one without chasing the walls or fit trunking.
Easy to check which way cables go by opening the sockets and trace the cables with a stud/power detector.

 

[FrodoOne]

Do you really want to "move" a Socket-Outlet
or
would you be "better off" in installing a new one?

What are you going to do to patch up where the old one was
and
how are you going to enable any necessary wiring joints to remain "accessible"?

What is the "geography" of the existing set-up and the wall to which the socket-outlet is to be "moved" - or "duplicated?

Please explain, with diagrams and/or photos.