Outside Light

[martinhalliday]

I want to add an outside light to my house and the easiest way to do this (I think?) would be to take a spur off the existing socket ring, add a switch and run the cable through the wall to the light outside.

Would this work? If so would anyone be able to help me out by forwarding me a diagram or some destructions! (thats instructions)

 

[breezer]

you must use 2.5mm twin and earth to connect the spur to the existing socket, then 1 mm twin and earth from the spur to the switch and then onto the light

you should connect colour to colour through out. at the switch you break the red wire and connect one side into L1 and the other into C

connect the black and earth together (respectivly) in 5 amp connector block and put green/ yellow sleaving on the earth (bare wire)

then out to your light.

when drilling through the wall for your light drill at a slight downwards angle this stops rain coming across your wall cavity (assuming you drill from inside to out)

 

[martinhalliday]

Breezer there is an existing junction box that i would like to break into. Would i be able to simply run 1 mm twin and earth from there to the switch and then onto the light?

 

[breezer]

depends what the junction box is for.

if it is for existing lights then yes, if for sockets only if you use 2.5mm twin and earth and go to a spur first

 

[climberjim]

Breezer there is an existing junction box that i would like to break into. Would i be able to simply run 1 mm twin and earth from there to the switch and then onto the light?

I could be wrong but I think there could be some confusion over the terms being used. I think when you said "take a spur off the socket" Breezer assumed that you mean't a wire from the socket to a fused connection unit (often refered in catalogues etc. as a spur). However to me (not an electrician) I would assume a spur to be the single cable off the ring itself (not what its going to) and the circuit from the connection unit onwards to be a sub-circuit (presumably there is a correct term for this).

In answer to your query (assuming the juction box is on the ring) I would take a 2.5 mm cable to a connection unit (fit a 5A/3A fuse) - if convienient (switch location wise) you could get a connection unit (spur) with a switch incorporated and go from the load connections of that straight to your light or do as breeezer said in his second post.

Hope that helps

Jim