Part P - Wiring Question

[region2]

At home I have a garage which has an electrical supply from one of the circuits on my house's consumer unit so is protected by an RCD and an MCB. The garage has it's own mini consumer unit.

I have just created my own bee shed (not for bees but for the facilitating of beekeeping!) which I am linking to the garage supply.

Here's my question: Should the new cable from the shed be connected on the house side of the garage's main switch or just spur off the garage's ring main's MCB?

[House]-----[Garage]-----[New Shed]

R2

 

[RoofTops]

I would take the feed off a new circuit breaker from the garage consumer unit. If the consumer unit isn't big enough it would be worth looking at replacing it.

Doing it this way means you can isolate the bee shed while still having power to the garage - which could be useful if for example you are doing some work on the shed and need power tools in the garage.

Any other way you can only isolate the shed by also isolating the garage, or at best the garage ring main - which again means no power tools in the garage.

I also fitted a new consumer unit in my shed, rather than running the wires straight into it. This means you have RCBs in the shed feeding any lights or sockets, which I felt was likely to be safer than relying on the RCB in the house as the garage unit has fuses. The shed unit is a two circuit thing like this:

 

[region2]

Makes sense - thanks!

I have mini-consumer units in both garage and shed. No room for an extra circuit in the garage so will just run it off the garage's ring main circuit; the house is close enough if I need to turn it all off. All linked by armoured cable natch!

R2

 

[AnotherNewBee]

If you have any doubts get a Part P qualified sparky to have a look.

Failing that, just run an extension from house or garage to shed when you really need power.

Either way you don't invalidate your property insurance if something goes bang.

 

[region2]

A risk I'm willing to take - it's only a shed and, as described, all is well protected in full accordance with the Regs...

R2

 

[For want of a better word]

Any external power connection MUST be carried out by a competent person and a Building Regulations 'Part P' Compliance Certificate issued.

Well that is what the law says !


in a previous life I sat through all the 14th Eds...now onto 17th I believe.....

 

[victor meldrew]

The shed is a broad term
Think loading + distance from source !
My honey house is fed by10 mil cable , A little OTT some would say , but if you consider using single phase motors (extraction) remember the starting current is 8 times the running current . Volts drop is the enemy and no rcd is going to protect against heat damage to an expensive motor driven extractor .
If you intend just lighting and a single socket to run pistol drills etc , them spur off by all means . Remember though , the temptation to plug in some heat source during a cold spell may be too much to resist
VM
Ps if the lights dim when starting a motor, chances are your cabling is under size !

 

[AndyJThompson]

I am a qualified electrician and one of the worst things I come across is DIY electrical work. Any electrical work out side of the equipotential zone must be carried out with knowledge. As although I am not doubting your skills, electricity works very well even though the work has been installed Sub standard and only presents it self as a problem when ether a fire has developed or some one has been hurt.

Better to be safe than sorry in my opinion

 

[victor meldrew]

I am a qualified electrician and one of the worst things I come across is DIY electrical work. Any electrical work out side of the equipotential zone must be carried out with knowledge. As although I am not doubting your skills, electricity works very well even though the work has been installed Sub standard and only presents it self as a problem when ether a fire has developed or some one has been hurt.

Better to be safe than sorry in my opinion

Vm
Ps electrical engineer for almost 50 years

 

[AndyJThompson]

I have always found it odd how people will bodge electrical work and just not bother about, not just their own safety but of others.

 

[Black Comb]

Also, if you ever sell your property you may be required to prove it has been wired by a qualified person.

 

[dpearce4]

what do you do when the sparky in question has taken your money done part of the work and then dissapeared? how to i get it finished without the sparky breathing in sharply and saying thats going to cost you?

then refuse to do any work until agree to rip out all new wiring and starting again at massive cost. all this before giving p cert.

 

[VEG]

dont pay until the work is complete in the first place.

 

[dpearce4]

dont pay until the work is complete in the first place.

hindsight is a great thing, was done as part of a big building job, money was payed by 'someone else'.

 

[AndyJThompson]

Maybe need to refer back to writen quotation.

Sent on the move

 

[Black Comb]

Make sure he is Part P registered. If not, you have him.

 

[For want of a better word]

At one time the local / County Council , Building Inspector department would inspect electrical wiring and could certificate... for a fee.. not sure if they still do?
The law limits the type of electrical work that the DIY person can undertake to running in an internal fused spur or additional socket or simple extension to INTERIOR lighting

Any work in a wet area ( Kitchen / Bathroom / exterior) MUST be carried out by an electrician who can certificate to part P of Building Regs..
This was because too many handyman types were doing a Billie Bodgeit or Lindsey Lashup and killing people!

The day will come when all beekeeperers will have to sit through many hours of boring lectures to keep bees... run by a certification body, if you have kept bees for 50 years or not !
( The day I give up!)

 

[region2]

Electrical Installation Condition Report

Also, if you ever sell your property you may be required to prove it has been wired by a qualified person.

Nope - just that the wiring is safe as per a Electrical Installation Condition Report (previously a PIR).

For the record I have completely wired new houses and rewired old houses, all then correctly tested and certified to current Regs. And I will have an EICR at the end of it...

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[tkwinston4]

Nope - just that the wiring is safe as per a Electrical Installation Condition Report (previously a PIR).

For the record I have completely wired new houses and rewired old houses, all then correctly tested and certified to current Regs. And I will have an EICR at the end of it...

R2

providing its signed off by someone certified as Part P then its fine. Ditto about the council Building Inspector giving you a ticket for a price, they may outsource it now. Maybe worth a phone call just so you know the score.