Getting power to an outside shed

Kashkai

I have an ordinary 3 pin power outlet in my attic that currently is used to run the pump for my water supply system. Is it possible (i.e. safe) to run an extension from this through the attic, out through an external wall (in a duct) and over to my garden shed were I can wire up a socket to provide power?

I know the ideal solution is to run a dedicated line from my fuseboard but (a) I can't get an electrician to do the job (three of them are still "getting back to me with a price" despite my saying I'd run the cable from the fuseboard through the attic to the shed - all they have to do is connect up at either end) and (b) money is tight and if its possible to do the job as outlined in the first paragraph above myself and save a few quid, I'm competent enough to do the job correctly. I won't mess around with the fuseboard though:o

M cebee

wouldn't be ideal

what's the distance

what do you need power for

paddy147

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I
I know the ideal solution is to run a dedicated line from my fuseboard but (a) I can't get an electrician to do the job (three of them are still "getting back to me with a price" despite my saying I'd run the cable from the fuseboard through the attic to the shed - all they have to do is connect up at either end) and (b) money is tight and if its possible to do the job as outlined in the first paragraph above myself and save a few quid, I'm competent enough to do the job correctly. I won't mess around with the fuseboard though:o

I feel your pain,as I had this exact same problem before.

No dissrespect to any sparks here and your work ethiques,but 3 of the sparks that I got quotes from,had no intention of getting dirty or doing any hard work,all they were interested in,was coming in and hooking it up and making a fast and easy buck.None of them wanted to actually run the SWA from the fuseboard down to my garage,so I got a builder mate of mine to do it for me.


Do the cable running/hard work yourself and then get a sparks from this forum to hook it up for you at fuseboard and garage ends.

Simples.:)

Bruthal

paddy147 wrote: »

None of them wanted to actually run the SWA from the fuseboard down to my garage,so I got a builder mate of mine to do it for me.

Who dug the trench then, if the builder just ran the swa?

paddy147

Well,after explaining on the phone to 3 different sparks,what was involved (and all saying yes to the job) none of them were bothered to do any hard work....as in......lifting floorboards inside the house to get at the cable run from the fuseboard down through the house.No interest in driling any holes or doing any sort of a trench.No interest in evening running the SWA.

Even when the 3 sparks viewed the house and back garden and garage,they said "yeah no problem",but when I rang them back to see what the price would be and if they were in a position to do the actual job,they said "sorry but I dont do work like that".

I asked well what if I get the trench dug up in the mean time and you just get the SWA through the house for me under the floorboards and then down to the garage??

Again,the answer was "sorry I dont do work like that".

So what,a sparks cannot pop floorboards,drill some holes through joists and a brick wall,and get dirty in order to run an SWA cable????

Do they expect the floor boards to come up all on their own,the trench to dig itself out,and SWA cable to magicly run ityself into place??????


Why not just say that you dont do that work,from the moment that you initaly spoke to me on the phone or viewed the job,then say you would get back to me with a price and just mess me around and waste my time.:mad:






Oh,and in answer to your question,my mate did do the trench work and he also popped the floorboards,as I was not in a position to do so,due to illness.

He also drilled the holes and installed the SWA for me,and then a sparks hooked it up at garage end and at house fuseboard end too.

paddy147

Any in reply to the OP,run the cable yourself,do as much as you can yourself,and then get a sparks off this forum to make the magic happen for you.

Best of luck with it.

Regards

Bruthal

paddy147 wrote: »

Do they expect the floor boards to come up all on their own,the trench to dig itself out,and SWA cable to magicly run ityself into place??????

i cant believe the sparks expected the shed to build itself as well, shocking.

paddy147

robbie7730 wrote: »

i cant believe the sparks expected the shed to build itself as well, shocking.

Ah sure some of them are pure slackers and allmost expect the wires to strip thmselves and the sockets to fit themselves to the walls too.Yet they still expect to get paid top dollar.:rolleyes::pac:

Anyway,Ill leave it at that,dont want to go off topic now.

Regards.:)

Bruthal

paddy147 wrote: »

Ah sure some of them are pure slackers and allmost expect the wires to strip thmselves and the sockets to fit themselves to the walls too.Yet they still expect to get paid top dollar.:rolleyes::pac:

Anyway,Ill leave it at that,dont want to go off topic now.

Regards.:)

Yea but digging a 600mm deep and wide trench, which also went under some paving slabs i think, you would consider a reasonable task for a sparks to do?

You mention top dollar. Many now expect work to be done for nothing, thats the reality. Many seem to think actual electrical work is clean and simple. Its far from it.

As for off topic, you are the one that says sparks dont do dirty work when they say they dont do ground works.

I dont know many proper sparks that wont lift floorboards. Your often on advising about electrical stuff, why dont you do the OP`s job for him? Or at least dig him a nice trench. After all, anyone that wants a cable run out to the shed will be paying the appropriate price for an esb grade trench in their back garden, wont they?

Anyway, be good.

paddy147

robbie7730 wrote: »

Yea but digging a 600mm deep and wide trench, which also went under some paving slabs i think, you would consider a reasonable task for a sparks to do?

You mention top dollar. Many now expect work to be done for nothing, thats the reality. Many seem to think actual electrical work is clean and simple. Its far from it.

As for off topic, you are the one that says sparks dont do dirty work when they say they dont do ground works.

I dont know many proper sparks that wont lift floorboards. Your often on advising about electrical stuff, why dont you do the OP`s job for him? Or at least dig him a nice trench. After all, anyone that wants a cable run out to the shed will be paying the appropriate price for an esb grade trench in their back garden, wont they?

Anyway, be good.

Robbie,as you said,you know sparks that will pop floorboards,drill holes in joists and walls to run a cable or cables,and thats fine.
But the 3 sparks that I dealt with had no intention of doing anything like that,they couldnt be ar5ed in fact,.The only thing that they did do,was waste my time.

So Im only giving you my 1st hand experience of how 3 different sparks who viewed my job treated me and the situation.

Even when I asked them about them just popping the floorboards,drilling the joists and wall and then running the SWA through the house for me,none of them wanted to know.So they basicly just wasted my time,which really annoyed me.



But like everything in life,theres allways good and bad.....(as in theres allways a few who just can be bothered to do some hard graft in work and life)




As for helping out the OP............I have.

He suggested in the opening post and asked if he should maybe do the cable run/instalation himself as hes a competent chap and this would also be to save money.

I have suggested that he does do it himself (keep costs down),and then get a fully qualified sparks off this forum to hook it up at both ends for him.




Regards and be good too.:)

Bruthal

paddy147 wrote: »

I have suggested that he does do it himself (keep costs down),and then get a fully qualified sparks off this forum to hook it up at both ends for him.

This same question was also asked by the op in feb/march. It was mentioned in that first thread that 3 sparks had never got back to the op.

I actually was asked, and gave details on rough cost expectations to do the job properly. It probably just never happened.

But anyway, for a single socket, and a light in the shed, a socket circuit in the house could be used to supply it, as long as the shed is close to the house. But the supply from the DB is a better job, which you know anyway.

If you did this, go from the socket through a double pole switch to allow isolating the shed so any proplem on the shed circuit can be isolated, so the house circuit would not be affected by such problems if they occured.

Its not hard to get electricians to do these jobs. It is probably hard to get them to do it for the prices some people expect though.

I replaced a stop cock in an attic tank last week, €40 including the item itself, and the person was shocked at the cost. And that was far easier than something such as fitting a new socket in a room etc.

M cebee

have to say- that job of paddy's looked more like diy than professional

paddy147

M cebee wrote: »

have to say- that job of paddy's looked more like diy than professional

:pac::pac:

paddy147

robbie7730 wrote: »

This same question was also asked by the op in feb/march. It was mentioned in that first thread that 3 sparks had never got back to the op.

I actually was asked, and gave details on rough cost expectations to do the job properly. It probably just never happened.

Oh right....I wasnt aware of it being asked/posted by the OP back in March.


regards.:)

Bruthal

M cebee wrote: »

have to say- that job of paddy's looked more like diy than professional

New block sheds are very simple to do a professional looking job in them alright, for a half decent professional.

Kashkai

Lads, I don't want anyone falling out over my simple question.

Robbie is right, I did ask the same question a few months back after my first round of "invitation to tender" from three Electricians got me nowhere. I tried again recently by contacting another three Electricians and again, I've gotten NOWHERE.

I have this three pin socket in the attic that I wondered if it would be safe to run an extension off to the shed. To give you a better idea:

The house is a long bungalow with the fuse board at one end and the shed approx 28 metres away. The fuseboard can be accessed from above (i.e. to pull a new cable down from the attic to the board by an access hatch three feet away from the fuseboard so no great distance there). I'd run the cable through the attic to the far end of the house, drill it out through the gable, run it down the wall, under the path and out to the shed to let the electrician connect up the socket for use with power tools.

In the absence of the electrician, I thought I could run a connection off the three pin outlet in the attic that is approx 20 metres from the shed and connect it up to a new socket in the shed myself, if safe. Thus the new query as I'm fed up waiting for RECI and ECCSA(?) members to get "back to me"!:rolleyes:

Bruthal

I would put weather proof lights and switches, sockets in a metal shed. They are bad with condensation inside at times.

M cebee

-20mts from socket

-28mts from board

-bungalow

obvious answer-run a piece of swa from main DB to shed:)

Bruthal

Yea it would probably be more straight forward than going from any socket if its a bungalow.

paddy147

M cebee wrote: »

-20mts from socket

-28mts from board

-bungalow

obvious answer-run a piece of swa from main DB to shed:)

+1 to the above and exactly what I did (or had done for me)

Kashkai

Ok, thanks lads. I'll do it the proper way from the fuseboard then. I already have lights in the shed so just need a socket for when I'm soldering, using a drill/jigsaw and the like. Can someone please let me know what type to ask for, considering the distance involved in the run and the anticipated use?

The shed is actually very dry btw as the roof is insulated and so it doesn't drip condensation.