A quick question for you guys, I'm aware that if I want to put an electric socket in my shed and wire it into a switched-fused spur in the house then I need to get my local council's building control department in.
However, am I correct in assuming that if I just use an extension lead and plug the cable into a socket in the house then this circumvents this requirement?
Yep, daft or what. If I were you, and if you're confident you can do the job properly, I'd just go ahead and wire the shed up properly from an RCD protected supply. Don't bother telling the council.
But how would the buyer's solicitor know that the work had even been done?
Even if the buyer specifically asked the question "Is the wiring to the shed legal and complies with Part P etc", then it is likely that any vendor is likely to say that the extension to the wiring was done in 1998 or whenever and that if the buyer wanted to make sure that all was well with the electrics of the house, then they are welcome to pay for a full inspection.
It's this sort of thing that makes a mockery of Part P. 'Sort-of' competent DIYer who might normally defer to a tradesman if he was unsure is now even less likely to ask them due to the increased cost for such a small job.
For those who are competent (and I mean well competent and more than capable of such a job - you know who you are!) but not doing enough electrical work to be bothered getting registered under one scheme or another, they will be breaking the law.
Anyway, sure all this has been debated before. Just my 2p worth.
The electrical book I have just bought [1] suggests running a rough wooden trough in the ground in the ground to receive the cables, "the trough being filled up solid with bitumen, which is poured in whilst hot. A more waterproof and more permanent job can hadly be devised."
Owain
[1] Marshall's Practical Manuals No 2 - private house electric lighting. Price 1/6 net.
On Sat, 22 Oct 2005 15:56:30 +0100, Owain scrawled:
Similar to an article from a magazine I was reading the other day [2] which recommended that;
"..the cable can run in conduit buried at about 18in deep where it will be free from normal digging operations. If polythene cable is used it could be buried directly in the ground. In either case it is a wise precaution to cover the cable with bricks, tiles or half-round asbestos guttering".
Which appears to be somewhat simpler in that you can just chuck it in the ground and lay a few tiles on it. Should still keep the shovel;s and spades away from it!
[1] Magazine in question was "Practical Televicion, July 1958 Edition".
... but it would be equally hard to *see* 99% of the cable anyway as much of it will be buried in walls etc. Is any surveyor even going to bother to look at the dates on cables?
If they do, and you lied when selling the house, you could be commiting a criminal offence. You would almost certainly be liable for rewiring the house (and restoring decoration) and you could well be responsible if the system goes wrong and causes damage or injury.
It would be more sensible to just state that you did the work without permission. It would be more sensible still to get it regularised.
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