The study project continues and now looking at the electrics. Where the cupboards are going, there are some plug sockets on the wall which I intend to move into the cupboards for printers as well as running power to the desk via some sort of "extension lead".
The cupboards are flush against the skirting boards so have a gap between them and the wall - with the 18mm cupboard side and the 20mm skirting there is about 38mm between the inside surface of the cupboard and the original wall that the current socket is mounted on.
In order to comply with current regs, can I fix the sockets to the sides of the cupboard and leave the wiring behind it in the side of the cupboard/ gap behind? Other option would be to fit a plasterboard back box and connect the wires in that. Would appreciate your thoughts.
Depending on the construction of the cupboard and value etc, I've simply cut a hole in the back of it (Multitool) and then plugged whatever straight though the hole?
These are the cupboards I am making for my study (18mm ply). I had originally thought of doing the same but thought moving the sockets in to the cupboard would look neater. Also given the gap, it would mean cutting more than the size of the socket out of the cupboard to cater for the lead below the plug to come back into the cupboard.
I'd think about fitting pattresses whereever you prefer, and running some flex terminated in 13A plug(s) to the sockets. That makes it a portable 'extension lead' and you don't have to worry about regs, and you can also remove it should you ever need to move the cupboards. The plug fuse will effectively make it a fused spur. It also makes doing any testing on the circuits easier as you can disconnect the cupboard wiring.
The current requirement is low. In this cupboard I plan to house the printer and then run an extension lead around the back of this unit and the one next to it to the underside of the desk to power monitor/ PC etc. I guess one issue with running an extension lead from the existing wall socket into the cupboard is that the socket will still have the be accessible from the cupboard to change fuse should it pop so would be back to cutting enough out of the unit side to get access to the socket and be able to route the flex under the plug back into the unit.
Are we to assume said cupboards have no back at all then or what, If they do, most seem to be made of very thin material. Maybe it is enough to just cut holes bigger than the sockets and leave them be? Brian
No is there enough cable on the sockets to allow for spacers like the sort you can fit around light switches? Then you only need to source long enough screws for the socket securing. and the cables exit inside the cupboard. Brian
Its probly not relevant, but my 'hobby room' has kitchen units and a top, with a plug in the wall going to a master switch off which 6 double sockets are mounted (probably completely illegally) in metal back boxes screwed to holes cut in the worktop.
Should sockets only be affexed to a non combustible surface though? The electrician told me that sockets previously in the skirting board should be chased into the plaster higher up in case they overheated.
I have avoided any such questions / issues by leaving the sockets where they are and making a neat hole to access the socket / switches.
The last was a large (and full) wardrobe at daughters that ended up in front of one of the very few (double) sockets in the place. We wanted to plug a trailing socket in and have it come out from the side of the wardrobe for phone and laptop chargers but didn't want to have to move the wardrobe to do so.
I measured from the outside of the wardrobe to the edge of the socket and put a vertical mark inside the back of the wardrobe to one side of the socket and measured another socket in the flat to get the width and make another mark. I then got a rough idea of the height of the socket from the others and used a multitool to cut a test letterbox slot in the back panel of the wardrobe (as it happened it was behind some draws that I had pulled out) to confirm the height. I then drilled 4 holes in the corners and joined them together with the multitools, a quick sand of the edges and then took the plug off the end of the trailing lead, fished it round the back of the wardrobe and though the hole and put the plug back on, Then we could plug it in and tuck the wire down the back and turn it on and still be able to get to the plug / switch fairly easily by removing one draw. The trailing socket had a switch on it in any case so it could all be turned off easily if they were going out.
I did a similar thing when I fitted out the box room for my stepdaughter 30+ years ago for some full_room_width underdesk storage that again would have blocked access to a double socket. At least you can still pull the plug (to replace a fuse or work on something safely) and whilst neither instance was on show, when you did see it it didn't look in any way bad or untidy to my (utilitarian) mind, just practical access to a couple of sockets. ;-)
Thinking about this like wiring a kitchen, where you might have a socket for the dishwasher on the carcass under the sink, the way that's done is a switched FCU on the ring then a spur to the socket. You still need access to change the fuse in the FCU and isolate if needed.
You could add a cord-outlet FCU on the wall in an accessible place and wire it into the ring. Then wire (flex or T&E) your sockets from there. That would save depth over having a socket.
It is similar to my garage. By the door I have a lightswitch and a power switch. The power switch turns the supply to the sockets on and off (it is sufficiently rated), allowing me to be sure that power is off everything when I lock up. There is one double socket attached to the rafters that remains permanently live for charging the car or a battery tool.
You can either use dry lining boxes in your cupboard, or you may be able to surface mount a regular metal back box on the wall behind that pokes into a hole in the cupboard.
As to the original socket, I would be tempted to remove it, and crimp and heat-shrink extensions to its cables (or use wagos in the original back box and stick a blanking plate over it), to enable them to reach your new sockets. Clip those to the wall, and try to stay in a cable zone (i.e. in line with the new socket since they won't be out of reach of screws etc.
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