Outside lights

I would like some lights for outside, Any body a electrician on here who can give me a rough idea on price:cnfs: I would like 3 outside sockets on the patio area and a switch in the house
Thanks

 

Hi NAT75. Firstly i am not an electrician, but i have run a heavy cable through my building to the garden shed and fitted a 5 plug socket onto the shed which can feed all the lighting to my requirements in the garden.the heavy cable runs from a socket inside my house, through the walls via a drill hole in my walls
then is covered underground about 12 inch deep inside a p.v.c round conduit plastic to the shed.
the beauty of it you can switch the whole thing off/on in the house . cost wise
go on line there is a company (TLC) who supply everything you will require for the job.

best of luck mate music .

 

Hi Nat,

If you do it yourself you'll have to get it inspected & signed off by an electrician as it comes under part p of the building regulations.

 

Hi,
I'm not an electitian but I was also thinking about getting some light into the darkness of my gardennights Anyway, I consulted an electrician (i linked it, in case you need one) and he made some really good suggestions, especially about the cable-running-through-the garden-problem, and I was very satisfied. Normally, I always try to do anything on my own, but in this case I was happy that I had an expert by my side

 

I can quite understand why these regulations are now so tight. In my very early twenties I managed a TV and Electrical appliance store, some of my customers were unable to wire up a three pin plug the right way round, but it didn't stop them doing it.

Fortunately my garden lighting arrangement I installed long before 01/01/2005, so it's "legal."
It's all on the garage supply but controlled by four switches in the lounge, via an armoured cable beneath the patio and is well protected. It'd cost a fortune now to install.

I've a time served electrician friend with his own business. He wasn't well pleased when he had to "go back to school" to attain his "certification" or the amount of money it cost him to do it. There were no "grandfather rights" applicable here.

 

Allthough not strictly correct and certainly not recommended, done as "music" has done and plugged into an existing socket in the house is legal as it is only an extension lead. However, i would want to have it protected with a tested RCD.

 

I'm not too fond of extension cables used outside, though I do have one for use in the garden. The plug end and the wound cable hang on a hook inside the garage near a 13amp socket. The other end goes up and out between the gap between the top of the wall and the roof and is connected to a water resistant (I won't say waterproof) socket with a snap lid. I can drag this half way up the garden, but I always pull it back in from inside the garage and hang the closed socket on another hook under the garage guttering/eaves so it stays reasonably dry.
I disconnect the plug when I've finished using it.

It's also good advice that when operating something, particularly with a fairly heavy load using an extension lead, it's best to uncoil the cable from its winder. As a coiled cable is exactly that, a "coil" and this can lead to it heating up.

 

Music might get away with it in scotland, "heavy cable in pvc conduit" sounds like a dangerous cost cutting exercise to me, no mention of using armoured cable.
Its best to have the job done properly as the alternatives aren`t good, a 5 grand fine or worst case, winding up dead.
In the event the dodgy installation electrocutes you or burns your house down, your house/life insurance will be worthless

Part P notification requirements:
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/partp.htm

 

Too right, I've seen 2 of them burst into flame when they are coiled up.

 

Hi nat,

Not sure why you need 3 outdoor sockets for lights but I know you can get kits for all sorts and types of out door lighting which will include everything you need.

 

Thankyou to everyone for your advice :thumb:
I did got 4 quotes online starting at £480 to £600:(
I didn't think it would be that much:cry:

 

I'd have a look on newsagents noticeboards for a local electrician. Also if you have a local electrical equipment wholesaler, they often have noticeboards where small local businesses leave cards.

If I wanted this done, I'd expect to pay a maximum of £100 for each day's work, plus the cost of the equipment. I'd expect the payment terms of course would be a "brown envelope job."

 

Hi Nat 75. that is a lot of money for Garden Lighting £480-£600 :(. what about the alternative, Solar Lights?
they have vastly improved over the years in quality/durability. i have Electric lights in the Garden but since i purchased my Solar lighting the electric is seldom used. I have between 24-30 solar lights, in my personal
opinion they set a garden off lovely in a summer evening . the lighting is softer, not as harsh as the electric
and with all the different shapes and colours they have now on the market you can make your garden very colourful. my wife said "no more lights the Airline pilots will think its the Airport ":( music .