General advice for kitchen wiring

[phykell]

Hi,

I'm just about to put all the wiring in before my new kitchen arrives and I need to get some general advice.

My kitchen is an extension so I plan to have the power and lighting circuits running from the power and lighting circuit in my garage. Currently (no pun intended) the garage has its own CU which makes it quite convenient I think. The cooker will run off its own spur directly from the main CU of course.

1. When I sink my cables into the wall, ideally I want to place some sort of trunking/PVC cover over them, which is what I've seen professionals do. Is there any particular reason why they do this as a matter of course these days?

2. Can anyone suggest a cost-effective and labour-saving method of chasing the channels. Also, what is the type of trunking/PVC cover I should use?

3. I might have to sink some boxes but the walls of my extension are incredibly hard (too much concrete in the mortar and engineering bricks!). Ideally I'd buy some box sinkers for my SDS rotary hammer but they are ridiculously expensive! Can anyone suggest some cheaper method or where I could get some box sinkers from at a reasonable price?

4. I don't intend to do any horizontal wiring in the new kitchen so I want to route all my cables down from the ceiling and vertically chased down the walls (I have a solid concrete floor which precludes wiring my sockets from the floor upwards). In the ceiling area, should I use conduit and if so, which sort?

5. I'll be putting halogens in my ceiling. What's the best hole saw or method for doing this?

Thanks for any help provided!

 

[breezer]

Bad idea to spur from garage, puts unnecessary load onto garage cct

cooker: electic gas combination?

if gas, ignition can be be plugged into ring*
if electric oven can be plugged into ring*

if all electric then it needs its own 6mm (probably) cable and mcb from cu.

1) capping. it stops rener destroying cable, protects cable from damage (alegedly) and in theory you can pull it out if you ever need to

2) pay labourer

3) you mean cheap dont you, quality costs, dont skimp. consider hiring one

4) capping is fine

5) adjustable one, but you wont want to pay for that if "3" is anything to go by

* due to high current demand kitchen should be on its own ring / mcb

lights can run from existing lighting cct

 

[phykell]

Thanks for the speedy reply

1. Great, I'll definitely be using that then

2. I have to do it myself. I work away at various times and cannot afford to rely on a labourer turning up when they're supposed to, anyway, what's a few channels right?

3. I don't mind paying a reasonable price but £190 in Screwfix Direct for an EBS set is very expensive. Isn't there cheaper kit you can buy?

4. Sorry, I know this is probably obvious to you, but what is capping and what type should I buy? I've looked in Screwfix and can't find anything obvious!

5. I know but I have to do around 6 50W mains halogen units in plasterboard, so I want to get a decent job done.

As for the power circuits, I'll be using the existing radial spur direct from the main CU for the cooker. The sockets will be added into the garage ring main and the lights will be added to the garage lighting circuit.

Thanks again

 

[ban-all-sheds]

.. and in theory you can pull it out if you ever need to

In practice, is this ever true?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks for the speedy reply

1. Great, I'll definitely be using that then

If you ever want to be able to pull new cables through, I'd strongly advise conduit and not capping. Plastic will do if you don't need mechanical protection. If you do need that then capping won't hack it anyway.

2. I have to do it myself. I work away at various times and cannot afford to rely on a labourer turning up when they're supposed to, anyway, what's a few channels right?

Hard mortar and engineering brick? You'll find out! If the extension is not in use yet it might be an idea to hire a twin-wheel chasing tool. Huge mess, but very effective.

3. I don't mind paying a reasonable price but £190 in Screwfix Direct for an EBS set is very expensive. Isn't there cheaper kit you can buy?

Cheap cutting/drilling tools are usually a false economy. And I'm not sure that box sinkers work that well in hard brick. An easy but slow-ish way is one of those jigs that you fix to the wall and then drill dozens of holes through. Or use an angle grinder, or the chasing tool to cut the outlines of the hole

4. Sorry, I know this is probably obvious to you, but what is capping and what type should I buy? I've looked in Screwfix and can't find anything obvious!

5. I know but I have to do around 6 50W mains halogen units in plasterboard, so I want to get a decent job done.

You don't need a very good holesaw to cut 6 holes in plasterboard...

As for the power circuits, I'll be using the existing radial spur direct from the main CU for the cooker. The sockets will be added into the garage ring main and the lights will be added to the garage lighting circuit.

Might be an idea to label the MCB in the house as "Garage and Kitchen"..

 

[phykell]

Thanks for the answers, very helpful

I've just started removing the old ceiling and it seems that someone's used that mica stuff as insulation which means this job is going to get very messy today!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Hope you're wearing a mask...

 

[phykell]

Let's just say it was far worse than I expected though it could have been worse! The joists were about a quarter full of the stuff and it's a one-level extension so it's not like I could've lifted the floorboards above and hoovered it out first! However, it's a real good job I am replacing the ceiling as the state of the wiring would make any professional electrician feel ill (I can always post pics for a laugh!). OK, off for a shower now