Extending ring main for garage conversion?

C

CaptainJack88

Joined
1 Sep 2015
Messages
368
Reaction score
5
Country
United Kingdom
Not sure what to think at the moment.

We have a tandem garage that is connected to our kitchen. The socket in the garage is a spur from the kitchen.

The previous owners converted half of the garage to a kids playroom, however they created a new ring for this room off that spur..

As a side note, previous owners sold the house to Bovis, turns out they never had BC sign off so when we bought it Bovis had to sign off the work. Not worth holding Bovis liable as more effort than its worth.

My regular sparky who rewired our kitchen has let me down, however he was going to extend the ring main from the kitchen, into the garage and conversion.

I've had a few quotes from various electricians now, but all of them have told me different things. What I've been told so far:
  • Leave the spur as is. Fine so long as total load isn't over 13A (It'll be running freezer and computers 24/7, with the addition of lawn mowers, pressure washers etc on occasion)
  • Ring Main extension is fine
  • Ring Main extension is fine, but add an additional consumer unit
  • Need a new consumer unit in the house with a new ring adding to it
I'm currently at a loss as what to think, and the prices wildly vary as you can imagine. This is the current circuit layout.

upload_2019-5-30_19-48-30.png
 

Attachments

  • upload_2019-5-30_19-48-18.png
    upload_2019-5-30_19-48-18.png
    434.8 KB · Views: 380
Sponsored Links
As a thought - how accessible is the single cable going out to the garage - for possible upgrading...
 
DetlefSchmitz said:
As a thought - how accessible is the single cable going out to the garage - for possible upgrading...
Click to expand...
Fully accessible. The socket it spurs from is on the shared wall. Goes out the back of the kitchen socket into the garage. Garage is single skin so all wiring in there is exposed
 
Evostance said:
Leave the spur as is. Fine so long as total load isn't over 13A
Click to expand...
Acceptable assuming it's already on a 13A FCU. However not really practical with the loads intended to be used on it.

Evostance said:
Ring Main extension is fine, but add an additional consumer unit
Click to expand...
Nonsense.
Evostance said:
Need a new consumer unit in the house with a new ring adding to it
Click to expand...
Could be done but isn't likely to be necessary, unless there is no RCD for the existing circuit. Will cost far more than any of the other options.

Assuming there is already an RCD for the kitchen circuit, extending the ring is the easiest and cheapest option. It also allows more than 13A for the garage sockets.
 
Sponsored Links
flameport said:
Acceptable assuming it's already on a 13A FCU. However not really practical with the loads intended to be used on it.


Nonsense.

Could be done but isn't likely to be necessary, unless there is no RCD for the existing circuit. Will cost far more than any of the other options.

Assuming there is already an RCD for the kitchen circuit, extending the ring is the easiest and cheapest option. It also allows more than 13A for the garage sockets.
Click to expand...

Yep, kitchen is already on an RCD.
Guess I'll keep looking for a Sparky who knows what they're on about.

Assuming extending a ring main isn't something I can do myself?
 
Evostance said:
Fully accessible. The socket it spurs from is on the shared wall. Goes out the back of the kitchen socket into the garage. Garage is single skin so all wiring in there is exposed
Click to expand...

I imagine he was thinking of replacing the short length of cable with 4mm

Jobs a good un then
 
AndyPRK said:
Don’t see why not.

As long as you can jam 3 cables into to the terminals which isn’t always fun
Click to expand...

Yeah. I've got some sockets I've put off replacing because of this so maybe I'll still get someone in

DetlefSchmitz said:
If you are in England, almost anything can be DIY. It's good to also have some clue what you are doing.
Click to expand...

What about the part p stuff for building regs, although I assume this doesn't apply as it's a spur?

Just seemed a bit odd running a ring off a spur!
 
Evostance said:
What about the part p stuff for building regs, although I assume this doesn't apply as it's a spur?
Click to expand...
There are only three notifiable 'things' now in England; new circuits, replacement consumer units and some work in bathrooms and the like.

Just seemed a bit odd running a ring off a spur!
Click to expand...
As it is, it is completely pointless.
 
Evostance said:
Just seemed a bit odd running a ring off a spur!
Click to expand...
I meant - as the person has done it, there was absolutely no point in installing a ring circuit in the garage.
It is not allowed to have more than one socket on a 2.5mm² spur cable without a Fused Connection Unit to limit the current.

When you have changed the spur cable to 4mm² cable it will be compliant and satisfactory.


Actually, I don't suppose the spur cable is 4mm² already is it?
 
D

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sponsored Links

Similar threads

B
Can ring main be extended into attached garage?
Replies
7
Views
6K
CallEdsFirst
C
M
Extending a ring main using existing sockets
Replies
8
Views
3K
JohnD
JohnD
S
Extending a ring main
Replies
3
Views
20K
ericmark
ericmark
H
Garage Electrics
Replies
13
Views
1K
mdbalson
M
S
Sub-circuit off ring main
Replies
3
Views
2K
Taylortwocities
Taylortwocities
Back
Top