Garden Building Electrics

Hello,

I wonder if someone who understands such things could help me understand.

We're toying with the idea of getting a small garden office fitted. The type that comes pre-wired with a few sockets and a light etc...

Our fuse box is not in the idea position to create a new circuit, it's right by the front door, the house is a terrace and the garden room would be in the back garden.

Is it possible to 'just' connect the building to the electrics that are in the kitchen? I appreciate that's not ideal, but I'm struggling to understand why this isn't the equivalent of having a bigger kitchen with a new more sockets? (If that makes sense).

As a note, I'm not considering doing any of this electrical work myself I would get an electrician to do it. This is just for scale of the task.

Thanks!
James

If you “just” connect to the existing electrics in the kitchen, the most current you’ll be able to draw will be 13A. That’s not going to be enough for a garden office, especially as you’ll need heat for half of the year.

engage a qualified electrician. They do have crafty ways of achieving the impossible.

13a may well be enough to run a small electric heater (the room is about 2mx2m), a computer and a few led bulbs.

Out of interest (and this very well might be a stupid question!) why is it that the ring main can't be extended so the extra building is treated as though it was part of the nearest room?

whenisayjump said:

Out of interest (and this very well might be a stupid question!) why is it that the ring main can't be extended so the extra building is treated as though it was part of the nearest room?

Click to expand...

Because then you would need two cables (and superfluous connections) where one larger cable would achieve the same.

The UK ring is not a wonderful sacrosanct panacea that is preferable to install above all else.

If you're investing a reasonable chunk of cash in this garden office (which you will be if it is a premanufactured unit) then you'll be far better off looking at better solutions for the power supply than spurring off the kitchen RFC. Imagine how silly you'll feel when you can't have the 'office' heater on and boil a kettle in there at the same time- or when the washer and kettle are on in the house, the 'office' heater calls for heat and drops the MCB (in the house).

How much mess would it make, for instance, to run a cable from your CU (by the front door) up the wall, into the first floor floorspace, all the way through the house and down the outside wall (somewhere along that route it would need converting from T & E to SWA for the trip outdoors). Or if needs must all the way up into the loft, then through the house etc etc.

Addiing a new circuit is notifiable work so your electrician would need to be a member of one of the self-certification schemes, once the madness calms down get hold of one or 2, tell them what you want & see what they come up with (and how much they'll be charging for the pleasure). Usually they'll be more than happy for you to dig the trench to their specifications.

AMEND 2000 x 2000? Office? That's a phonebox. Provided it was well insulated you probably could heat it with 500w, add a Travelodge (1kw) kettle and 300w-worth of IT and lighting and you'd be well within 13A. You'll still have to dig a trench though