Advice please on kitchen wiring

[bigjimmyd]

Hello i am moving some sockets in my kitchen i know i therefore need to notify building control etc,

I want to add a spur to sockets in order to run my underworktop appliances, i understand i need to run a fused switch to the appliance my intention is to have a fused switch running to a wall mounted socket below the worktop, can i run this cable inside trunking fixed to the wall or must i chase it into the wall?
I would rather run it down trunking behind my kitchen units as the house is nearly 300 years old i dont fancy cutting the walls up !!

 

[JohnD]

Yes, it is notifiable in England and Wales.

As there is a fee, and different councils impose different rules*, find out if it would be cheaper to do it yourself, or have it done by a suitably qualified electrician who is a member of a self-certification scheme.

Given the overhead cost, you may as well renew the kitchen wiring thoroughly.

A good method is to run the socket circuit 150mm or more above the worktop level. You can put plenty of sockets in this row. It is a method very economical in labour and materials, and you can run it all round the room at this level (except doorways)

Above each position where you have, or may later want, an electrical appliance, put a 20A DP switch, feeding (as a spur) a 13A unswitched socket below. This enables you to use the convenient fused plug, with only one fuse and one switch per appliance (since you are not using FCUs above).

You can use trunking if you want but it is not very elegant. Cables only need a 15mm chase to plaster in, as long as they are in safe zone (e.g. directly horizontal or vertical between accessories).


*probably wrongly

 

[bigjimmyd]

Perhaps i wasnt that clear i dont mind hiding the wiring behind tiling in the kitchen above the worktops its just below them and behind the units as i understand you cannot fix the new socket to the unit directly,

I would get an electrician to come and do it if only they didnt all want to stitch me up in my area, it seems they just dont want the job or perhaps i am too tight to pay what they ask !