Power to Garage and New Consumer Unit - Rough Cost

[ChrisRogers]

I'd find another electrician.

If it makes you feel better I've just priced up power to someones garage at £3k. hopefully yours should be a bit less!

 

[Taylortwocities]

I agree, you "electrician" is a sausage short of a full barbeque wrt to his knowledge.

He/she should spen more time on this forum learning how to do things properly!

PS Geat result for England today, they should steamroller Wales next year, and win the chamionship, if they play it properly..

 

[RF Lighting]

This conflicts the advice above so just wondering what peoples thoughts were on this and if it definately is the case you don't need an RCD at the house consumer unit end how is the cable protected if you cut through it or is it a case because SWA is being used it can't be cut through?

Thanks,
Dan

It is definately the case that you do NOT need RCD protection if the cable is SWA.

SWA is difficult to cut through by accident, but not impossible.
As the armour in an SWA cable is earthed and completely surrounds all the circuit conductors, what ever you cut through the cable with will first of all hit the armour, which will earth the spade before it can hit any of the live conductors.

An earthed spade hitting a live conductor will cause a bit of a bang as the circuit goes short circuit, and this will cause the protective device supplying the SWA to operate leaving the cable safe.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

We have had an electrian round today and he has said that I would need an RCD at the consumer unit end regardless of whether I have consumer unit in the garage which has RCD protection.

You can have a 4th vote in favour of showing him the door.

He is insufficiently knowledgeable to be working as an electrician.

Not only is it difficult to cut through armoured cable by accident, if installed correctly then it's impossible to encounter it without advance warning that it's there, unless you are using a large mechanical digger.