Meter tails from outside??

[Peter1891]

Evening chaps
First fixing a new build this week I’ve got a dilemma I’ve not come across before, the meter box is outside and the consumer unit is to go in the garage it’s on the same wall about 1.5m away but the meter cupboard is outside on faced brickwork and the consumer is inside the garage (obviously) my concern is how Can I get the meter tails from the cupboard into the consumer and keep within the regs?
any ideas?

 

[James]

either use swa cable (suitably terminated)
or enclose the tails in conduit or trunking.

 

[Peter1891]

either use swa cable (suitably terminated)
or enclose the tails in conduit or trunking.

Hi
Yes that’s fine and my plan for inside the garage but how can I get from the meter cupboard outside the garage On a nice brick wall into the garage and make it look pretty?

 

[davesparks]

Hi
Yes that’s fine and my plan for inside the garage but how can I get from the meter cupboard outside the garage On a nice brick wall into the garage and make it look pretty?

Drill a hole,

I can't quite see what your problem is here?

 

[pc1966]

Yes that’s fine and my plan for inside the garage but how can I get from the meter cupboard outside the garage On a nice brick wall into the garage and make it look pretty?

With trunking you could take it in directly behind the external box (so nothing visible) and one the inside it is protected and looks neat & purposeful along to the CU.

With SWA it is a bit of a pain to get an acceptable bend radius when going trough brick from a horizontal run.

 

[R-fur]

Drill through the back of the meter cab into the garage, insert a piece of waste pipe and seal it in. Put your DI tails through the pipe.

 

[R-fur]

Go straight through the cavity and run the tails surface or in trunking inside the garage.

 

[Peter1891]

With trunking you could take it in directly behind the external box (so nothing visible) and one the inside it is protected and looks neat & purposeful along to the CU.

With SWA it is a bit of a pain to get an acceptable bend radius when going trough brick from a horizontal run.

That’s what I was thinking too about bend radius, ideally I’d go into the cavity but that’s not allowed. Inside the garage I’m fine with conduit but can’t run anything like that outside the house

 

[davesparks]

Good idea! But It would need running in the cavity for a metre or so that’s not allowed is it?

If you'd mentioned in your post that the meter cabinet doesn't back directly on to the garage then you might have got a more helpful answer.

Such as chasing the tails in on the inside and protecting them with a thick steel plate, I have used 1/4" thick plate for this purpose.

 

[Peter1891]

What other answer do you expect? I can't see what the problem is that you are trying to overcome here?
You've already said you will use trunking inside the garage, the only other thing left to do is drill a hole into the back of the meter cabinet from the garage.

What else is there that you don't know how to make look neat?

Because the meter cupboard is a metre or so away from the garage door on an outside wall of the house and I can’t run tails in the cavity or clip them To the outside of the house can I?!

 

[davesparks]

I get your frustration Peter1891 but can we not descend into name-calling? The answer is valid to the question; sure it's not informative to the level you were hoping but it is, nonetheless a valid point; to get through the wall a hole will be needed.

The answer would have been more helpful if the question had included enough detail to be able to provide a more relevant answer.

 

[davesparks]

Because the meter cupboard is a metre or so away from the garage door on an outside wall of the house and I can’t run tails in the cavity or clip them To the outside of the house can I?!

Your original post gave the impression that the meter box was in the garage wall.
And I assumed that whoever drew the plans had the sense to put the meter box in the right place for the CU location!

 

[pc1966]

Could you mount a small-ish waterproof metal box on the garage wall, have it drilled/conduit/etc into the back of the CU, and have the external SWA glanded on to the box and the tails (i.e. SWA conductors) run into the CU through that route?

The SWA "storm" glands look a bit better than the PVC sheath for typical outdoor glands and might be an OK solution.

 

[Peter1891]

The answer would have been more helpful if the question had included enough detail to be able to provide a more relevant answer.

How did I not detail it? Did you not read it dave?
“
the meter box is outside and the consumer unit is to go in the garage it’s on the same wall about 1.5m away but the meter cupboard is outside on faced brickwork and the consumer is inside the garage”

I’d say that’s pretty good description Dave..

 

[davesparks]

A)It’s not a valid Answer it’s stupid and uselss
B)he’s done this before to me it’s ----ing me off. Don’t need to talk to people like he does.

Based on the information you gave originally it is a valid answer, if you had made it clear that the meter box isn't in the garage wall then I would not have given that answer, instead I would have given the answer that I did when you provided this information.

 

[davesparks]

How did I not detail it? Did you not read it dave?
“
the meter box is outside and the consumer unit is to go in the garage it’s on the same wall about 1.5m away but the meter cupboard is outside on faced brickwork and the consumer is inside the garage”

I’d say that’s pretty good description Dave..

Yes I read it, you said "it's on the same wall" this implies that the CU is on the garage wall and the meter box is also on the garage wall.

If you had perhaps said that it is on the same wall but backing on to a habitable room, or just that it isn't possible to drill straight through into the garage, it would have been a lot clearer.

 

[Peter1891]

Yes I read it, you said "it's on the same wall" this implies that the CU is on the garage wall and the meter box is also on the garage wall.

If you had perhaps said that it is on the same wall but backing on to a habitable room, or just that it isn't possible to drill straight through into the garage, it would have been a lot clearer.

The line that’s marked WG10 is the garage up and over door..I’ve marked the CU and the meter cupboard

 

[pc1966]

The line that’s marked WG10 is the garage up and over door..I’ve marked the CU and the meter cupboard

Ah, that is trickier. The cavity would be the best solution but probably too late to put in some conduit for physical protection or (maybe) to run SWA through.

You might be able to angle-drill holes from the back of the external box and from the back of the CU that would preserve acceptable SWA bend radius and allow enough access to pull/push some cable through the cavity but I would not relish doing that without some assistance.

What you would not get is a proper gland in for armour connection directly to the backs of other CU or entrance box, unless there was some angle plate arranged for that, but it is not beyond reason to do it.

 

[westward10]

It may of helped if you put the plan up in the first place. You could see the situation but your description in #1 gave the assumption the CU was behind the intake. Can this be now kept civil @Peter1891 .

 

[davesparks]

It Had plenty of Detail most people have provided sensible helpful answers and not looked to instantly belittle or put me down like Dave seems to love to do.

Posts 2,5 and 6 all look to be based on the same assumption I made that the meter box backs on to the garage.

I do not look to belittle anyone, however I do speak as I find and not 'sugar the pill'.

Yes I do come across as harsh to a lot of people, I can't really explain why, it's one sort of mental illness type thing, my psychiatrist is far better at explaining it.