Outside lighting, best way to wire them and what with?

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Outside lighting, best way to wire them and what with?

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Tim101232

Hi, i have bought 3 lights for my garden, I've installed them on 3 upright posts and driled 1 hole through the back of the post for a cable to run through and down the back of the post. At the base of the posts I have decking, then a patch of grass before the house.

I was wondering if someone could help me to determine if.....
i can wire 3 lights with a twin and earth grey cable? Joint all 3 together under my decking with a splitter thing, then run the cable in under my grass in some kind on duct and then up then up the wall and drill a small hole where I have a socket already located the otherside inside the house that powers one light already in The garden?


Now this is just what I know, but would like a professionals help to point me in the right direction?
thanks to anyone in advance who can help me and thanks for taking the time to reply :)

Thanks.
tim
 
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Hi Tim, your garden is considered to be a special location so any work carried out there is notifiable to the Local Authority Building Control and should really be carried out by a competant person. I would call someone in for this one if your unsure matey
 
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Tim, I suspect it is pretty frustrating to have bought the lights then get told by a bunch of electricians you can't fit them, particularly if you are a competent DIYer. Unfortunately though Jimmy has hit the nail on the head, even if you persuaded us to spent time explaining all the pitfalls and design criteria and you felt happy to go ahead you still have the problem that it needs to be tested, certified and notified to building control. it will be cheaper just to call an electrician in the first place.......

btw. if you don't know of the building regulation requirements (and most householders appear not to....) then have a google for Part P. And if you want to know what sparks think of the management of part p then search for it here :lol:
 
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Hi Tim, just to reiterate what the others have said, your garden is a special location under electrical and building regulations and as such any work must be notified to your local building control. You are free to do this yourself, and provided you are competent, you can pay a fee (usually around £200) to have the building inspector come out to see what you plan to do, then sign it off if he/she feels the work has been carried out and tested to the latest requirements. Part P registered electricians have undergone an assessment to allow them to do this work without involving building control, along with possessing the knowledge and equipment needed.
Please get an electrician in to do this wiring for you. It is the law and the safe thing to do.
 
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Back to the old chestnut of if b&q sell it, people will do it and if people want it b&q will sell it. Ignore the regs until it suits, charge us all an arm and a leg for a scheme and Joe Public just do any old thing...It works therefor it's safe...
 
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It's not anything New, it's been going on forever!! The only thing new, is the Scam providers ripping you lot off, and giving anything in return!! lol!! At least these DIY house holders etc, will, ...when they are stuck, get an electrician in to sort there mess out. Which will always be putting money in your pockets.

Think about it, nothing stopping you buying pipework and doing your own plumbing, but you may have to call a plumber when things don't go quite as you planned!! lol!!!
 
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Engineer54 said:
It's not anything New, it's been going on forever!! The only thing new, is the Scam providers ripping you lot off, and giving anything in return!! lol!! At least these DIY house holders etc, will, ...when they are stuck, get an electrician in to sort there mess out. Which will always be putting money in your pockets.
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Unless they're dead

Engineer54 said:
Think about it, nothing stopping you buying pipework and doing your own plumbing, but you may have to call a plumber when things don't go quite as you planned!! lol!!!
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I can only get wet!
 
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Unless they're dead
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I can only get wet!
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Possibly!!

But then you could end up far worse than just wet too!!! This just smacks of another wanna-be electrical policeman that thinks the general public should be banned from purchasing anything remotely electrical, because they owe you a living!!

As i said, this isn't anything New!! Never been a problem in the past. I've only ever seen/heard of anyone wanting to ban the sale of electrical materials to the general public, since the formation of Part Pee scam providers and the influx of quick fix training centre's churning out under trained ill experienced wanna be electricians....

If anything, those two organisation types should be your targets for any banning, not the general public!!!
 
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Hi Tim, just to point out what others haven't is that your idea of twin and earth used to install garden lights and coming straight off a mains socket is very wrong. And rather dangerous. It wouldn't cost much to have an electrician install these for you. Hope you get to read these comments before something goes wrong.....
 
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Engineer54 said:
Possibly!!

But then you could end up far worse than just wet too!!! This just smacks of another wanna-be electrical policeman that thinks the general public should be banned from purchasing anything remotely electrical, because they owe you a living!!

As i said, this isn't anything New!! Never been a problem in the past. I've only ever seen/heard of anyone wanting to ban the sale of electrical materials to the general public, since the formation of Part Pee scam providers and the influx of quick fix training centre's churning out under trained ill experienced wanna be electricians....

If anything, those two organisation types should be your targets for any banning, not the general public!!!
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I think the thousands of house fires and many deaths by electrocution may argue against this sentiment!

Always fancied being a policeman, lie the uniform! :D
 
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Engineer54 said:
Possibly!!

But then you could end up far worse than just wet too!!! This just smacks of another wanna-be electrical policeman that thinks the general public should be banned from purchasing anything remotely electrical, because they owe you a living!!

As i said, this isn't anything New!! Never been a problem in the past. I've only ever seen/heard of anyone wanting to ban the sale of electrical materials to the general public, since the formation of Part Pee scam providers and the influx of quick fix training centre's churning out under trained ill experienced wanna be electricians....

If anything, those two organisation types should be your targets for any banning, not the general public!!!
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as e54 says,the industry is worse since part p,not better..
 
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Eng, I don't think that anyone was saying that the general public owe us a living. It is frustrating tho, when one tries to do things by-the-book at great expense, to find every incompetent Tom, Dick and Harry "having a go". I don't agree with banning the sale of electrical installation goods to the general public, but I do think that the centres that sell them should be more pro-active in pointing out the dangers and risks.
Surely, you can't condone poorly done DIY electrics, just because it's everybody's right to do so, when you so vehemently lecture everyone here (and I do agree with you) on low Ra readings!
 
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Tony said:
No it didn't have a light on it.
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bet it did..

Police-04-june.gif
 
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jimmymac said:
Hi Tim, your garden is considered to be a special location so any work carried out there is notifiable to the Local Authority Building Control and should really be carried out by a competant person. I would call someone in for this one if your unsure matey
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Wow, I wasn't expecting quite a response. But I understand the basic legist is not to do it myself. I'll have to save up a fortune for an electrician. :)

Id like to tank everyone who has replied, as jus took me nearly half an hour to go through them all :)

Thanks a lot everyone really much appreciated for all the replies and different views.

Thanks.
tim
 
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And also plumbing is easy when you've been doing it long enough, but agree even with plumbing trainee centres they are churning them out every week as a fully qualified tradesman after 1 year...then they go out and cause £1000s of damage when it goes wrong lol I'm a qualified heating and gas engineer and do it all, but electrics certainly ain't my thing.....and according to you guys I don't think I'll try the lights :)

Thanks again for all your replies :)
tim
 
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Tim101232 said:
Wow, I wasn't expecting quite a response. But I understand the basic legist is not to do it myself. I'll have to save up a fortune for an electrician. :)

Id like to tank everyone who has replied, as jus took me nearly half an hour to go through them all :)

Thanks a lot everyone really much appreciated for all the replies and different views.

Thanks.
tim
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You say you'll have to save a fortune to get an electrician in.... Not being funny but connecting three lights won't take forever. And there is a way of coming off the socket if carried out the correct way. I don't think it would cost as much as you think
 
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This just shows how daft the Part p system is really to me, it's a very simple job, as the op says the socket supplys a garden light anyway, the internal house socket will be protected via the cu. If it's a plug/socket then the plug top will be fused. At the end of the day all he needs is the correct cable/junction box for the location. Why wouldn't it be safe for him to do if he had the correct items? if he wires it wrong it either won't work or it'll take the fuse out. It just seems daft if he was more than able to do the job to pay out for building control to sign it off !! for what ? 3 little garden lights ?? blimey

Runs for cover LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Mr.Ian said:
This just shows how daft the Part p system is really to me, it's a very simple job, as the op says the socket supplys a garden light anyway, the internal house socket will be protected via the cu. If it's a plug/socket then the plug top will be fused. At the end of the day all he needs is the correct cable/junction box for the location. Why wouldn't it be safe for him to do if he had the correct items? if he wires it wrong it either won't work or it'll take the fuse out. It just seems daft if he was more than able to do the job to pay out for building control to sign it off !! for what ? 3 little garden lights ?? blimey

Runs for cover LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Ill take the first shot.....
Well for one he's using twin and earth outside......
 
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