Electrics to feed new shed? Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[cervaro]

I'll finally be erecting a metal shed 4m x 3m in the garden, and I want to run some electrics to feed lighting and 2-3 sockets. It will be positioned approximately 5-6m from a detached garage that has it's electric supply fed from the consumer unit in the house (installed September 2005).

I was having a quick flick through the Screwfix catalogue, and thought one of their garage consumer units would need to be installed in the garage to feed the shed. I realise any cable from the garage will need to be protected when laid underground, but would like some advice on the best way to organise things in terms of wiring for the lighting, sockets, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated as I'd like to give this a go myself if possible. Will have to look for something simpler if it turns out to be beyond my current skills though.

[ericmark]

1. If in England or Wales follow links in projects and down load Part P. Up to you what you do about it.
2. How much power goes to the garage hardly worth a consumer unit if only 15 amp feed.
3. What do you need is shed?
If all you need in shed is a light then a switched fused spur in the garage will most likely be enough. In a surface metal box so you can gland you SWA cable to it with ease. Even one socket and light hardly warrants anything more than another surface mount switched spur in shed for lights with a 13 amp socket relying on the 13 amp fuse in garage for protection. It seems a little OTT to have a consumer unit to feed a shed.

But once you know what you have got and what you really want then there are other considerations.

Can you test the installation and if not are you going to take a chance or try to get an electrician to do the testing for you if latter with the council charges for DIY be worth it or will it be cheaper to get an electrician to do the lot. I find SWA easy but you may find it hard to work with and unless you are really into electrics you may end up getting and electrician in the end anyway.

[cervaro]

Thanks for your reply.

I thought it might need the garage consumer unit because of the several sockets I'd like to install, and the likelihood of me using some home cinema equipment in there once I get some kind of insulation installed.

Previously I would have just run a wire from the garage to the shed directly, but thought it better to seek proper advice beforehand. Having just received a bill for £265 for what seemed a simple installation of a cooker control unit and junction box to wire the new cooker in, I'm a little wary of the local electricians as I'm not in a position at the moment to be forking out yet another small fortune for electrical work. Unfortunately trained nurses don't get the same rewards in the form of hourly rates as our local electricians do! :(

[ericmark]

After my post I saw similar question on IET web sites forum and there was a link given to an IET instruction on how to wire sheds. I am not allowed to give links sorry. It was Wiring and the regulations and Wiring for two sheds where the link to the paper was given. A little old from 2005 16 Autumn wiring matters electrical installations outdoors a PDF document. Maybe you can find it really spot on.

[ericmark]

The IET website have an authoritative document at following link http://www2.theiet.org/Publish/WireRegs ... tdoors.pdf
I think this answers all your questions.