Location of consumer unit in kitchen in converted garage Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[giraffeonastick]

Hi,

Firstly I'm going to state that I'm not doing this work myself, will get a qualified professional in. Just need some advice...

Putting a kitchen into a converted garage (conversion done before we moved in). The consumer unit is in the middle of the wall (horizontally & vertically), and when planning the kitchen we allowed for it to be moved at least 600mm left (as oer original advice), and planned a dual fuel range cooker and extractor where the consumer unit is now.

Sparky came out to check the wiring, says that the unit can't go left or right, only up or down without joining cables - which he doesn't want to do.

So, kitchen will need to be replanned, but we don't want to move the cooker location as it's on an outside wall and will throw off the symmetry if we move it left or right.

My question is: if we drop the consumer unit to the bottom of the wall (& hide it in a cupboard), can we locate a gas hob above it? Forgot to ask the sparky that q but need to get on with replanning the kitchen. I understand that putting the unit within 600mm of a cooker is a no no, but if it's only a hob and it's below - is that OK?

We would then ditch the idea of a range cooker and have a built in oven elsewhere in the kitchen. Not what we wanted, but he seemed unwilling to relocate the consumer unit out of the room, citing that he didn't want to increase risk by joining cables.

Any advice appreciated. I'm in Scotland where I know the regs are slightly different.
Thanks in advance.

[ericmark]

Some thing wrong with what you are saying. Cables buried in a wall have to run vertical or horizontal no diagonals allowed. So the cables will likely run up or down to consumer unit. So if they run down to move it down will mean joining cables and if they run up then moving up will mean joining cables.

I am looking at moving mothers consumer unit under the stairs at moment and easy method is to replace it with a junction box and then cable from that box to new location.

So if junction box is used then cables can run horizontal to new location. You will need access to junction box for the EICR every 5 years but think you need another electrician how thinks positively. There is always a way.

[giraffeonastick]

I think I agree. The CU has cables going up in trunking presumably to upstairs' circuits.

No1 said it could only go up or down and no wriggle room to go left or right, and we couldn't put a junction box in because that would still be above the cooker, I.e. a no no

Now awaiting a second electrician to come over and hopefully suggest a more positive outcome. I'm veering towards not caring about cost, just wanting it done.

[ericmark]

One can lift the cables into the under floor board space and join and move then to further along the wall. If new location is higher then may be no need to join.

But also you have feed cables, likely this will be renewed rather than joined.