Outdoor socket from existing spur Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[rob2304]

Hi,

Just wanted some advice please.

I would like to install an outside socket from my garage. I've got a masterseal double socket and a wall mounted RCD. I was planning for it to just spur from the existing double socket in the garage, straight into the RCD unit and then out through the wall into the socket.

However, upon checking the existing socket, it looks like it may already be a spur as there is only one set of wires coming into it. With it being the garage (all breeze blocks), I've been able to trace the cable run back and found it runs from the house high up near the garage roof. The adjoining part of the house is the kitchen so I suspect it runs either behind the tiled wall/kitchen cupboards or from the floorboard area etc. In short, it's not going to be easy to extend the ring main even if I got a professional in. My wife is not going to let me rip any tiling/cupboards/floors apart just for an outside socket so I need to find an alternative solution.

Can anybody offer up any other ways of safely doing this using the existing spurred socket? I've seen fused spurs etc mentioned. I realise I would have to be careful with load if I did anything like this. At the moment, a fridge and freezer are constantly run off the existing socket and a tumble dryer occasionally used. The outside socket would be mainly used for some low voltage outside lights but also occasionally a lawn mower etc. Usage of the tumble dryer could be avoided whilst using something like the lawn mower for load reasons as this is what currently happens anyway (i.e. unplug dryer and use socket for lawn mower etc).

If there isn't a solution to safely spur off then what about similar to the DIY kits you can get it B&Q which just plug into the indoor socket? I wouldn't want to use the socket you get with them as it looks poor in terms of quality and weatherproofing, but what about running from my masterseal still into the wall mounted RCD but then from there having a short length of cable with a plug which gets plugged into the existing socket in place of the dryer when required? In this way it's more like a hard wired extension cable. I realise that the load issues don't go away if I did this but it makes it more explicit and any future users would clearly realise that they are running the outdoor socket from that same indoor socket and then use common sense.

Couple of further bits of information :-
House is only 2 years old. Garage and the existing socket in there were installed at the time the house was built.
The existing garage socket is connected to the same circuit as the indoor sockets as switching off the sockets at the fuse box switches off the garage socket too.
The wall mounted RCD unit has a 13amp fuse built into it
I understand about Part P etc. Depending on the solution, I would use a professional

Thanks for any help

Rob

[kbrownie]

First is the circuit a radial or a ring that the spur is off.
If it's a radial may not be a spur just end of run and you can extend it.
If it's ring final circuit, may be easier to put in a FCU before the exsisting garage socket then you can add more sockets after the FCU.

Take a look at part p on projects page before you start any electrical DIY.
regards
KB

[moggy1968]

if the house is only two years old then your sockets should already be RCD protected at the board, so you don't need an extra RCD. If not talk to the builder as they don't meet the regs that were in place at the time! I wouldn't have much confidence in the installation meeting the regs judging by your description of how the power has been taken to the garage already! If it is a single spur and the garage is attached then it's probably ok, but it doesn't sound ideal.
the easiest way to spur off a socket to the outside (and what I did in my own house) is, find a socket in the house thats on a suitable outside wall, then drill through the back of that to the outside where you mount your outdoor socket.
You could replace the current gargae socket with a fused spur, then come off that to any number of other sockets, theoretically, but as you note, you may get issues with the fuse spur fuse blowing. you need to calculate your possible total load.
As you have mentioned, this is notifiable work.
Andy