Adding and electrical spur UK?

Question

Not DIY, I will get it done buy an electrician but I want to understand what the regs are and what is possible.

I want an additional outlet (single socket would do) in a kitchen on a plasterboard wall to power a freezer. The location means that it can't really come off an existing socket in the kitchen (doorways in the way) but there is a handy socket in the adjoining room. So there is the plaster board / stud wall between the rooms, but  the existing socket is actually in a solid wall about 2m away.

The house was build about 1998 and the floor is solid over the whole ground floor.

So, what I really want is a spur off the existing socket running horizontally across to the stud wall and then to a socket on the other side of the stud wall. I haven't read the regs and that sort of writing generally does my head in anyway, but from just reading around, it seems as if going horizontal is a problem, even at low level.

What i don't really get is that if this was a new build I don't know how it would be done anyway, is it all under the floor in metal conduit? And is there a way (in terms of regs) to have the extra socket that doesn't involve digging up the floor (or ceiling). It would seem that a running a conduit from the existing socket along the top of the skirting board reaching to the stud wall would be sensible, because no one would accidentally drill into conduit, but regs never were sensible. Any  info / advice appreciated.

Robert J · Accepted Answer

If it's a solid floor, all the cables will be under the upstairs floor and come down the walls; they will not be in concrete.

You can go horizontal if appropriate, just not random angles. The simplest approach may be a spur (or ring) down the wall, wired under the upstairs floor & taken from the ring that feeds other kitchen sockets.

If there is more than one ring feeding different areas you should not connect to a different one; that's a hazard if it confuses someone when trying to isolate a specific area.

If the floor uses panels rather than boards, you can get access using a board cutter and plugs - they cut a decent size hole for working through, which has a slightly stepped recess, allowing special plastic plugs to drop in perfectly flush so it's invisible when the floor covering is put back down..
http://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/categories/tools-fixings-board-cutters

Anonymous · Answer

I would let your electrician suggest the route. One thing you need to know is whether the socket you are coming off is not already a spur since there are limitations on how many you can have on a circuit. Even if there are two separate cables it may still be on a spur rather than a ring.

boy boy · Answer

just shows how bright you are ..giving a best answer to a bad one !!...im a builder uk ...its no problem adding an extra socket on the ring main ..but it has to be safe ...this means any cables in a wall must be vertical ...not horizontal or diagonal ..the times i have drilled into cables which should not be there !!..if you need to to it horizontal do it surface mounted ...the electrician you employ will know exactly what to do ..legally

Karen L · Answer

Since you readily acknowledge that you don't know much about this stuff, why don't you call an electrician who can assess the situation and tell you what is possible? Any licenced electrician is fully aware of what is possible and what the codes call for. And there is no substitute for seeing the actual situation instead of trying to visualize it from a description.  I don't know why going horizontal would be a problem. You can run wires almost anywhere, though in some locations they may require protection.

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Adding and electrical spur UK?

4 Answers