Running electricity to my garage (bottom of my drive)

[glenimp617]

My garage is located right at the bottom of my drive, which runs in front of my house (rather than at the side). Basically our garden is at the side of our house, then behind my garden is my parking bay, then my garage.

I'd like to run some electricity into my garage, and my thinking is to basically drill a hole in my living room wall and run some flex inside flexible conduit under my garden borders, under the fence, alongside my parking bay, then through the garage wall.

It will be fed from a wall socket (I'll stick an RCD on), and will be powering some LED lights and eventually an electric garage door which requires a standard 3pin socket, so I'll terminate with a weather proof socket mounted on the wall.

This: (or armoured cable most likely, but you get the idea)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AUVP3WO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Poly...3J1PFBQGXK7&psc=1&refRID=P91QZB2ZB3J1PFBQGXK7

Now, these things are never that simple....so tell me why this isn't a good idea and that I need to spend thouands ripping my driveway up and get a team of electricians in to do it properly.

 

[agw_01]

I'm no sparky but personally I would (and did) use SWA to run power to my garage. While you will know the flex is there, if you move house in future and the next owner starts to dig up the garden, they could get quite a surprise when they drop a spade through the flex.

 

[glenimp617]

I'm no sparky but personally I would (and did) use SWA to run power to my garage. While you will know the flex is there, if you move house in future and the next owner starts to dig up the garden, they could get quite a surprise when they drop a spade through the flex.

Yeah, they'd get a little tingle wouldn't they

The first little run from the living room wall will be along the bottom of the house wall inside some black trunking clipped to the wall, so you'd see it going underground

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1-5MM-ARMO...&keywords=50m+SWA&qid=1597176707&s=diy&sr=1-2

 

[agw_01]

But they'd lose sight of where it ran underground.

SWA is really cheap, there's no reason not to use it.

 

[glenimp617]

But they'd lose sight of where it ran underground.

SWA is really cheap, there's no reason not to use it.

They would, but at least they'd know there was cable laid down before wacking a spade through it. Actually, my borders have black gravel in, so I could just lay the conduit on top. It wouldn't look too bad.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Use SWA for this as said its pretty cheap, also allows you to earth the sheathing for in effect double earth

Strictly speaking a spark should do it, but its your house right?
If you already have any protection on the ring your coming off I was told not to do anything fancy, just a 13 amp switch (FCU) as the circuit is already protected and apparently they can interfere with each other if you start adding multiple RCDs in effect.

Take the cable out with proper glands, and terminate in a box with glands in the garage. Step the lighting circuit down to 3amp, and use metal boxes that are earthed was how our works electrical manager got me to do mine.

No need to put SWA in a conduit, you can get SWA clips as well.

 

[glenimp617]

Brilliant

Thanks

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Brilliant

Thanks

Oh and you should really Bury it a spade and a half deep and put a line of that plastic cable stuff over it
https://electrical-showroom.co.uk/unicrimp-underground-warning-tape-100mm-200m
Or keep it above ground so it is obvious

 

[sovietspybob]

Yeah my understanding is you need to us SWA but i have done essentially your original plan as a temp fix for my garage until i can afford to do it properly.. I already had duct buried nice and deep from the house to the garage so i've just pulled through a flex for now and put it into a metal plug socket and spurred off with a 3A fuse to run a couple of lights.

I'll re-do it with proper SWA in the duct in to a consumer unit at some point but it works for now.

 

[lemonkettaz]

If you are going to do it “proper” then go full on “proper”

Send it from your main DB to a 2nd DB in your garage then you will have future proof

Speaking as trained electrical I know you will get this all certified too

how long is the run from spur to garage ? Also from DB to garage ?

 

[PlacidCasual]

You need to do this properly. Run an SWA in a conduit underground in a trench lined with sand or shingle, ideally some hard barrier above. You also want to put it into your main consumer unit which will require a registered sparky with a small consumer unit in the garage. The regs are there to protect you and other people, follow them. If you lay conduit yourself probably £600 assuming there is space on your main consumer unit. Been there done it (twice) got the badge. I don't get why we're so happy to be slipshod in this country concerning stuff that could kill us or other people.

 

[Rotty]

I had a qualified mate tell me to use "pond cable" to run mine to outside bar

mine wasn't underground though

 

[glenimp617]

I can't get cable from my fuse box in the kitchen, so it will have to go from a socket in the living room

 

[DXP55]

If you do dig in the cable or duct put another duct in as well - for the small extra cost you are Ethernet and alarm cable proof.

 

[NickK]

I need todo this for my new pond - I’ll have to get a sparky to wire & test but I was going to lay a Black power corrugated conduit To the garage but let the sparky put the cable in. From experience they do t like certifying work so electrically it would work..

I also need to route a MDPE water connection at the same time.

 

[Guitarcarfanatic]

Run a new circuit from the consumer unit and put a garage consumer in. Much tidier!

 

[pp111]

I didn't read the rest of the posts. 1.5mm2 multi-core is not really enough. Although it is rated for 15A, that's for short periods of time. It gets warm under heavy load. Given that you might actually use some heavy loads on it, and you are using a fairly long run, then it would be a lot safer if you get 2.5mm2.

 

[glenimp617]

I didn't read the rest of the posts. 1.5mm2 multi-core is not really enough. Although it is rated for 15A, that's for short periods of time. It gets warm under heavy load. Given that you might actually use some heavy loads on it, and you are using a fairly long run, then it would be a lot safer if you get 2.5mm2.

Yep, I'll definately get 2.5mm for sure. My main sticking point is routing it over my parking bay, but we are thinking about a garage conversion soon to take it from a single to a double, so when the builders are digging the footings I'll drop something in.

 

[pp111]

Yep, I'll definately get 2.5mm for sure. My main sticking point is routing it over my parking bay, but we are thinking about a garage conversion soon to take it from a single to a double, so when the builders are digging the footings I'll drop something in.

If you specifically want multi-strand then it's a bit difficult to find. It is the correct cable for immersion heaters so you may have some luck tracking it down that way. I think amazon do an outdoor solid core that's not too expensive.

 

[ristac]

Op did you get this done in the end, I’m needing to do similar very shortly