Does a simple Outside socket need Building Regulations?

[vonsworld]

I'd like to install an external mains socket on the outside wall of my house in the back garden. This would be a weatherproof IP66 13A socket with RCD. It would be connected as a spur on my ring main with a fused spur switch on the inside wall.

Would this need building regulations please?

Does it matter if the external socket is wired directly through the wall, with no cable showing, or can you run some armoured cable along the outside wall a few feet to the socket? Does this make any difference to the regulations?

Thanks for your advice

 

[JohnW2]

I'd like to install an external mains socket on the outside wall of my house in the back garden. This would be a weatherproof IP66 13A socket with RCD. It would be connected as a spur on my ring main with a fused spur switch on the inside wall.

OK. If the circuit from which it is supplied (your ring circuit) is RCD-protected, you would not need to use an RCD socket (unless you wanted 'belt and braces', in case the circuit's RCD 'fails').

Would this need building regulations please?

No, not in England (where you are) - it would in Wales.

Does it matter if the external socket is wired directly through the wall, with no cable showing, or can you run some armoured cable along the outside wall a few feet to the socket? Does this make any difference to the regulations?

No problem with some exposed cable running along a wall. It has to be cable 'appropriate' for outside use, but it wouldn't necessarily (or, indeed, commonly) be armoured.

Kind Regards, John

 

[vonsworld]

That's great, thanks for your reply.

I'll have to get a move on and complete the job in case they change the English regulations to match the Welsh!

Regards
Robin

 

[JohnW2]

That's great, thanks for your reply. I'll have to get a move on and complete the job in case they change the English regulations to match the Welsh!

Don't panic. It's the Welsh that haven't changed.

Several years ago the law in England changed such as to considerably 'relax' the requirements for 'notification' of electrical work to BC, such that very little now needs to be notified in England. For whatever reason, the Welsh decided to stay with the original rules, which require much more types of work to be notified to BC.

Kind Regards, John

 

[vonsworld]

... out of interest, when does notification become necessary in England?

I presume that it would be necessary if your were running a cable to a building (ie shed/garage) that is not connected to the house?
Does it make a difference if you are running the cable as a spur from an existing socket or directly from the consumer unit?

When we moved into our current home we discovered that the garage, which is a separate building at the bottom of the garden, was wired as a spur from the back of a kitchen socket without a fused switch. This was done when the house was built in 1968 and of course the consumer unit was also simple cartridge fuses without RCD.

This wiring has since been disconnected! I guess it wouldn't pass the regulations these days

 

[ban-all-sheds]

OK. If the circuit from which it is supplied (your ring circuit) is RCD-protected, you would not need to use an RCD socket (unless you wanted 'belt and braces', in case the circuit's RCD 'fails').

There is also the fact that RCD sockets can be had in Active version, which might provide safety benefits.

 

[EFLImpudence]

... out of interest, when does notification become necessary in England?

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3119/regulation/6/made

I know you meant "notification" in your original question, but all work must comply with Building Regulation Part P.

 

[JohnW2]

... out of interest, when does notification become necessary in England?

EFLI has given you a link to the 'Chapter and Verse' - as you'll see, as I said, very little at all is now notifiable.

I presume that it would be necessary if your were running a cable to a building (ie shed/garage) that is not connected to the house?

Not necessarily ....

Does it make a difference if you are running the cable as a spur from an existing socket or directly from the consumer unit?

Indeed - that makes all the difference. As you will see, one of the (only three) things which remain notifiable in England is the installation of a new circuit (i.e. from the CU).

When we moved into our current home we discovered that the garage, which is a separate building at the bottom of the garden, was wired as a spur from the back of a kitchen socket without a fused switch. This was done when the house was built in 1968 and of course the consumer unit was also simple cartridge fuses without RCD. This wiring has since been disconnected! I guess it wouldn't pass the regulations these days

If a new socket were installed today, it would fall foul of regs because of the absence of an RCD. If there were more than just one socket (e.g. if there were also lighting) in the garage, then it would be non-compliant with regs as an unfused spur. Quite apart from that, it is always advisable to have a double-pole switch of some sort in the house to enable 'outdoor' circuits being isolated if they suffer from water ingress!

Kind Regards, John