hi all- I have electricity going to my shed and recently looked in the gap between shed and patio and saw trunking visible, broken in the middle with cable visible. I've turned power off and tried to pull trunking up to cover it, but it won't budge. I'm wondering if I can wrap tightly with electrical cable and bury as best as possible or whether this needs something else? The whole cable is buried under the patio until it reaches shed. Thanks in advance
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Well two possible answers - firstly does it meet regs e.g. adequate mechanical protection, burial depth and obviously not so if you were renting it out or you employed a gardener you'd have to bring it up to standard
second answer assuming you're the only one living there - is it likely to be a danger, well is that an area you might be digging then it's probably not a good idea, but if it's out of harms way make your own mind up. Personally I'd sort it out before reconnecting, but it depends on your balance of money/necessity of having the shed power.
second answer assuming you're the only one living there - is it likely to be a danger, well is that an area you might be digging then it's probably not a good idea, but if it's out of harms way make your own mind up. Personally I'd sort it out before reconnecting, but it depends on your balance of money/necessity of having the shed power.
What kind of cables are there?
It looks like two to me.
Is one a telephone cable, or perhaps a pond or garden lighting cable?
Is the other cable an armoured one?
All this will determine what you do.
That flexible plastic conduit offers no mechanical protection from a spade, so there may be little need in repairing it.
That said, how are the ends of this conduit terminated?
It may be that the break in the conduit will let water into it, and the water MAY end up in the shed or house.
So check that out first and report back, along with the cable type used.
It looks like two to me.
Is one a telephone cable, or perhaps a pond or garden lighting cable?
Is the other cable an armoured one?
All this will determine what you do.
That flexible plastic conduit offers no mechanical protection from a spade, so there may be little need in repairing it.
That said, how are the ends of this conduit terminated?
It may be that the break in the conduit will let water into it, and the water MAY end up in the shed or house.
So check that out first and report back, along with the cable type used.
Looking at the photo the conduit appears to be 20mm, both cables look rather small certainly too small to be armoured. What do they go to in the shed?
Indeed. In fact, it's hard to see why they bothered with the conduit, given that appears that it was within a clay pipe, or something similar.
As you say, we need a lot more information.
Kind Regards, John
@Chud that could well be the case, I looked at the ends and they do look at bit burred but could be degradation rather than having previously been joined
thanks very much for the advice everyone and sorry for the delay coming back, had a busy weekend. I bought a voltage tester, turned electricity to the shed off and tested the cables. then I turned it back on and tested them and there was still nothing. so I pulled out my tumble dryer and found the main (armoured) cable coming in. tested with elec off and on again and this was live, had a look at consumer unit and there was a (newish) armoured cable going into the ground so figured this was the new shed line.
back in shed, pulled out tumble dryer on other side and found cables corresponding to the white and grey ones above, tied off in the corner. checked these for current too and they are dead.
my conclusion is that the electricity was relayed and these cables were left in situ but they are disconnected from the supply.
@sparkwright I will fill the ends with mastic to prevent water ingress. the end of the trunking isn't accessible from inside the shed but I'm going to take a look under the kitchen units to see if the trunking is under there and fill with mastic if it is.
thanks everyone for the advice again. pleased I don't have to deal with this but out of interest guys, if these had been the live cables, how could this have been rectified without taking up patio to access the cables and bury them properly. There is little to no movement in the trunking - the ground is very solid and the gap between patio and shed is very small.
thanks very much for the advice everyone and sorry for the delay coming back, had a busy weekend. I bought a voltage tester, turned electricity to the shed off and tested the cables. then I turned it back on and tested them and there was still nothing. so I pulled out my tumble dryer and found the main (armoured) cable coming in. tested with elec off and on again and this was live, had a look at consumer unit and there was a (newish) armoured cable going into the ground so figured this was the new shed line.
back in shed, pulled out tumble dryer on other side and found cables corresponding to the white and grey ones above, tied off in the corner. checked these for current too and they are dead.
my conclusion is that the electricity was relayed and these cables were left in situ but they are disconnected from the supply.
@sparkwright I will fill the ends with mastic to prevent water ingress. the end of the trunking isn't accessible from inside the shed but I'm going to take a look under the kitchen units to see if the trunking is under there and fill with mastic if it is.
thanks everyone for the advice again. pleased I don't have to deal with this but out of interest guys, if these had been the live cables, how could this have been rectified without taking up patio to access the cables and bury them properly. There is little to no movement in the trunking - the ground is very solid and the gap between patio and shed is very small.
Those "non contact" things are not very reliable. Don't trust your life (etc) to them giving an accurate result either way.