How to supply power to garage?

Cmar-Ireland

Hi Folks,

Our house has an attached garage, but the garage doesn't have any sockets, just a light.
I want to get a feed into the garage for sockets, but do it as unobtrusively as possible.

On the pic below, the red rectangle shows the location of the fuse box in the hall. I had an electrician over the other day and he suggested drilling out from the fuse box and tacking some 2.5 along the wall (marked by the red line). I could rake out some mortar between the bricks and sink the cable to help hide it.

But before I go ahead with it, I'm looking for suggestions for other ways of doing it. I thought a cable could be run through the cavity from the fuse box to inside the garage and hide the run completely, but the electrician said this would be very difficult.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

sparks24

what size cable is feeding the garage already?

would be tricky enough to get a new cable in but your meter box is there also close by and you could use that as an access to get the cable that far anyway

Avns1s

How many sockets do you need and what will they be used for?

If its a small number and a small loading, I would be looking to see if there was a socket on the house side of the wall dividing the garage and house.

I would then drill through the wall and surface mount the sockets looped together with 2.5 T&E in surface mounted trunking.

I wouldn't consider the proposal of covering the cable with mortar between the bricks a safe proposition. Nor is it that easy.

DublinDilbert

As others have said you could try get it to the meter box (could follow meter tails) then workout how to get it the remaining 2 feet. As it's a red brick construction I assume there's a cavity inside the wall, this could possibly be used for the last few feet.

The easier approach might be to find a socket that's back to back with the garage, possibly even an upstairs one and tap off from there.

Cmar-Ireland

Cheers for the replies.

The supply to the garage is just 1.5 to the light fitting.

I want to use it for regular garage power tools, grinder, saws, drill etc, but also for a small mig welder. Probably put 4 sockets (2x double metal socket boxes)
The wall between the garage and house is the kitchen wall and it does have sockets I could drill through from.
But I would prefer to have the garage on a seperate breaker than to use the ring main or kitchen supply.

I could stitch drill the mortar around a block in the garage and so open up access to the cavity. Would that allow a cable to be feed directly to the fuse box?

sparks24

ya if you get a long bit and drill at an angle out towards the meter box from inside the garage you should get into the cavity no problem and from there with a set of cable rods you can go between the fuse board to the meter box back into the garage with your supply. you might get lucky and get it first time or more likely it will take a couple goes with someone giving you a hand.

but have a think about if its worth the trouble, how often will you be using a heavy load in the garage? if you are going to be doing a lot of welding i'd say put in a new supply it really sucks up the current and you would want to use a c type MCB because it has a very high inductive load and you don't want it tripping out on you all the time.

M cebee

prob waste of time branching off an existing house circuit for garage

-if you're planning on welding etc.

Bruthal

Maybe you could remove skirting below fuseboard inside house over as far as garage, bring a new socket circuit down dry lining and out where skirting was, run cable along at floor level, it can easily be pushed in behind bottom of plaster boards right at floor level, and once its over as far as the garage, drill through and bring the cable in. And replace skirting.

If the skirting does not go over far enough to be over as far as the start of garage, and there is a wall in the way, you just remove the skirting on the other side of wall but still along the side wall of house, go through the wall that was in the way, and same as above, once as far as garage, drill through for cable.

Would need to see plan of house around the area of the garage to see though.

Cmar-Ireland

I wouldn't be doing a lot of welding, but it would be nice to be able to!
Was looking at the cable rods and thinking about how I would get a cable from the back of the fuse box down through the cavity. I wouldn't have thought the rods would be able to pull a 2.5 cable through?

Just looking at the layout inside, directly below the fuse box there is a double socket just above the skirting. Could the cable going to the socket from the fuse box be used to draw another cable down to skirting level and then I could run the cable as robbie suggested?

Bruthal

Cmar-Ireland wrote: »

Just looking at the layout inside, directly below the fuse box there is a double socket just above the skirting. Could the cable going to the socket from the fuse box be used to draw another cable down to skirting level and then I could run the cable as robbie suggested?

If the wall the fuseboard is on extends unobstructed over as far as the edge of the garage, then it should be possible if its a dry lined wall the board is on. If it is dry lined its usually easy enough to get a cable down without using existing socket wiring as draw wires. A piece of mini trunking lid is the perfect item for testing the dry lined space and for pulling up cables. I often used existing socket positions as an aid to fish the trunking lid up to the board and down to the floor for a cable run.

Or you could lift boards upstairs and wire from the board over to where the roof space of the garage is as another option, and into garage that way.

If your getting a sparks they should see all the options.

2011

+ 1 to what Robbie just said

However, if it was my house I would drill out through the back of the fuse board and run 6 sq. cables in steel conduit. I would then paint the conduit and grow a climbing type plant over it to hide it!

This would be quite neat, simple, give future capacity and most importantly be safe giving a high degree of mechanical protection.

I would consider having a local board in the garage.

Cmar-Ireland

Thats where the mcb board is in relation to the meter box and garage.
I'm now thinking of running the cable internally, using timber strips routed out to hide the cable. The timber would be up against the skirting and run under the stairs. I can then angle drill from under the stairs into the garage.

Bruthal

Looking at that layout, removing the skirting looks even better. And a 6 square like 2011 suggested can be as easily ran that way like the 2.5 could of once it is a dry lining wall. Cable behind skirting. through bottom of stairs and into garage from under the stairs.

Another possibility is run the cable up the edge of the stairs to the top by cutting out small squares from the plasterboard and fishing the cable right up, and out to the garage. Very easy to then patch the wall along the stairs edge.

The conduit idea outside would be the easiest, and not the worst either. You would have a round end box on the outside where the fuseboard is and conduit into the side of the garage.

But i have often done the skirting board removal method. I would not be big into the idea of surface wood with a cable cut into it myself. But maybe it would do especially if just over the skirting.

ShamFeen

Good ideas but, you're not allowed run cables behind a skirting anymore. Obviously this can be dangerous if someone decides to put more fixings into the board.

2011

ShamFeen wrote: »

Good ideas but, you're not allowed run cables behind a skirting anymore. Obviously this can be dangerous if someone decides to put more fixings into the board.

If sufficient mechanical protection is provided (such as steel conduit) this is permitted.

However, I would still go with you suggestion above.

Bruthal

More fixings anywhere in a house can hit cables. Maybe its time to do houses in steel conduit now to eliminate every possible risk.

Cmar-Ireland

I think the way to go with this is to drop the cable down from the mcb board to floor inside and run it behind the skirting. There is no danger of screwing/nailing into it as it is two feet from the stairs horizontally and from there it will be under the stairs.
I'd do as much of the run as I can and get an electrician to do the connections. Should I use 2.5 or 6sq ? I don't think it's worth it to fit a mini mcb board in the garage as it already has a light circuit and the new supply will just be for the sockets.

Bruthal

Run 6 square as 2011 suggested, then you can put a small MCB board in the garage, and a 32amp MCB feeding it in the main MCB board in the hall. That will give you far better options in the garage then for any additional circuits in future.

ShamFeen

robbie7730 wrote: »

More fixings anywhere in a house can hit cables. Maybe its time to do houses in steel conduit now to eliminate every possible risk.

Oh I know that Robbie just passing on the wise mutterings from the Reci Inspector a few days ago. To run a cable horizontally, it must be up two metres off the floor level. But as you stated anyone hammering a nail in for a picture can hit any cable in a wall.

M cebee

dunno what rule that is-never heard of it


there's 2 small sections in the rules on concealed wiring-they're fairly simple

2011

M cebee wrote: »

dunno what rule that is-never heard of it

Neither did I.

Surely it conflicts with skirting trunking??


If it is not obvious where cables are installed suitable mechanical protection will ensure that nails can not cause issues.

M cebee

wires less than 50mm back in solid wall or partition

-have to go horizontal or vertical to a switch/socket etc

-or be ran less than 150mm from ceiling or corner


-otherwise use SWA or steel


haven't the rules in front of me but i think
that's the jist of it

evosteo

you're not allowed run cables behind a skirting anymore

what a load of bs, some of them inspectors have nothing better to do than make up their own rules, their never happy