In message ,
(s--p--o--n--i--x) wrote:

A friend is needing more sockets downstairs.

They currently have about 10 sockets on the downstairs ring main and
would like to add two more.

They called up an electrician who quoted an extortionate price. The
explaination given was that he could only take one spur off a single
socket, hence the cost involved with running cables from two existing
sockets.

However, I have had a look and the ring main runs below where the new
sockets are to be placed. It looks like a 30 minute job to be honest.

Ok, define "extortionate". Bear in mind that if this electrician is
going to certify everything that his tests and paper filling alone will
probably take at least 30 minutes onsite and then a bit more offsite as
he notifies Building Control.

When you say the cables run "below" the sockets, do you mean below a
suspended wooden floor? If so, without taking up floorboards and the
like (difficult to do on a free evaluation visit) how would the
electrician have known? He might have assumed the cables run down the
walls buried in the plaster and that spurring would be the only easy way
to add sockets.

He might also have assumed you wanted flush sockets. If so, you can
probably add at least an hour per socket just for making the hole and
cleaning up the mess.

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Two free issues: http://www.livtech.co.uk/ Living With Technology
.... Assumption is the mother of all screwups...