Extending ring main
 

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.

Whilst he is correct in saying that you can only take a single spur
off of an individual socket, why can't he simply extend the ring main?

Am I missing something? Why isn't it possible to simply cut the ring
main at this point and add the two new sockets?

(The floor area of the house is small, the fuse is, I think, 30amp)

sponix

In article ,
(s--p--o--n--i--x) writes:

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.

Whilst he is correct in saying that you can only take a single spur
off of an individual socket,

Actually he's wrong on this point. There may be specific reasons
in this case such as not enough wiring space in the back box or
not enough space in the terminals (easily solvable by replacing
the socket with a different make) or grossley loading the ring
very near one end, but there's no rule stating that you can only
take one spur from one socket. I sounds like he's got confused
about the recommendation on the total number of spurs on a ring
circuit, which makes no reference to their placement.

why can't he simply extend the ring main?

You would have to ask him. However, it sounds like you would be
better off finding a different electrician -- he might have
simply not wanted the job.

--
Andrew Gabriel

On 14 Jun 2005 09:34:46 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
(s--p--o--n--i--x) writes:

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.

Whilst he is correct in saying that you can only take a single spur
off of an individual socket,

Actually he's wrong on this point. There may be specific reasons
in this case such as not enough wiring space in the back box or
not enough space in the terminals (easily solvable by replacing
the socket with a different make) or grossley loading the ring
very near one end, but there's no rule stating that you can only
take one spur from one socket. I sounds like he's got confused
about the recommendation on the total number of spurs on a ring
circuit, which makes no reference to their placement.

why can't he simply extend the ring main?

You would have to ask him. However, it sounds like you would be
better off finding a different electrician -- he might have
simply not wanted the job.

Thanks. Just wanted to check I wasn't having one of my dense moments.

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...