Electrical wiring for outside

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Electrical wiring for outside
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moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:32 am Post subject:

Thanks for all your help everyone. I'm tempted just to go and buy a gas one, but its not very downsizery of me, especially as this one was free! I had a quick look in B&Q who sell armour plated wiring for outseide, which I could probably turn into an extention lead but its not exactly temporary as it would need to be on for several months of the year (not constantly mind you!). I'm also a bit worried what it would do to my lecky bills! The solar powered thing looks good mind. Anyone know if they do those here?

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:45 am Post subject:

moogie wrote:

The solar powered thing looks good mind. Anyone know if they do those here?

Sorry, I think we might be at cross-purposes. The solar power thing was a reference to the "electric fencing" comment.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:46 am Post subject:
Unfortunately the solar-powered thingy probably won't be much use when you need it, i.e. at night!

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 11:05 am Post subject:
A-ha, but it is fitted with a battery Judith which it charges during the day .... and a big 'un at that

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 11:08 am Post subject:
Ooh. There's clever ! Technology is my middle name, can't you tell!

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 1:06 pm Post subject:
Oh well, nevermind. I think I'll gop back to gas power! Anyone want to buy a fetching, new electric greenhouse heater ?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 5:35 pm Post subject: Re: outdoor eleccy

footprints wrote:

These are the links from the NICEIC website.

Main page https://www.niceic.org.uk/partp/partpindex.html

This page is face up to new laws or face fines.
https://www.niceic.org.uk/partp/newsitemjan052.html

This page is called green fingers not burnt fingers.
https://www.niceic.org.uk/partp/newsitemjan05.html

Many thanks for the links footpritns. I'll be doing some more work one day and I was going to go down the building regs approval route. Even before I knew of the regs I was going to complete the wiring and then try and get it all professionally checked, now hopefully the new law may help. I bet it will cost a fair bit more to have a whole house checked but I'll see what my council says now the regs have been running for a while.

If they stop DIYers I also hope the qualified people are up to scratch as the people I have had in to do stuff have all made mistakes.

They have all been from large companies though.

footprints

Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 234
Location: North Wales

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 8:23 pm Post subject: Re: outdoor eleccy

Treacodactyl wrote:

footprints wrote:

They have all been from large companies though.

Sadly I have also found this to be true . Self employed for over 20 yrs I have seen work from Manweb, british gas, etc that I would be ashamed to put my name to. All of the biggies are working on subcontractors. Pulling the "punters" in on a big name, taking their cut, and then subcontracting the work out.

This is my advice on the subject of employing people for any, and I mean any project where you may part with substantial amounts of ackers....... Get several references. Do not choose from the size of the ad, the amount of "Bodies/badges" that they are affiliated to (see pay subs) Talk to people that have employed them. (phone calls are cheap)

Some of my jobs are serious remedials where the contractor has crapped out or crapped off. When the customer is telling me about their nightmare all of these stories have one thing in common, they knew nowt about the people they were employing, other than the ad looked ok.

In twenty years years of being self employed I have only been asked twice for references. Enough said???

(this was about to turn into a rant, then I was passed another glass of wine )

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 9:14 pm Post subject:

I would have to agree with you there. The old comment ask around for recommendations is just so true. However, when you first more to an area it can be very hard to get recommendations. (Some of the work done on my neighbours properties is fascicle).

Mind you a locally recommended company installed our boiler after the bodge a national did.

A final comment, even if you don't do any of the work yourself it's worth spending a few pounds on a book so stand a better chance of spotting if people are any good or spotting something that could easily be put right.

Now back to greenhouse heaters, I use a modern paraffin heater as I decided getting electricity to my shed and greenhouse as too expensive.

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Thu Jul 14, 05 10:46 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

I would have to agree with you there. The old comment ask around for recommendations is just so true.

So when some guy turns up, measures up and has amongst all his stuff a big book of references do you take that on face value or do you ask around anyway. Just a purely hypothetical question from some who purely hypothetically has some purely hypothetical five figure renovation bills looming on the horizon you understand.

Treacodactyl wrote:

Now back to greenhouse heaters, I use a modern paraffin heater as I decided getting electricity to my shed and greenhouse as too expensive.

However much I might tinker with computers, run cabling and all that kind of hi tech thingy stuff. I actually quite like the fact that my greenhouse runs off paraffin - there's somthing reassuringly low tech about it!

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 12:29 am Post subject:

moogie wrote:

Oh well, nevermind. I think I'll gop back to gas power! Anyone want to buy a fetching, new electric greenhouse heater

Stick it in the ads Moogie, I may pop down and snap it up!

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 6:02 am Post subject:

JB wrote:

I'm not the best person to ask as I tend to do everything myself, including laying drains and rebuilding outside walls! (With full building controll approval I may add but they just turned up for about 1 minute and didn't even look at the drains

)

I'm considering getting someone in to do some more building work and I've noticed the company working around the area and kept a keen eye on their work.

The trouble with references is how do you know the relationship between the workman and the person giving the ref?

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28234
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 6:36 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

A final comment, even if you don't do any of the work yourself it's worth spending a few pounds on a book so stand a better chance of spotting if people are any good or spotting something that could easily be put right.

Always a good idea i think to do this. If you appear on the ball, there is a much lesser change of people taking the piss.

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 8:28 am Post subject:
yes think paraffin is the way to go. If I sell the electric heater then should be able to afford a nice new paraffin one! No wonder the person who gave it to me was giving it away

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 9:40 am Post subject:
I used a new parafin one through last winter, and it was so stinky, it really made me wonder about what hydrocarbons might be entering my food chain.

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