cost of outside light installation

chrispbug

We are looking to have 1 possibly 2 outside lights fitted could anybody give us any idea how much an electrician would charge to have this done also is it more cost effective to have both done at the same time (we have a very tight budget)

d123

Why not do it yourself, weatherproof light fittings are cheap at B&Q or similar, all you would need is a powerful drill and the appropriate drill bit.

chrispbug

Thank you so much for your reply I was going to have a go myself but my wife started quoting part p at me

dursley.donkey

So the question should be, how much would an electrician charge to come and test a DIY installation of an outside light and issue the required certificate.

andrew-b

Is this replacing light fittings or installing from scratch? If it's replacing then i don't think it comes under part p (though you still need to do your homework and follow the IEEE regs)..you might want to check though.

Andy

hewhoisnotintheknow

i would just do it myself, but im confident to do it, and have friends to inspect it for me

However, there are always alternatives. In my parents house we found it easier to fit the light and just having it goto a plug in the garage, its suited their needs but not everyones.

Other options are solar powered LED lights, some have new technology "cree" or luxeon technology in them and are pretty impressive, of course this is useful for an alley way or something but might not be very good for a whole drive

Do you have a shed with power in it?

adaze

I know if you are fitting an outside socket that it is not necesary to have it inispected if it is a spur going straight through the external wall. I guess on this basis if you take the lights cable straight through the wall to the position of the light you might not need to have it inspected?

P.s. I did mine myelf, when we then had the electrics tested they didn't mention it

Jonesya

There's an IET article from 2006 which discusses whether exterior work is notifiable under Part P:

http://www2.theiet.org/Publish/WireRegs/WiringMatters/Documents/Issue19/2006_19_summer_wiring_matters_part_p-2006_edition.pdf

What about external wall lights and A/C units?

This brings us to another of the clarifications
provided in the 2006 edition. Installation work
involving the fitting of items such as air-conditioning
units, wall lights or radon ventilation fans to an
exterior wall is only notifiable if electrical
connections are made outside of the building and not
directly within the enclosure of the item of
equipment. To clarify, installation of a wall light
where the connections were made immediately behind
the fitting would not be notifiable, but if connections
were made inside an external joint box and then to a
fitting the work would be notifiable. Similarly wiring
directly to an air-conditioning unit would not require
notification, but if the air-conditioning unit were
supplied via a separate externally mounted isolator,
notification would be required.
Where a new circuit is installed or where such
items are supplied from an existing circuit involving
work in a kitchen or special location or associated
with a special installation notification would be
necessary.