How much does outdoor lighting or power cost in Gloucester?
Adding outdoor lights or an outside socket? Post the job for free and it goes to local electricians who cover your area. Only the electrician who takes it on gets your contact details.
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Outdoor electrics
Outside sockets and lights need weatherproof fittings rated for outdoor use and the right protection on the circuit, which usually means an RCD. An outside socket or light on the house wall can often be added from an existing circuit indoors. Power to a shed, garage or garden office usually means a new circuit and a cable run across the garden, often armoured cable buried at a suitable depth or fixed along a wall.
Any new circuit is notifiable under the Building Regulations, so it has to be certified by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme or signed off through building control. Adding an outside light or socket to an existing circuit is not notifiable, but it should still be done to the wiring regulations and certified.
Things that affect the scope:
- the distance from the consumer unit, and what the cable has to cross
- whether you want to dig the trench yourself
- what you’ll run in an outbuilding, such as heaters, a hot tub or power tools
- paving, decking or lawn that has to be lifted and put back
- the number of lights, and whether they are on a switch, timer or sensor
Bright security lights can bother neighbours, so think about where they point. For bigger garden buildings, check with your local council whether the building itself needs permission.
What to include when you post
Outdoor jobs vary a lot, so the route matters as much as the fittings.
- What you want: sockets, wall lights, garden lights or power to a building.
- Photos of the garden, the outside wall and where each item will go.
- The rough distance from the house, and from the consumer unit if you know.
- What’s in the way: patio, lawn, decking, a path or a wall.
- For an outbuilding, what you plan to run in it.
- A photo of your consumer unit.
- Whether you’d dig the trench yourself, and any pipes or drains you know run under the garden.
- Whether you want lights on a switch, a timer or a sensor.
What to ask
If a new circuit is needed, ask whether they are registered with a competent person scheme so it can be self-certified.
A written quote should say:
- what cable they will use and how it will be run and protected
- who digs the trench and who fills it in
- whether lifting and relaying paving, turf or decking is included
- whether a separate small consumer unit is being fitted in the outbuilding
- which fittings are included, with their outdoor rating
- what certificate you’ll get
Reinstating hard landscaping is often left out. If it’s not in the quote, find out who will do it before the ground is opened up. Ask for a note or sketch of the cable route, so nobody digs through it later.
Not quite the right job?
See every job on our Electrician page, or post it anyway and describe it in your own words.
Before a tradesperson starts work
Registrations
Some work must be done by a registered professional. Work on a gas boiler, cooker or fire must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which you can check on the Gas Safe Register.
Our business check
Limited companies are checked with Companies House and sole traders upload their insurance certificate. Trade registrations are confirmed by the tradesperson when they sign up.
Get the price in writing
Ask for a written quote that sets out the work and the price before anything starts. Your contract for the work is with the tradesperson.
Questions
What people tend to ask before booking this job. For anything specific to your home, ask the tradesperson who takes it on when they get in touch.
Yes, it usually needs a dedicated supply. Tell the electrician the distance from the house and what you'll run out there, as heaters and power tools change what's needed.
Yes. Outdoor sockets should be weatherproof and protected by an RCD. The electrician will check this as part of the job.
Often, yes, and it can save time. Agree the route, depth and what goes in the trench with the electrician first, and leave it open for them to check before it's filled in.
Not as a permanent supply. Leads left outside or run through doors and windows get damaged and aren't designed for it. A properly installed circuit is the safe way to do it.
Adding a light to an existing circuit isn't notifiable, but you should still get a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate. A new circuit to the garden is notifiable and should come with an Electrical Installation Certificate.